September 2015: pre-class getaway to Edinburgh!

Right before having to start our second year at Bath, Begoña, Amélie and I decided to have a cheeky three-day getaway and go to Edinburgh. We booked our flights and hostel over the summer and left for the adventure last Friday. It was pretty intense as you shall see… 

On Friday, we woke up at 3am to get ready and catch our cab at 3:40am, as we had to get the 4am bus to the airport. Basically, we didn’t sleep and just ‘zombied’ around until we got to the airport. The bus driver was in a happy mood and I appreciated his energy, but we just wanted to roll back to sleep… Once in the airport, which was very busy for it being 5am, we directly  went through security because we travelled with only our hand luggage. It took us a bit longer than we expected but once we were through we still had over an hour wait until our flight, so we grabbed some breakfast and sat down on some seats to munch and become human again. The flight was also surprisingly full, but the trip was swift and we got to see a beautiful sunrise over the clouds. Once in Edinburgh – at last! – we got the Airlink bus to Waverly Station (circa 30’) and then dragged our suitcases up the hill and across the pebbles until we managed to get to our hostel. Fortunately, it had stopped raining by then and the sun was coming out, just in time. 

We stayed at Kickass Hostels, right next in front of the castle in the Grassmarket area. A few people had recommended it to me and it turned out to be amazing! Although we couldn’t check-in until one and had arrived there at like nine, they gave us some tokens to leave our luggage in the lockers and then we headed to the Kickass Café and crashed on a table. We decided we would rest for a couple of hours and have something to eat before joining the free tour run by the hostel.

Once the tour guide showed up, we found out that we were going to be quite a chill and small group. The guide - who was a Spanish girl in her twenties called Marina -, another Spanish guy, a Japanese girl and us three. We first walked up to Greyfriars Kirkyard, which is a very interesting graveyard in the city centre. Apparently, J.K. Rowling drew up quite an inspiration from it as we were able to see Tom Riddle’s grave, a couple of other characters’ names on the stones and the school right next to it, George Heriot's School, whose students are divided in houses and receive points for the year. Sounds familiar? We also learnt about some ghosts like the Covenanter or the dark story of the mortsafes… On our way out, we stopped by Greyfriar’s Bobby, a monument to the Greyfriars’ loyal lapdog that guarded his owner’s grave until he himself passed away. Then we strolled by The Elephant House, where J.K. Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter book and headed towards the Royal Mile and up to Edinburgh Castle. We then learnt about the stories of the former Nor Loch and walked towards the Scottish National Galleries and Scott’s Monument. Afterwards, a bit out of breath, we climbed up to Calton Hill to see the National Monument and the views of the city which were absolutely breath-taking! I loved that we could see the hills, the city and the sea at the same time, and Arthur’s Seat is impressive... Despite the sore muscles during the way up, it was definitely worth getting there! And the tour was great also. Marina gave us some advice on things to do and cheaper places to go and eat, which was a very valuable info!

Afterwards we returned to the hostel to check-in, which we did without a problem. The place was nice, clean and fairly spacious for a hostel, and the staff were very kind and energetic. The interior had been remade and given a modern twist, resembling the Quads a bit I think. Our room, number 203, had four bunk beds so we occupied two lowers and a top one. It was an 8 bed female dorm. The room was well equipped with your own lamp, locker, storage space, plugs etc. And you could see the castle from the window! Definitely worth a try if you plan on going to Edinburgh for a few days: https://kickasshostels.co.uk/ There is a bar and a café, with good value and great offers, and there are also plenty of toilets and showers which were regularly cleaned, a fully-equipped communal kitchen and a launderette. Anything you might possibly need to be honest!

Anyway, we dropped our bags and went out to find lunch. We finally decided for some savoury and sweet crêpes to eat under the sun in the small square in front of the hostel admiring the castle. We were so lucky to have such good weather! And the crêpes tasted delicious! We then decided to roam around for a bit. Amélie had to buy some flip-flops so we headed to Princes Street, stopping in the way to look at gorgeous rings and my dream vintage shop. I wish I had had more space in my suitcase! I would have gone wild! We ended up in the Princes Street Gardens enjoying the sun while sitting on a bench for quite a while. Once we decided it was time to wrap the day, we headed back through the Royal Mile, stopped at St. Giles Cathedral and then also stopped to watch some street performers including bagpipe players and Amazing Scott and his will to entertain. That was great fun!

