I’m here, I made it, and I feel human again! Despite the cancelled flights, delays, and difficulties of communicating with the school, I have finally moved into my flat here in Edinburgh. Lots of things have happened in the past 2 weeks that I’ve been here, and I apologize to both the people reading this and my future self for not being as on top of these blog posts as I wanted to be. I recently found out that a friend of mine had passed away so it has been difficult to keep up with certain things. Anyways, let’s start with the city itself:

The city of Edinburgh is old, reminiscent of taking a step back in time. Every stone emanates wisdom and feels like it has a story to tell. It feels very different from London, much smaller and more charming. Having London be the only other city in the UK that I’ve been to, I’ve found myself making lots of comparisons between here and there. One thing that struck me about Edinburgh is how compact the city is. Whereas London felt like the size of New York, Edinburgh is MUCH smaller and extremely walkable. There’s not underground metro-type transportation, but the bus system is easy to use and affordable! Sometimes, it’s faster to just walk back to my flat from the city centre than to wait for a bus. Weather is a bit drab, lots of rain and clouds, but we’ve had the occasional sunny day and appreciate them even more so because of their scarcity.

Classes are a lot different than what I’m used to in the US. It may just be my particular university, which is hailed as a hands-on type of education, but the class sizes are smaller than 30 people, sometimes around 15, and very practical. I’m used to a lecture a couple of times per week with an occasional test or quiz. Here, there are no tests or quizzes and each class only meets once per week. Each of them are graded by 2-3 big projects that we’ll do throughout the semester.

Three of my favorite experiences that I’ve had so far are as follows:

1. Some other American exchange students and I went Ceilidh dancing, or traditional Scottish folk dancing to live music. The steps were called out and easy to learn. Once the band had finished their set they announced that they had another gig at a different bar later that night. We followed them to that bar and continued dancing! This was the first time that I felt I was doing the whole “study abroad” thing right.
2. I reached out to a local Jewish community about attending a Shabbat service last Friday in honor of my friend. They welcomed me in and it felt wonderful to have located fellow Jews all the way across the world. After the service, the Rabbi took me with him to a Jewish student dinner that he was invited to speak at and I had no clue was happening. It was amazing to meet so many other Jewish students from every country imaginable and make some lasting connections.
3. With one of the friends I had made at the Jewish student event, I went to see a comedy show at a venue called The Stand. I wanted to go here for a while, ever since I did research on the comedy offerings in Edinburgh before I left the states. It did not disappoint. The opener did some of the most impressive improvised freestyle rap I had ever bore witness to, and the comedians that came after had me nonstop laughing with their standup sets. I can’t wait to go back to see some more shows! Afterwards, we went to a small pizza joint near the University of Edinburgh flats for a bite to eat, and ended up chatting and joking around with the two guys working in the shop.

This upcoming week, I plan on getting more solid footing here in Edinburgh and continue forming connections with people. I want to start making solid plans for my first trip, which I would really love to be to the Scottish Highlands. I’m going to see Mamma Mia at the Edinburgh Playhouse on Tuesday, which I cannot wait for, and hopefully will hear back soon from the job I applied for at my university, which is to be an International Student Ambassador.

I’m in the airport! Yay! My bag is checked (my whole life stuffed into a 50 pound suitcase), I’ve gone through security and now I wait. This morning did not come without its complications, however. We left my house at 7am sharp, expected (and got) a two hour drive to the airport area, and enjoyed a hearty American breakfast at Dinah’s Family Restaurant before heading to the airport. We got there at 10:30am, with plenty of time before my 2:15pm flight.

We strolled up to the baggage check line only to see two words that ruined our morning: flight cancelled. My flight had been cancelled that morning due to an airplane crash on the tarmac that damaged the aircraft set to take us to our layover in Sweden later that day. Fortunately, I was placed on another similarly-timed flight that began boarding at 4:00pm, which meant I had some time to kill. I’d only arrive in Edinburgh an hour past what I was originally set for. With one short layover in London, I’m happy with the change and hope for a smooth and safe flight.

My time waiting has been filled with back-to-back phone calls trying to frantically figure out my financial situation while abroad, but after about 10 phone calls it’s more or less figured out at this point. I can’t do much to move forward with making an UK bank account there or with a service called Transferwise without official documentation from the school that serves as a proof of address, so we’re waiting on that along with the flight.

Schedule of Events:

• Sit for another 20 minutes, finish writing this, and let my phone get to a full charge.
• Locate my gate.
• Find a snack.
• Eat snack.
• Download movies/podcasts for flight.
• Board flight.

***Note: this post was published later than written, once adequate wifi was found.

I am officially accepted to Edinburgh Napier University! Hooray! With my housing secured, my class schedule formed, and my visa documents submitted, all that remains is to sit tight, try and enjoy my last month here in America, and eagerly wait with a mixture of anticipation and nerves.

