Edinburgh at Night

These pictures are all form my first night in Edinburgh, just while wandering around with the parents after dinner. Then, since I was more awake and filled with good food, I remembered how, over a year ago, this city has stirred something in me: a desire to keep traveling, to keep learning, to keep meeting new people from all over the world. I fell in love again with the landscape, the wind, the people, and the buildings still blackened from years of ashes and smoke when the city earned its name "Auld Reekie" for the haze that sank in on the city in earlier days.

Every time I walk home, I gaze towards Arthur's Seat and the cliffs that surround it, and head for the dorms that lie just in front of it.

If I run errands near Princes Street, I treat myself to a walk down North Bridge, where you can't tell whether one side's view trumps the other.

Even though the first week was battered by wind and rain (Hurricane Irene decided to pop on over for a visit), I marveled at the Old Medical School in Bristo Square or the castle-like building across from my dorm.

Anyways, I am supposed to be telling you about the wonderful night life here.

First of all, I have to say that Edinburgh has been voted the third safest city for students in Scotland by the Complete University Guide (Glasgow was apparently voted last), and I have never felt threatened at night. Of course, I don't go padding along the streets alone at midnight, but whenever I've returned from a bar or club with friends, I have felt secure.

During Freshers Week, there were probably at least five fun places to go, with free access to many University sites thanks to a well spent £35 on a Freshers Pass.

On the first night out, we discovered Moosa Dollars while queuing for Potterow (the student union center complete with student shop, bar and dance floor upstairs) and the "Big Cheese" or the usual cheesy pop music event that's held upstairs every Saturday. Moosa Dollars are used for the auction at the end of Freshers Week, and can be earned by performing something truly spectacular- be it a strange skill or well-trained talent. The number of dollars given out is at the discretion of the giver. I got six on the first night by showing off my ability to lie on my stomach and touch my toes to my head. It helped that I was willing to do it on the street. I never progressed to the point where I got dollars for being drunk and doing ridiculous things. I did do quite a few ridiculous things without the aid of alcohol, though. Later in the week, I continued to tap my head with my toes, but soon many had seen me do that and were no longer impressed. I believe I got nine Moosa Dollars once for going up to a man in a kilt and asking is he was a "true Scotsman".

"Is there any other way?" he replied.
"No, I suppose there isn't." I realized quite quickly that I had just asked a man if he was wearing any pants (here, "pants" means underwear, which has caused much confusion for some of us Americans and much laughter among the Scottish, English and Irish students).

I rounded out the week with twenty-five Moosa Dollars, but did not make it to the auction, where the grand prize to be sold was an iPad. Ah, well- at least now I get to keep the funny paper with Robert the Moose (our mascot) in Washington's place.

Anyways, I shouldn't mislead you to believe all I do is go around being a "whore" for Moosa Dollars, as one dollar giver had me say in Dutch once I stated I was fluent. Mostly, my nights that first week were spent either going out with new friends to bars, Potterow, the Teviot (another University site with many floors and many bars) or staying in and meeting more people in the common room on the ground floor of Grant House, my dorm. On the first Sunday, the Lounge in Teviot became a Jazz bar, and two guys with us that night approached the band playing and asked to have a go at the piano and drums. They were fantastic.

This past Friday, a group of us went searching for the cheapest pint in town- and found it, finally, at a bar called Finnigan's, where a band played I Wanna Hold Your Hand, Sweet Home Alabama, Mr. Brightside, and a few others. I captured a handful of hilarious pictures of friends singing along.

Well, I should really set to work on some reading for History and for Social Anthropology. More soon about lectures, tutorials and professors, I hope.