The Best Time to Wear a Striped Sweater

All the time! It turns out Scotland is the land of eternal sweater weather, and if I had known this, I would have already been living here for years.

As I did not know this, I have been in Edinburgh now for one full week. I've done so much walking that I've cleared my Fitbit's goal of 10,000 daily steps every single day, and my legs hurt so much I feel like a lame horse. Living in Europe is great exercise.

Along with finding the nearest grocery store, bargain shop, and bookstore, I was able to do some sight-seeing before my program's Induction began. My mom and I went up to the castle, where we wandered around and had tea in Queen Anne's building. We also found Mons Meg, the famous cannon, and a beautiful little cemetery where all the Queens' dogs are buried. Since my dad arrived, the three of us have walked the Royal Mile, popping in and out of shops, and hiked up to the top of Arthur's Seat.

Arthur's Seat is Edinburgh's own inactive volcano. It takes about forty-five minutes to climb, and offers the very best view of the city. The wind was so strong we kept having to drop to the ground to avoid getting swept off an edge or blinded by dirt. The climb was every small child & big dog's dream: plenty of sloping paths to run around, rocks to climb on, and steep, grassy hills to slide down.

The view really is spectacular - cities on every side, dark lochs with stark white swans gliding across them hidden in little valleys, and farther off, the sea. It is a must for anyone who finds themself in Edinburgh, and I am sure I will be climbing it with everyone who visits me.

This week wasn't all hikes and cafes. On Thursday and Friday, I moved into my flat and attended Induction at the University. I live in student housing in a two-person suite. My room is three times as big as my room in my Grove City suite, and it opens into an entranceway off of which you can access the bathroom, the kitchen/common area, and my suite-mate's room. My suite-mate is from Greece and getting her Master's in Lighting Design. She's very friendly, and has already assured me I can knock on her door whenever I miss home so we can be homesick together.

It's about a twenty-minute walk from my flat to ENU's Merchiston Campus, and the route is stunning. All those grand stone houses with their little gardens and huge windows, a shortcut through an old church's grounds, and a bridge that stands over a peaceful river. As I said before, barring any terrible weather, it's my goal to walk that route to campus instead of taking the bus.

I got a chance to memorize this route on my way to Induction. There are about twenty people in my cohort, most of them full-time students like me, plus a handful part-time students, who will complete the course in two years instead of one. We have three lecturers, all of them published authors, who will be teaching our four modules between them. Here's an overview of my schedule:

Wednesdays: there are three days over the course of this trimester when I will meet with my one-to-one mentor. I was matched with the head of the program, and how we spend these hours will be entirely up to me. I can ask about coursework, or I can bring in separate writing projects and ask for advice.

Thursdays: from ten o'clock to one o'clock, I have First-Person Narrative. In this module, we'll practice focusing on different aspects of writing in a first-person point of view.

Fridays: from ten o'clock to one o'clock, I have Creating Narrative: The Writer's Toolkit. This module will focus on creating story structure and other aspects of narrative, such as world-building.

From two o'clock to five o'clock, I have Innovation & Authorship. This module focuses on theory. It also asks questions (what is the purpose of your work? Who do you want to be as an author?).

Before you say, "What? You only have classes on Thursdays and Fridays, and occasionally a Wednesday? I'm so jealous!" note that my lecturers expect us to spend ten hours per week working outside of class for every module. So this will be a full-time job - but a fun one. And if it makes you feel better, my classes don't officially start for three more days, but I already have a fair amount of homework.

Other noteworthy aspects of living abroad include:

- So many people smoke. Sit outside at a restaurant at your own risk - the person at the next table over may blow smoke in your face the whole time.

- The city is so clean. Littering is taken very seriously, and a lot of bins have "Lets make Edinburgh into Edenburgh" written on them.

- The temptation to imitate people's accents is overwhelming.

- Jaywalking abounds.

- Most of the cars are manual.

- I've already talked to at least five people who moved to Edinburgh to study and loved it so much they're still living there, three to twenty-three years later (sorry, Mom).

As for me, I've found a Zumba class and a church, and actually, the Zumba class is in a church, but not the one I went to on Sunday. St Paul's and St George's, or Ps & Gs, is on the other side of the city, and was recommended by the Rector at my church in Pittsburgh. Even though I made us late by accidentally locking myself out of my room (I knew it was a question of when, not if, I would eventually do that), my parents and I managed to make it there in time for their eleven o'clock service and the welcome lunch that followed.

After my parents got in their rental car and zoomed away to the Isle of Skye, I realized I had left my phone in my flat. Stepping into an unfamiliar area, not armed with google maps like I usually am, I decided this was as good a time as any to wander. It didn't take long for me to find signs directing me to the city center, and I stopped in the portrait gallery at St Andrews to have a cup of tea. Eventually I found the Royal Mile and managed to pick up a cab, which took me home. Unfortunately, I left a bag full of art I'd bought for my walls in the cab, and I may never see that again.

In conclusion, it's early enough that everything is just exciting and not home-sick, and I'm doing my best to make friends and build a community here. If you're the praying kind, I would appreciate prayers for discipline, since my schedule is mostly determined by me; if you're not the praying kind, I appreciate your well-wishes all the same. This first week really has been so good, and I can't wait to see what the coming weeks will bring.

Book recommendation: Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen. Before you roll your eyes and say, "So cliché, Annie," let me tell you what I love about it. Jane wrote about women the way people were only writing about men; she gave women rich inner lives that didn't just focus on men (although they did also focus on men). That and...Mr. Darcy. He comes across as arrogant and haughty, but in reality, he's just incredibly socially awkward. And when Elizabeth calls him out for being antisocial and not putting in enough effort with people, he listens and genuinely tries to do better. Okay, rant over. It's a great book.