A Castle and Monument

I have been in Edinburgh about 3 weeks now and am enjoying it quite a bit. Class started this past Tuesday. I am a little disappointed in the size of the classes (about 30) but aside from that I am very pleased. The program is turning out to be just what I was hoping for. It seems like a lot of graduate programs these days are largely vocational-- especially in international development or humanitarian assistance. My program (Geopraphy- Environment, Culture, and Society) seems to blend quantitative reasoning with the theoretical (for example, Muir and Thoreau are part of this weeks readings).

I am heading up to Glencoe this weekend with the Mountaineering Club. Hopefully I'll have some more photos to put up here next week.

Edinburgh Castle and the Scott Monument dominate the Edinburgh skyline. This photo was taken from the lower part of Arthur's Seat-- a hill that rises high on the edge of the city. It doesn't take a military strategist to recognize what an easily defended fortification the castle must have been. (And for those willing to go to jail, I hear there are some long climbs up the side of it.)

This is New College at the University of Edinburgh. Unfortunately none of my classes are here. Since it reminds me of Harry Potter I like to think it is the school of Wizardry, and it sort of is-- it houses the school of divinity.

This is the Scottish Parliament Building. I can' t decide whether I like it or not. The windowed alcoves are actually "Thinking Pods" (you can see that half of it shaped like a seat or maybe one of those vomit cages they have at the fair). This is where Scottish MP's make important Scottish decisions.

I am a man that needs to roam. After about 2 weeks of being restricted to my feet I started to get some cabin fever so I rented a car. First I went to an auction in the countryside hoping to buy a bike. I didn't buy a bike there, nor did I have any idea what people were saying to me. Just like in the States, the thick accents really come out in countryside. Try reading a Robert Burns poem-- thats how confused I was.

Does anyone know whether Burn's just spelled words in Scottish phonetics or if he actually uses Scottish words?

While I had the car, I drove on the wrong side of the road along the coast out to the mouth of the Firth of Forth.

Swans at a wildlife sanctuary about 20 miles from Edinburgh.

Wildlife sanctuary looking wild and sanctified.

Sir Walter Scott.

This is my home. It is cheap, roomy, close to school, cold, and in a quiet area. The hill in the background is the side of Arthur's Seat.

This is the Geosciences building where my department is housed.

Grass is so green here.

From Arthur's Seat looking out over Portabello to the Firth of Forth.

These are the gentlemen from Le Marche Francais where my roommate Atta (middle) works. My house lacks a common area so this oversized hallway serves as one. Atta brings home more croissants than we could possibly eat.