That day we had dinner at the Kickass bar. Again, staffed by Spanish people. It surprised me how many Spanish people work there, not only in the hostel but in the city, I nearly heard more Spanish than Scottish accents! Then just showered and had an early night for the long first day. We were exhausted! 

On our second day, we got up early and headed for a nice breakfast at the bar. I had an English breakfast + haggis. The taste isn’t bad, the texture is repulsive. Not that it was great quality anyway, but I can proudly say I tried haggis and hate it! We then went to the Castle and queued for like half an hour to get our tickets for the day. Luckily, it was sunny and not too cold so the wait was bearable. The views from the castle yard are incredible, it was a pity that they were still dismantling the remains of Fringe Festival and one of the sides was closed off to the public… Once we got our tickets, we decided to walk down to the opposite side of the Royal Mile before meeting with my friend Denny. We stopped to buy some souvenirs and also visited the Scottish Parliament and saw Holyrood Palace from the outside. We stopped at the Museum of Childhood before heading to St. Giles to meet with Denny. By chance, a wedding was taking place at the cathedral and we got to see the bride arrive and the pictures with her bridesmaids being taken! So many paparazzi because hundreds of random tourists were also taking pictures of her! Once Denny arrived with her dog, she took us on a tour of the University of Edinburgh. We grabbed some lunch in Sainsbury’s and walked around the different buildings. The University is huge but so spread out! I would have loved to live in Edinburgh but the Uni looks like a pain to get to your different lecture theatres… We visited the central campus and south to The Meadows, were they were training Quidditch. Yes, you read right, Quidditch is actually a thing with its league and all. It was great to meet with Denny again after all this time and I am so thankful for her offering to show us around, so big thanks to her!

We then parted and went back to the Castle and headed in straight away. We got our money’s worth out of the audio guides as they were very concise but full of info and easy to use. We basically explored the castle, each to our own rhythm. I think the views of the city from the batteries were my favourite thing of the whole trip. They had some charts that indicated the names of the buildings and islands you could see, and the day was clear enough to appreciate everything. Even the more windy sides were incredible, despite the cold coming round there… What did surprise me is that the castle is smaller and less majestic than it looks from the outside, but the history it has is amazing and definitely worth paying the £19.50 for ticket and audio guide…

 

Once we were done at the Castle, we decided to give the Scottish National Galleries a try but they were closed by the time we got there. I did get a beautiful Celtic knot ring to remind me of the trip instead though, so the walk was worth it. Since that was closed, we walked to St. Mary’s Cathedral and admired the Gothic Architecture, and then came back to get dinner. We wanted to try The Standing Order, but apparently a rugby match was taking place and the restaurant was full to the brim. We went for Pizza Express instead. We were so tired from the day that we agreed to not go out to try a club or pub (a lot of people went out and the noise coming from the street was obvious), although I would’ve loved to. We went back to the hostel and that was a wrap.

On our third and last day we got woken up by some other girls leaving the room. We had to get up early anyway in order to leave the room by ten, so we got ready despite the showers being extremely crowded and checked out and dropped our luggage at the storage lockers. We then were let back in to have breakfast at the bar – scrambled eggs on toast, the only thing I can say with a Scottish accent, and waffles. We then decided to visit The National Museum of Scotland to see the part related to Scottish history and learn a bit more about the country. It was quite good and they had a vast collection of objects from the history of the Scots. The layout was a bit bizarre but the exhibition very complete. I particularly liked the rooms about the two World Wars and the Scottish migration to Australia during the second half of the 20^th century.

