starting over

I have decided give blogging a go. In the past I've been terrible at keeping journals. I always start and stop. I love the old fashioned feeling it has, but I can never keep up and actually write things in appropriate time intervals. This method of keeping a journal may be better since I spend so much of my life as a college student on the computer.

I suppose there are a couple of things that have spawned this idea. First, I've been reading a good friend's for the last few weeks to see how her hectic life is going after I have left the country. Cindy recommended it as a great way to prevent writing skill from atrophying, which would be a big problem when I need to be an essay writing machine for medical school applications. Second, I am currently studying the first term of my junior (third) year at the University of Edinburgh. Every Friday I am required to write an email back to the Caltech Director of Study Abroad to keep her up to date on my comings and goings. I thought that this would be a great place for the events of the week to flow and a place to let my friends back in America know how I am doing in this absolutely amazing city.

I have been in Scotland for about three weeks now and I have loved almost every moment of my time here in Edinburgh. I was able to fly in a couple weeks before the term started and stayed at a friend's house (bless Iain's family). I spent the weeks exploring the city, climbing Arthur's Seat and getting acclimated with the city. I met a bunch of people through Iain and even ate haggis in the first week of my stay!

Right now it is Fresher's Week, an orientation for the first years and foreign exchange students. Classes start next week and I will have to start getting serious. I am staying in dorms with all the freshers (or frosh) and nights can be absolutely insane. It is a bit odd for me because most of them have just gone out and gotten drunk almost every night this week. They'll come back at 4 in the morning and run down the halls, banging on doors and walls. This can be pretty irritating when you are sleeping. The freshers also love talking about drinking. I've found an easier time chatting up third and fourth years, thank goodness. Unfortunately I have also caught the Fresher's Flu, the equivalent of Frosh Plague. Alas...

This entry is looking a bit long. I probably should have started this earlier so that I could actually write things down when then happen rather than after the fact. I hope that this term abroad is going to be as fun as others have described in the past. This is my chance to learn if Tech is the problem or if I am.