My Neighborhood

First of all let me apologize for not posting more frequently. I do have some excuses (like working on my Master's degree) but not really any good ones. So finally I found an afternoon to take the camera out and take a few picture of where I'm living these days. You'll all have to excuse the photos, landscapes and tourist photography aren't really my strong suits (although to be fair I'm not that good at any other styles). Hopefully they're good enough to give you all a sense of what I deal with on a daily basis...and let me tell you, it's pretty terrible.

So after three less than fruitful months of searching for private apartments, I gave in and applied for my guaranteed university housing. I fully expected that this would suck, and, when the offer finally came through, was disappointed to see that they had given me my last choice apartment. Kind of. They really just gave me a random room in my last choice building. I do have to admit that it was nice to know I would have somewhere to sleep when I got here (although my bed is so uncomfortable you can't really call it restful). So I left the US with a slightly pessimistic attitude about how this foolishness would turn out.

The Front Door of my Building

Well it turns out Mylne's Court, the area I was placed, is completely ridiculous in basically every way (mostly good ways). For instance, it was built before there was such thing as the United States. Ridiculous!

It's no Walnut Street

You wouldn't guess it by looking at the front door, but my apartment (which I still can't remember to call a 'flat') is located right in the middle of the city. Right in the busiest, most historically important, populous part of the city. We call it the Royal Mile. Well...everyone calls it that, and there's a very good reason for it.

Edinburgh Castle

It's a castle. Less than five minutes walk from my front door there is a real life castle, and not only is that sweet, but there's been a castle there for even longer than my apartment building (apparently since the 12th century, although I'm sure it's been renovated since then). Now I know what you're thinking - "Matt, you're in Europe now; there's a castle on every street corner." Well you're wrong, but not by much. The architecture of this city is absolutely gorgeous in the Medieval sort of way that makes everything look all castle-ey.

My Neighborhood from a Distance. That Building with the Twin Towers in the Middle? Yeah, I Live Right Behind That.

If you know me at all, you know how I feel about cities. They suck. It has never made sense to me why so many people would want to live so God-damned close to eachother, with buildings so tall you can't see past the next street, putting up with the constant strain of worry about crime, health, pollution, and the whole slew of other city-related problems. Give me plains and mountains and no one else in sight (except maybe a pretty girl to share it with). That said, Edinburgh as a city is something so completely different from what I'm used to that I'm not sure how I feel about it. Yes it is crowded (a fact disputed by new friends from London, LA and Mexico City), but the depth of history here, the feeling that street I'm walking on is hundreds of years old makes it somehow better than more modern cities. The Scotch whiskey doesn't hurt either.

Other notable sites on the Royal Mile include Parliament Square, St. Giles Cathedral, Holyrood Abbey, various high courts, and a plethora of tourist shops and pubs. It's always packed with tourists and locals alike and seems to be the busiest part of the city. Two minutes out my front door is the Bank of Scotland, which I think would provide a good model if Hilltop Bank ever renovates their main office.

The Bank of Scotland

Now this has been an obviously brief tour of my new digs, but I hope it gives you a sense of what an absurd turn my life has taken. I'm sure many of you are a bit jealous, but you shouldn't be. Despite the greatness of my neighborhood, this is what you see out my bedroom window.

At Least Nobody Can See me Naked, Right?

But, being the competitive lad I am (and yes, I've been called a typical American several times, so the drive to win fits in with the rest of that package). If I open my window and peek my head out, I can see this building.

The Hub

So I'm settling in. I'm dealing with the oddities of city living, of British culture, and the rigors of coursework. Homesickness hasn't hit me too badly yet, but that's most likely because I don't have enough time to think about it. I'd say that, in general, things are going pretty well. Hope you all feel the same way, and keep an eye out for the next post (which hopefully won't be two weeks in the making).

And an answer to Papa's question from the last post: "Dinna Droun the Miller" is apparently an old Scottish saying imploring the barkeep not to put too much water in your whiskey. As it turns out, they generally don't put in any. As a result I've seen several foreigners grow a little extra hair on their chests.

Unfortunately, they were women.

Getting There

Well I'm sure all of you (all five of you at least) are curious to hear how things are going over here. All in all...not too bad, I suppose. But to understand how I'm feeling about things at this point, it would probably be good to hear a little bit about the journey over.

It all started 11 days ago in a basement in Wyoming... (cue wipe to flashback)

I woke up that morning in a haze. A rare bout of insomnia had allowed me only sporadic sleep - possibly due to the excitement of realizing it was my last night at home, possibly because of the two pounds of hot wings I ate for dinner the night before. Suffice to say I wasn't feeling my best.