We then headed to the Scottish National Galleries. Begoña and I were more interested in arts so we took our time to admire the works. They have an impressive collection with works by very important painters and sculptors. I was very pleased with them and particularly enjoyed the Impressionist and Post-impressionist works by Gauguin, Van Gogh, Degas, Pisarro,… And the exhibition of Scottish paintings downstairs, with some works that I really liked. Mostly Pre-Raphaelite inspired, but given that we are talking about me, that doesn’t come as a surprise… 

Once we were done at the museum, we went to have lunch at The Standing Order. I chose chicken and avocado fajitas and salted caramel cheesecake. The place was pretty good so if you go to Edinburgh it is worth a visit if you are looking for a cheaper option. After lunch, Begoña and I wanted to visit the remaining Scottish Gallery but we had to pay an entrance fee so we skipped that. Instead, we went with Amélie around Princes Street and the Royal Mile to look for some souvenirs. We didn’t manage to join the 5pm Ghost Tour because it was Sunday so there was no session, which was a pity because we were really looking forward to that, so we went back to the hostel café to chill until six, when it closed. We then limited to picking up our luggage and leave for the airport, because we were so tired and didn’t really have much else to do instead. We took our time and luckily managed to avoid the rain that came in the evening. Everything was fine, although the security check was tedious and long, because it is so mechanical. There weren’t a lot of people so it just seemed even worse because it could’ve been a lot quicker if they had had another structure… Once inside, we settled at Costa and got some dinner. We had to wait for a couple of hours in the lounge before our flight, so we just killed time as we could, either napping or writing postcards or reading. The flight itself was alright, I spent most of it sleeping, although the landing was horrible because my ears popped and hurt. The bus back and all that was pretty straightforward and we arrived late and exhausted, but it was so worth the adventure. 

It was a great couple of days to say goodbye to the holidays. I loved Edinburgh and I will definitely be returning to Scotland in the future. If you have never been to this city, it is definitely worth it!

Fuerteventura.

Hace mucho que no escribo por escribir en este blog. Creo que a falta de inspiración. Demasiadas cosas que hacer, mucho en lo que pensar, y poco sobre lo que escribir. Quizás por eso al estar tirada en la playa majorera, simplemente disfrutando del sol sobre mi piel, volvió a aparecer esa necesidad interior por poner en palabras las sensaciones, en un amago de conservar el verano para recordarlo durante las frías noches invernales inglesas. Igual esta entrada de momentos aleatorios hilvanados unos con otros no tiene mucho sentido para muchos, pero lo tiene para mí, y con eso me basta.

Salgo a la terraza y me veo cara a cara con la kilométrica explanada terrosa, casi sin final, que se incendia de rojo con el sol del atardecer. La brisa del mar revuelve mi pelo salado y salvaje a la vuelta de la playa y cierro los ojos para respirar el aire puro. Otro ritmo, eso es lo que hay en esta isla. Polvo, arena, mar y tranquilidad. 

Ahora estoy en la playa, caminando por la orilla mientras las olas lamen mis pies hundiéndose en la arena. Las pequeñas caracolas hacen la croqueta arriba y abajo, arrastradas por el agua. Me agacho para recoger una. Un cauri. El primero este verano. Parece que la suerte me sonríe.

En el asiento trasero del coche, con los auriculares y la música a todo volumen, me siento sola. Sola mirando el paisaje, que se extiende en todas direcciones. Mares de lava solidificada y volcanes dormidos, cubiertos por una cúpula celeste que no para de cambiar de color. Amarillo, naranja, rojo, rosa. Luego viene el azul, cada vez más oscuro hasta tornarse negro. Y entonces aparecen las primeras estrellas, los luceros, esperando a que salga la luna. 

De nuevo en la playa, porque ¿dónde estar si no? La arena amarilla se encuentra con el mar turquesa, y las violentas olas rompen en la orilla. Y corro. Corro y no avanzo. En estas llanuras llenas de nada y de todo, el tiempo se para. Corro y corro y corro. Y luego avanzo, poco a poco, casi sin darme cuenta, mientras el cansancio me va ganando.