But before I begin to move forward into a new part of my life as a student and young adult, I want to reflect on my previous travel experience. Having been lucky enough to experience different cultures in various parts of the world before, I know just how important perspective is. Travel is a fail-proof way to grow stronger, more confident, and more openminded. Besides several smaller road trips throughout my young life with my family, I will be including the travel experiences that I feel helped me grow as a traveller. Here we go!

London

My first (and so far, only) trip to Europe really began with a bang. My older sister was in the middle of her year abroad and the whole family schlepped onto a plane to go and visit her. We started the trip with plans to also go to Amsterdam and Scotland. Needless to say, things did not go as planned. We ended up staying in London for about 10 days after my dad took a hard fall on our second day in the city and was sent to the hospital. Luckily, we had made it out to the Warner Bros. Harry Potter Tour the first day and got to walk the streets of Diagon alley, Privet Drive, and even take a lap around a model of Hogwarts Castle.

The next few days dissolved into a frantic mess amongst a series of hospital visits and cancelled flights. Things were slowly figured out, piece by piece, but we would not waste our chance to sightsee! We did our hop-on-hop-off bus, as well as other typical touristy things, and even celebrated the new year by seeing two West End musicals.

New Years 2017 was the first New Years that I spent outside of the USA and is also my fondest memory of the trip. My mom and younger sister had returned to the hotel to rest, but my older sister, Julia, and I were determined to catch the fireworks above the River Thames. We arrived around 10:00pm to find a good spot and succeeded! The challenge, as we quickly realized, was keeping that spot. Sitting on the freezing cold ground was futile and only invited the crowd to squeeze in closer. Standing was difficult due to our exhaustion and lack of warmth. With an hour left to go, Julia dove into the ever-growing mass of people to find something warm to eat and drink. She returned with two cups of English breakfast tea and a tray of chips (fries). To this day, that cup of tea was the most delicious thing I’ve tasted. We persisted, past the bathroom runs, aggressive crowd, and comments about how Americans are stupid. It was all worth it to see those fireworks in the night sky, bursting forth with the light and optimism of a new year to come. After the fireworks, the entire crowd surrounding the River Thames began to disperse in various directions. Thousands of people just began a directionless, giddy stroll through the streets of London. Julia and I were more than happy to join in the parade of alcohol and winter coats until we slowly but surely began to make our way first to an ice cream parlor, and then to our AirBnb. The next day, I left on a flight back to Los Angeles, but every now and then I take a sip of tea and remember the comfort I was brought by a hot drink while waiting for those fireworks.

Israel

In the summer of 2018, I went to Israel for 10 days on my Birthright trip. Those 10 days have blurred into a sunny haze of iced coffee, cats, and peace. I sometimes think about those days as some of the happiest of my life. Not only did it feel like the first time I was really gaining any sort of useful travel experience in a totally different culture, but the Jewish aspect also made it feel like I was learning a lot about myself and my identity. This was the first time that I felt like I had caught the “travel bug” everyone was always talking about. Whenever I think back to the colorful and vibrant shores of Tel Aviv, my heart aches to go back.

We began the trip in Tel Aviv, which served as our sort of base camp throughout our travels. We returned halfway through and at the end for our departure. Most days composed of eating breakfast in the kibbutz (communal village-type area) or hotel we were staying in and then hopping on our faithful tour bus to take us to whichever town we were set to explore that day. Lunch would be purchased on our own from wherever we could find (this usually meant falafel from the street) and we would partake in a meaningful or educational activity before returning to the place we were staying for dinner and more activities.

My favorite memory from my trip to Israel is when I was bitten by a shark. It’s not as bad as it sounds; actually, it’s kind of a funny story how it happened and I have fun retelling it. My friend, named Michelle, and I were about to go swimming on a beach in Tel Aviv. As we headed towards the water, we noticed other girls from our group frantically coming out of it, along with a couple of guys. When asked why they were leaving so soon, they told us that the guys had said that there were small, biting fish in the water and they didn’t want to risk it. Michelle and I looked at each other in amused disbelief, fully believing that the guys had made that story up to scare the girls. Nonetheless, we waded in anyway. This somehow acted as a spark of inspiration and courage for the other girls, who turned around and followed us back in. Not even a minute went by before I felt something sharp sink into my knee, right on top of where I had scraped my knee the day before. I shouted out in pain and surprise, which startled the other girls even more than they already were, and they started running back to the beach as fast as they could. At this point, I was also running, but Michelle was laughing! She thought I was pranking the girls. However, as we emerged from the ocean and came up onto the sand, everyone saw the blood streaming down my leg and realized the situation at hand. I went over to the medic we had traveling with us, and he informed me that the bite was not caused by a fish, but rather, a tiny shark. To this day, I still have a scar of two bite marks on my knee and I believe I have earned the right to say that I am a survivor of a shark attack.

