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While You Were Tanning
The one word that could sum up Scotland, more than castles or kilts, would, by a landslide, be “cold.” Each morning I peer out my window, eagerly hoping for glimmers of sunshine, only to be met with a gray, cloudy sky. If I leave my flat before lunchtime, the salts meant to de-ice the sidewalks and roads have inevitably been sprinkled around, despite the fact that the streets are rarely icy enough to merit the salt. Other non-Scottish students, from places significantly colder than Los Angeles, can often be heard complaining about that day’s weather. On the positive, however, excluding the days when the wind seems to push every pedestrian sideways, the weather is surprisingly manageable. Coming from sunny LA, where tanning in the winter has become the norm, and Phoenix, known for the heat, I honestly expected to freeze in the cold. On the contrary, I love it. Wearing jeans and comfortable sweaters to class, and actually facing the misty rain to go to lecture, I finally feel like I go to school in a real place. Gone is the temptation to skip a big lecture to lie outside or go to the beach, and gone is the USC assumption that rain means class has been canceled. I feel invincible. If it weren’t for Facebook, I might not long at all for Southern California’s 80-degree January days. Admittedly, it’s hard not to experience mild FOMO when it’s 30 degrees and windy at 8 p.m., and my USC peers are mid-Fratty Friday. Then I take a step back and remember that I have all summer to tan and hang around LA, but only a few more months left in Edinburgh. First on the agenda: figuring out where everything is located. I have had my share of complaints about getting around in LA, and was ready for a semester of relying solely on walking to get around. Upon arrival, I realized that the myths were true: everything is within walking distance! Then I quickly realized that even with Google maps, the lack of street signs might foil my plans for becoming an expert navigator on foot. It took two weeks in Edinburgh to realize that the magical Google map route to get to A7/South Bridge, which I also eventually realized was the same as Nicholson street, involved a street literally one minute away from my flat that simply does not have a street sign. It took me another week to realize that Google was not wrong, but that Cowgate did not connect to Nicholson/Southbridge/Clerk Street because Cowgate actually ran underneath that street. I’ve also finally realized that if you go too far down one specific street, then to cross over to any northern streets you will have to climb 100 steep steps up to the castle and then down to the other street. It’s confusing. Maybe one of these days someone can explain why Old Town rejected the grid system. Regardless of the confusion, there is something wonderful about being accustomed to a new city. Bundling up in multiple layers and leaving 10 minutes earlier than normal for everything reminds me that I’m actually studying abroad, and encourages me to try something new every day. It’s tempting to stay inside, curled up next to the heater and my laptop, but simply walking down the street here brings a new experience. Especially when you find yourself standing next to a castle.
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