Alas! Internet Access!

The (rather depressing) view outside my window-
I look out to the U. of Edinburgh's vet school and some random little buildings.














And this is just a random building the school uses for conferences, I think. Honestly, gorgeous buildings like this are just everywhere in Edinburgh.


Five days after moving in, after two phone calls to the student reach desk (amazingly, however, they don't put you on hold hours on end like some college IT departments... then again, their hotline is only open from 4-8pm everyday), hours of virus scans, frustrations, setting and resetting my computer, I finally have internet access. I used to be able to think back and remember what it was like to live without the internet, but I can no longer imagine life without it. Computers are so lame with the information super highway.

Apparently, in Edinburgh, grocery stores can run out of food. Yeah, I thought the idea of those stores was to sell food, too, but no. I don't know if it's a city thing or just a Scottish city thing, but the local grocery chain, Tesco, is was out of broccoli and chicken breast the first time I went, around 9pm. Tried again earlier the next evening and they had no garlic. These are basic staples, people, who runs out of chicken!? The constant shortage at Tesco means that I've taken to the much cheaper and consequently sketchier grocer, Lidl's, where things come in bulk and I've been told to stay away from the dairy...

I am not homesick yet. I am still in the "honeymoon phase" of my study abroad experience (which I am told, will come to a crashing halt very soon, yipee...), but one thing I do miss is how easy the Bo' was to navigate. We were so spoiled. And everything was labeled so nicely. Trying to find the soc department office today to pick stuff up and maybe add/drop classes (classes that are often not when/where they're supposed to be), the thought, "God, I so miss Lori right now" actually ran through my head. Lori, as in Soc. department coordinator back at the Bo'. It was that ridiculous. An example of thebureaucratic absurdity here? My email address is s0571033@ed.ac.uk. That's actually not as bad as my password, which is just as long, has actually more random letters, and is, best of all, case sensitive. And no, I can't change it. Apparently, everyone here is smart enough to memorize these and not whine about them, if only I was as mature... Hopefully, the s051000's aren't as popular as my Bo' address. Oh, I can't wait for the mistaken identities to commence.

This is the street I live on, South Clerk Street. One of these days, I am sure, I will be run over for looking the wrong way when crossing the street, or not looking at all, which is what I'm more accustomed to. Thank you, summer in Dorchester.