Of course this general malaise was compounded by the fact that I wasn't done packing yet, as well as the impending separation of me from my beloved dog. Now throughout our time together, Skua and I have been apart many times: she stayed at home during my freshman year at Cornell, for one of the two summers I spent in Minnesota (the bad one), and during each of my adventures working for the San Diego Zoo this spring. While our separations have been fairly frequent, it's never been for more than four months at a time. That morning I would be leaving her for an entire year. I'd love to say that she is as sad about this as I am, but, being a good animal scientist, I know that she's already settled into a new routine and is doing just fine without me. I, on the other hand, am still having a tough time with it.

How Could You Not Have a Hard Time Leaving This?

Despite the sadness, I managed to drop her off at the kennel, pack up my car and head East to Aurora, Nebraska where my sister Sarah was scheduled to get married. The trip was uneventful, as difficult as that might be to believe for those of you who have experienced driving in Nebraska. It was so uneventful, that I think I'm just going to skip writing about it.

The wedding weekend, in stark contrast to the drive out, was a good bit of fun. I had several responsibilities to attend to, including alcohol procurement, wedding photography and a little pickin' and singin'. Somehow I managed to take care of all of these and other chores, though admittedly some went better than others. The weekend started with a "get to know you" dinner with a good portion of Brian's (the groom's) family who all seemed to be very kind. It was an early night though, as the next day was set to be packed with wedding preparations. In the interest of brevity, I'll skip the tedious details of finding a liquor store and tying paper hearts to mason jars. After a quick rehearsal of the service it was time for the groom's dinner, a barbecue at the Hampton auditorium for all the guests who had made it to town by then. It was a relatively quiet affair, but I'm sure a good time was had by all.

Brian's Dad Mans the Grill

Of course Sunday was the big day, what with there being a wedding and all. Everyone managed to make it through a nerve-filled morning without any tragedy, although the planned schedule was not exactly followed. Timing issues meant that the service would be held in the early afternoon, which was fine, but it made for some tough lighting conditions for the photographer. I haven't had the chance to go through all the wedding photos yet, but I'm sure I'll be able to pull some workable ones out of the bunch. I did manage to fill up almost 8 gigs of memory card, so there better be something in there. The service itself went off without a hitch - Chris' reading went well, Monica's song was fantastic, and of course the bride looked beautiful. She even managed to hold back the tears during her vows (although I can't say the same for my father). After the service the newly-weds got hugs, kisses and congratulations from all the guests, got the marriage license signed, and Sarah took her bouquet down to the cemetery to lay them down next to my mother's headstone.

The Newly Weds Leave the Church

I got the honor of driving the new couple around and taking some more photos while people set up at the reception. Yes, we did get some shots of them in a corn field (which triggered a fist-pump congratulations from a passing farmer) among some other shots in less rural spots along the drive.

Requisite Corn Field Shot

Then it was on to the Prairie Loft barn to get the reception to get the real party started.

Arrival at the Reception

Drinks were served, toasts were made, and the party got underway, but not before the guests were exposed to three minutes of banjo-based torture courtesy of yours truly. In keeping with tradition, I sang my big sister an Avett Brother's song (The Greatest Sum), which went...alright. I was, admittedly, a bit nervous having never played banjo in front of more than two people. When I perform in front of crowds I tend to spend a majority of time out of my own body and this time was no different. Everyone was very generous with their praise after I had finished, but I wasn't completely satisfied with how it went. I did manage to make my sister cry though, so either it was really awful or I managed to show her how much I (and the rest of the people in that barn) really love her. I'm really hoping it was the latter. From that point on the night is a bit of a blur. Drinks were had, dancing was done (mostly by Jorgensens making fools out of themselves) and a good time was had by all. Several people seemed to think that I needed to hear how great my younger brother's girlfriend was. The venue was beautiful, the music was good; all in all it was a pretty perfect evening.

Good Times Were Had

A group of ladies from Denver seemed to think my ego needed a little more recovery towards the end of the night and convinced me to sing my song again out on the lawn. It was a little weird until I noticed that my sister was out there listening too. It just helped me realize that in my head that song will always be for her.

Private Concert

My only tasks for the following week were to help my pregnant sister Lindsay move some furniture, to buy some socks, and hang out in St. Paul, MN. There wasn't a whole lot going on while I was there, which was good, but the week flew by anyway. I even managed to see some old friends from the Minnesota Zoo and a very old friend who has grown up with me since we met before kindergarten. I also, somehow, managed to go out one night with one of the prettiest girls I have ever seen. I'm not sure how I convinced her that it would be a good idea, but we both seemed to have a decent time. The timing couldn't have been worse, but I suppose that's no surprise.

I flew out from the Twin Cities on Saturday morning and the entire trip over went pretty smoothly. I'm still getting situated in my apartment, but it seems like my flat-mates are all pretty cool. We are living right in the middle of the city so there will be plenty of distractions testing my will power, but I'm pretty optimistic about how this year is starting out. I'll try to get out and get some pictures of my neighborhood (you will have a hard time believing that I actually live in this area) and post again soon.

Congratulations again to Sarah and Brian on gettin' hitched.

Hope all of you are doing well wherever you might be!