Con los ojos cerrados, me concentro en los rayos del sol sobre mi piel, ya más morena. Calor, sol picón, verano. Escuchando las olas y el viento. El viento, que levanta la arena y me llena el pelo rubio por el sol con motas blancas, negras, marrones. Conchas y piedras microscópicas de lugares lejanos y otras no tanto, que me acompañarán a casa aun cuando hayan pasado las semanas. Siempre viajera esa arena.

Forcejeando con el neopreno, cargando las pesadas tablas hasta el agua, aún no ha salido el sol, pero hay que llegar temprano para disfrutar de las olas antes de que lleguen las masas. Remar, remar, remar. Y luego esperar. Esperamos tanto que empieza a llover. Sentada sobre la tabla, alzo la cara hacia el cielo y extiendo los brazos. Dejo que las gotas de lluvia mojen mi ya salada y húmeda cara. Llueve en el mar, un sueño más cumplido.

Sentada en la terraza al caer la tarde, con el sol tiñendo el cielo de naranja. Mojito en una mano y libro en la otra. Disfrutando del fresco y del aire costero. Se acaba el verano, es hora de guardar las memorias y las sensaciones a buen recaudo, para ayudarme a sobrevivir un invierno más hasta el próximo año.

It has been long since I’ve written for the love of writing on this blog. Due to a lack of inspiration I believe. Too many things to do, a lot to think about, little to write. Maybe that’s why when being spread along the Maxo beach, merely enjoying the sun on my skin, that inner need to put sensations into words crawled up again, trying to preserve the summer for it to be remembered during the English cold winter nights. This entry of random moments stitched together might make no sense for many, but it does to me, and that’s enough.

I go out onto the terrace and find myself face to face with the long earthy esplanade, almost with no end, catching fire under the sunset sun. The sea breeze stirs my salty and wild hair straight out of the beach and I close my eyes to breath in the pure air. Another rhythm, that’s what there is in this island. Dust, sand, sea and peace.

 Now I am in the beach, walking by the shore while the waves lick my feet sinking into the sand. The small seashells roll up and down, pulled by the surf. I crouch to pick one up. A cowrie. The first one this summer. It looks like luck is on my side.

On the back seat of the car, with the earphones and music full blast, I feel alone. Alone watching the landscape extend in every direction. Seas of solidified lava and sleeping volcanoes covered by a celestial dome which changes colours non-stop. Yellow, orange, red, pink. Then comes blue, darker and darker each second until it turns black. And then the stars appear, the bright stars, waiting for the Moon to come out.

Again in the beach because, where else would I be? The yellow sand meets the turquoise water, and the violent waves break by the shore. And I run. I run but won’t advance. In these plains full of nothing and everything, time stops. I run and run and run. And then I advance, little by little, nearly without noticing it, while exhaustion takes over.

With eyes closed, I concentrate on the rays of sun on my sun-kissed skin, now tan. Heat, burning sun, summer. Listening to the waves and the wind. The wind that lifts the sand and fills my sun-bleached hair with white, black and brown specs. Microscopic seashells and stones from faraway places and some not so far, which will accompany me home weeks after leaving. Always travelling, that sand.

Fighting with the wetsuit, carrying the heavy boards to the water, the sun has still not come out, but we must be early if we want to enjoy the waves before the masses arrive. Row, row, row. And then wait. We wait for so long that it starts to rain. Sitting on the board, I lift my face towards the sky and spread my arms. I let the raindrops wet my already salty and moist face. It rains over the sea, another wish come true.

Sitting on the terrace under the setting sun, dying the sky tangerine. Drink in hand, a book on the other. Enjoying the cool fresh air coming from the sea. Summer is reaching its end, it’s time to safe-keep the memories and sensations of the season, to help me survive the winter. Until next year.

My advice for Freshers aka. first-year students

Hey! I’m Zoe, a second year student at the University of Bath, and today I’ve decided to hand down some tips about the first year at Uni (hopefully applicable to any Uni in the UK, but more closely to Bath, of course) based on my own experience. Hope you find it useful!

