This is my travel journal from my study abroad trip to the UK and France. The names of my teachers and classmates have been changed for privacy reasons.
DAY 6- May 25
So, we had class again. (I'm starting to notice a pattern.) I'm trying to get my work done as quickly as I can so I can have time to go out and do things. Really, I wish Dr. Thompson had given us the study questions before we got on the plane so I could have been working on them over the weekend. It sucks that I already lost all the answers for Chapter One, and will have to go do them again. I typed them up on one of the school's computers (which ran insanely slowly) I've been taking time between classes and outings to do homework. But in the future, I'll be using my own laptop for schoolwork, as it runs faster and I don't type a backslash every time I try to hit the shift key.
The good thing is that it's been easy for me to stay focused and pay attention in class. I learned that the reason students in the UK get out of school much earlier than we do is because we're wasting our time. Apparently, when students here go to university, they don't have to waste two years on gen ed classes because those are things they already cover in high school. (Secondary school?)
Today, we went to a meeting of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Part of our syllabus is to observe and participate in things like this. Anyway, they were having a discussion about public health in Scotland. We arrived at about 5:30, signed up for discussion groups, and had a light supper.
I recognized nothing on the buffet, but they assured us that it was all very healthy and there were vegetarian options. At the beginning of this trip, I told myself that I would stop being a picky eater and not fuss about whatever food was available. So I took a little of everything that looked interesting. And that's how I ended up trying herring, a mini duck burrito, and caviar. (I thought it was tiny blueberries. Somebody got ripped off, in my opinion.)
The building itself was beautiful. I didn't take any pictures; I thought that might be in bad taste. But it was bigger on the inside, like half of the buildings around here seem to be. It's the kind of building that would echo without all the thick carpets.
So after dinner and tea, we went to the lecture hall where four speakers talked to us about different aspects and problems of public health. There was a quick question and answer session afterward, where we had one unhealthy heckler, followed by the group discussions. I had signed up for the one about how the arts and humanities can work with the health sector to communicate more effectively with the Scottish community.
Liz and Jacklyn were also a part of our group, and we were all part of a handful of people with experience in humanities. We're surrounded by all these doctors and smart people, and then the group leader asks the three of us for input. Last semester, I'd taken the theatre theories class, which suddenly came in handy as I was expected to intelligently discuss theatre and how it relates to society. And I think I made some relevant contributions to the discussion.
The whole time, I was thinking “God, please don't let me sound like a dumbass.” Liz also got a chance to speak up about graphic design. And the discussion went on for a while. Then we all went back into the lecture room to hear all the groups' note-takers report on what we accomplished. The thing I said about theatre made it into the final notes, and I was all “Woo-hoo! I contributed!”
I also got to talk with a guy about the issues we were discussing, and found that it's pretty much the same issues here and back home. People smoke, drink, and don't stay healthy.
Once everything was over and we were done talking about drinking less, we all went to a Mexican place next door to get a drink. (We're hypocrites, I know.) Yeah, well there are under-21s on this trip and they're definitely taking advantage of it.
It was a nice place. I took a few pictures, but I won't be posting all of them on Facebook because there are people in them. In fact, I won't even mention who all was drinking that night because my Facebook page links to this blog. This is because they're planning on having careers and they don't want potential employers to see the pictures of us toasting and stuff.
By the way, if there are any employers reading this, I'd just like to say something: have you ever done anything silly in your life? Have you ever done anything stupid that you regretted later? Of course you have, you're human. I'm pretty sure that if you can keep your private and professional lives separate, your employees can, too. And if they can't, then you might have a point. Apart from a few careers, I can't think how Facebook silliness would affect job performance.
We didn't get drunk, so there.
It was supposed to be a quick drink and then back to campus, but then it seemed that they wanted to go out and it was getting dark. So I went to the bus stop on my own. I just can't stay out late all the time. I can't. Especially not with class in the morning and homework to do. And a whole chapter to make up because the file got corrupted. I'll party late on the weekends, or in London when we don't have class anymore. In the meantime, I just don't want to be so tired/hungover/busy that I can't enjoy being here.
Anyway, I met a Chinese exchange student named Florence who was studying in London and visiting Edinburgh, if I remember that correctly. She was lost and trying to get to Haddinton. I couldn't find the street on my tour map, but that was mostly for bus routes. I remembered a vending machine on Princes Street that was next to the bus stop that had maps of the city, so she and I walked there together.
The machine ate her pound coin and didn't give her a map. I took a picture for her of her being frustrated at the thing. We asked a gentleman at the bus stop how to get to Haddington, which turned out to be twenty miles away. She went across the street to get on the right bus, and mine came shortly after. I ran into Liz and Rebecca on the bus. (I'm not the only one who likes sleep!)
God, I'm tired. I'm going to bed.
