First Impressions of Life in Edinburgh

Well, I'm here in Edinburgh, dear readers. It's been quite the move, and I apologize for the long lapse between posts. I'm still a bit jet-lagged, and I haven't been able to use my computer much, as I left my charger at home. Fear not, though, it is winging its way here as I type, and my generous RA has allowed me to borrow his for the nonce. (Well, at least long enough for mine to get an adequate charge.)

Already there are many things I like about living in Edinburgh and several that are going to take some getting used to.

I love the feel of the city. While it's busy and vibrant, I haven't felt unsafe at all here. The locals are really friendly, and everywhere I've been has felt very welcoming. There's so much to do here, much of which will be chronicled in the blog over the next few months. In fact, I'm not sure how I'm supposed to do everything the city has to offer and study, but I'll burn that bridge when I get to it.

So far, the top problem I'm having is the weather, especially as regards looking cute. I know how to deal with humidity, and I'm not too worried about the cold (yet), but I did not foresee how windy it would be.

My second day here we were advised not to open our windows, lest the wind blow them off (or something). As you can imagine, this kind of gale-force wind buffeting the city does quite the number on my hair. (You can tell classes haven't started yet because this is my biggest problem.) So I leave the house looking all nice and done-up, then the wind starts blowing and my hair goes into a schoolmarm's bun, and I basically finished looking cute for the day.

Which leads me to the other hindrance to my cuteness factor: rain. And to a lesser degree, cold. While I generally prefer dressing for cold than hot (because you can always put more on, but at a certain point you can no longer take anything else off), when it is both cold and wet, your shoe and clothing options become limited. I have to be prepared to become waterproof at any given time, which does not always translate into cuteness.

Now, you may think, dear reader, that this is all a non-issue and why am I wasting your precious time with this? And you would be right, but it's been weighing on my mind since I arrived, and as they say, "a burden shared is a burden halved, and this is my blog, so shut it."

I kid, I kid. The truth is, my experience here has been so good thus far that I'm really reaching for things to complain about. The weather the past two days has been wonderful, and while I'm sure nature is just lulling me into a false sense of security, I can't deny the beauty of this place (even when it's raining and windy).

Besides, when all is said and done and it's windy and raining and I have to bundle up and waterproof myself, this is still pretty cute:

Am I right?