PRE-ARRIVAL

Before actually getting there, you have probably spent countless hours scouting the Internet to find out everything you can about the new chapter in your life that you’ll start in September. I guess you pretty much know the Uni’s website by heart, and have watched YouTube videos on end about advice, Freshers’ Week, etc. Out of excitement, I know. I did the same. And probably most, if not all, of what you’ve read/watched is useful. I would just suggest you don’t omit the less exciting but essential things that will actually help you once you are there: if you don’t know, learn how to cook, clean and manage your money. Ask your parents or the people around you, look it up, however you might prefer to do it, but learn a bit at least. A couple of recipes that will help you out when you have to cook in bulk; how to do the laundry and not mess up your clothes; how to clean a bathroom; how to stay on top of your expenses so you don’t find yourself in red numbers. All worth it. I know there are far more exciting things you could be finding out about like your fancy dress gear for FW, but really don’t ignore these vital chores.

LIVING IN HALLS

One of the best things about the first year at University is living in halls. You get to experience freedom and independence; you meet tons of new people, some of with which you will become friends for life; you are close to your classes so you can sleep in in the mornings. However great and awesome halls might be, there are still a couple of things to watch out for. First, you will be living with a lot of strangers for a year and sharing a lot of facilities, so keep things to a decent cleaning and noise standard. Talking of noise, halls are noisy. That is a fact. People go out every night, shout when they are drunk, play loud music. You should definitely get some plugs or else you will just have to survive with the racket (which I don’t recommend, it won’t benefit your results). Another tip: don’t mess with your sleeping patterns! You sleep less at Uni, whether it is because you are late with your work and have to finish an assignment due tomorrow morning, or because you are a night-owl who parties all night, try to stick to an homogenous sleeping pattern. Above all, don’t let yourself sleep in until late, particularly mid-week, because you will feel tired the rest of the day (and possibly, week) and will have wasted good working time. Use the alarm clock and don’t be lazy! Another piece of advice is to choose a non-catered accommodation. I lived in Brendon Court during my first year, which was catered for. Here is a link to a more in-depth post about the hall: http://gathering-smithereens.blogspot.com.es/2015/08/brendon-court.html. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Brendon Court: I made a lot of friends, enjoyed my time there, and having catering credit spared me from cooking which I hate. But in retrospective, I think another choice –perhaps non-catered like Eastwood or Westwood, or semi-catered like the Quads- would have been better. Simply because I think the community feel of those halls was better precisely because people spent more time together in the kitchen and the groups you share with are slightly smaller than Brendon. 

And last, I would like to mention the British drinking culture. I am Spanish from the Canary Islands, so stories about drunken Brits causing mayhem were not that rare, however, it still shocked me once I arrived in the UK how much young people in Britain drink. Right from the start, which, I will give it to you, was Freshers’ Week when everyone gets a bit carried away by the parties and will to make new friends, I was shocked at the amount of alcohol people could drink before they actually went out. I guess the culture shock was more acute here. Generally, in Spain, we drink a couple of beers while we chat and when we go out, maybe also some spirits and shots, but not with the purpose of getting absolutely wasted. In the UK, as far as my experience has shown me, it seems like young people mostly have fun with drinking games- the faster they get you drunk, the better- during which, yes, you somewhat socialize, but can you consider getting wasted to the point some people drop to the ground actual fun? The aim seems to be getting wasted before you’ve actually reached the club. I don’t think I will ever understand the fun in this.

FRESHERS’ WEEK

FW seems to be the massive event of the year everybody is looking out for. It was awesome, that’s for sure. To me it was a once in a lifetime experience when I was able to learn more about Uni, get tons of freebies, join amazing societies and, the most important, meet loads of new people and have fun! I would suggest you make the most of it by attending your inductions, when you will meet your teachers and classmates, learn more about the structure of your course and any books you might need, and get your printed timetable (the staple of your new life!). It will also be the time to meet your Peer Mentor if your University and Faculty offers the Peer Mentoring Scheme, and when the societies and sport clubs will be showcased and looking for new members, so try to get involved as much as you can! It was then when I met my closest friends at Uni, so try to get the conversation going with anybody really. It is as easy as saying “Hi, I’m… What’s your name? What are you studying?” It is the one moment you can walk up to a stranger and randomly introduce yourself without coming across as creepy! Just be that person who takes the first step, you will make friends easily and a lot of people (especially those more introvert) will be grateful you came up to them! And last but not least, FW is not such a big deal. A lot of people build the whole thing up as it were to be the best week of your life, which it might not. It wasn’t for me, even though it was an amazing experience. Just be safe, don’t feel pressured and enjoy yourself!