China

My mom and I traveled to Hong Kong and Guangzhou this past winter, staying throughout Christmas and New Year’s. We went there for business, but having some leisure time in Hong Kong never hurts. Between Disneyland HK, a hike up to the Big Buddha Monastery, and some killer breakfast buffets, Hong Kong certainly served us well-up until the end. I ended up getting food poisoning on December 31 and spent the beginning of 2019 throwing up, just not from the usual New Year’s means.

China, specifically Guangzhou, was a unique and challenging experience because it was my first time in an area that spoke next to no English. We leaned pretty heavily on our friends, business partners, and translators named Betty and Yuki. The closest we got to having a conversation in English was when I ran into a man in the marketplace who had spent some time in South America, and we exchanged some pleasantries in Spanish. Not only did we not speak the native language, but we also did not exactly fit in. We were subjected to an endless stream of stares and photos, as “Westerners” rarely visited the part of the city that we went to.

One thing that made it apparent that we truly did not blend in was when we were waiting in our hotel lobby for Betty and Yuki to come pick us up for the day. There was a huge and lavishly decorated Christmas tree near the entrance, and, like us, Chinese patrons were admiring it. One family came up to us and pointed at the camera and then at the tree with an inquiring gaze. Oh, I thought, they want me to take their picture in front of the tree! I smiled and nodded, taking the camera and following them to the tree. They positioned themselves before pointing at me and repeating the word “you, you” and gestured to a spot they had left open in their line. It clicked in both my and my mom’s minds and we began chuckling as they posed with me in the middle and had someone else take the photo with all of us. The photoshoot was going on for an awkwardly long time, so I eased my way out of the situation and went to go sit, but a sort of paparazzi was following and recording me as I left. One man approached me with a box and tried to get me to hold certain lotions to endorse them. Just in time, Betty and Yuki arrived and saved us from the relentless cameras.

Spending time in China, especially in more industrial areas that don’t get many tourists, was a great chance to step out of my comfort zone and sponsor some lotions. Sometimes I still think about the fact that my photo may be floating around on a Chinese social media site somewhere.

Besides these international experiences, smaller trips across California and over to New York to visit family have helped me grow as a person and a traveller, but these will forever hold a place in my heart and, in some cases, my stomach. I look forward to adding more places to the list in this upcoming year!

The waiting is always the worst part of any event. No one goes to Disneyland to stand in line for two hours, and the anticipation and fear experienced when waiting for the other person to text back is unparalleled. Unfortunately, waiting is something that can’t be avoided if we’re expecting to interact with other humans. But how do we react when we’re waiting for longer than we had been told we’re supposed to wait for?

Almost two months ago, I was told by the staff at my University abroad that I would receive my acceptance letter soon. As time has gone by, my stress levels have risen at a steady pace and I begin to think of the worst possible outcome. Emailing back and forth with the staff has not yielded any tangible steps forward, and I have confirmation from my advisor that it is, indeed, later than usual in the study abroad game to hear back.

The spark that lit the fumes of worry floating around in my head was an email I received from another study abroad student. “I’m also studying in Edinburgh and wanted to connect!” it read. Emails turned to texts as we shared in our excitement about studying in a whole different country. Finally, I popped the question: “Have you gotten accepted yet?” It was met with a confused response. She, and another girl she knew going to the same school, had both gotten their acceptance emails several weeks prior. Only mine was delayed.

What do I do if it never comes? I’ve already told everyone that I’m leaving and I’d have to break the news that it didn’t work out. Most of the classes I would need back at SDSU are filled up, so I’d have to wade through the school registration process to try and snag a spot in those. Although part of me worries, another part, the optimist, believes that everything will work out for the better. I trust in myself to make it work, and that’s all I can hope for.

Hi everyone! My name is Kellie. You probably already know this if you’re reading this, since you’re most likely either a family member or friend who is fulfilling a friendly obligation. Since everyone reading this was at Thanksgiving dinner, you also already know that I’m spending a year studying abroad in Edinburgh, Scotland, starting this September! Hooray! This blog is meant to keep track of all my adventures (assuming they’re worth keeping track of) in one easy-to-access platform.

I’m not the best writer-I know this and hold myself fully accountable. I talk a lot of talk but my walking the walk is usually pretty limited to around the block and back again. I have decided to forego the walk entirely, instead choosing to leap into this new part of my life and document every step of the way.

If you’ve always wanted to know just what kind of thoughts go through my head regarding my upcoming year, great! Read to your heart’s content! This blog is largely going to be for myself, and the self-indulgence of future me when I want to reminisce about the glory days. In the case of me becoming an international celebrity from my posts, I would like everyone to know that I accept Edible Arrangements at all Hours of the day.

Thanks for tuning in, that concludes my first post!