YOUR DEGREE

You’ve come to Uni to study, right? Yes, among other things. The way British Universities work, or at least mine does, is that the first year of your degree doesn’t count towards your final degree results. You have to pass your subjects, that’s for sure, but you don’t have the pressure of having to ace them. Teachers kept telling us first year is the time to experiment, to try something new, an approach to study you’ve never done before. My advice is this: make the most of this by socializing as much as you can; go out, try new things, meet lots of people. But keep on top of your workload! You are here to study after all. If you do your responsibilities, the work won’t pile up and you will avoid stressing out around exam season. Just do your homework and learn to balance your activities with your course. In my opinion, semester one was easier than the second one, so I’m really glad I kept on top of things and had gotten the hang of it by the time things got harder! Also, the Library will become your second home during exam/deadline season, you mark my words! Anyway, you are at Uni to study something that you love (hopefully), so in general, you will like all of your subjects (some more than others of course) and teachers will be helpful on the most part. Just try to enjoy it, it should be a field that you like and so that’s what you should be doing!

CAMPUS LIFE

University life is awesome; you get the taste of proper adult life, without being totally emancipated. But you are here for advice, so here it comes. First, learn this, because if you aren’t already accustomed to it, you will be come in no time. This is the truth:

Second, socializing. It is so important! You have to get yourself out of your comfort zone and try out new things. Join societies that interest you, and others that sound amazing but you never thought you’d have the guts to try! Even if you end up not doing half of them (which will happen, believe me, because you don’t have enough time or because they don’t work out as you expected). But these are the opportunities – societies, volunteering, the course you are studying, sports, flatmates, part-time jobs,- these are the moments when you will be meeting new people and not just when you go out at night. In my experience, I was an introvert and non-drinker, so it took me a lot of effort to put myself out there and, of course, I didn’t do it all in one go (you shouldn’t try to be someone you are not at Uni, that’s another tip) but I did brace myself and do volunteering, taster sessions,… I even went to a random Erasmus Meeting which was anything but enticing on a late rainy night, which turned out to be great because I met older students from my course who gave me priceless advice! 

Anyway, even though you will meet lots of people, you will only become close with a few, and you will still feel homesick. I felt really alone at times and even cried about it. I missed my home and somewhat questioned my decision of studying so far from home. There is always help if you need it, so talk to someone. Be it at home, someone from Uni – tutors, mentors, friends- or call a helpline, but speak to somebody if you feel you need to. We all go through this phase of homesickness, particularly the internationals with all this culture shock. And it will all get better and soon enough it will be the most needed holidays again and you will go back home for a while! Honestly, holidays give you life, even if they are still kind of a lie because of the deadlines and work… And finally, let me mention the queues. I just have to. I’m definitely going to dread the microwave queues next year but taking into account that there are thousands of students at University, all going to lunch pretty much at the same time, in pretty much the same places... Do your maths; some queues even went out of the buildings at times. Have patience, and eat fast!

Anyway, as you probably know from the post, my main conclusions from my first year at Uni are: you gain independence and grow as a person as you have to take care of yourself (cooking, cleaning, sorting the bank and doctors…), manage your studies and make the decisions for yourself; as you grow, you will find out that University changes you – you will realize it especially when you go back home for the holidays – just make sure it is for the best; and make the most of it! It will be your only first year and time flies so grab those opportunities and have a blast! Life is always an adventure.

As usual, any questions, feel free to ask :)

Advice for second years here.