Maarten during his time in Edinburgh

Maarten in Edinburgh: “My Scottish barber has a parrot.”

Everyone here is just a little bit politer, and strangers, usually the people serving you a drink somewhere, actually enjoy having conversations with you. They want to know how your day is going, what you are up to, and whether you will be giving them a good review on Yelp.

Another thing I’ve noticed, which might seem minor, is that in Edinburgh there are hardly any trash cans (English: bins) when you need one. My coat pockets are usually stuffed with wrappers and other pieces of plastic for several minutes, reminding me I should start eating better.

Not feeling homesick is not an attack

Not really one to get homesick, I do try and Skype with my family often enough (which for me is about once every month and a half), and chat with my friends back home almost daily. I did get a wee (very Scottish thing to say) bit homesick when I got my first haircut here. The woman was very nice, and she had a parrot, but my hometown barber just gets me. It’s going to take forever to build that trust again.

I feel very at home here in Edinburgh, and that is probably the reason I do not get homesick here. I do however get a little pang of guilt every now and then when I realize I am not feeling homesick, and that it feels like I am supposed to feel that way. It’s the thing everyone asks you about and telling people you aren’t homesick feels almost like an attack on them, personally. I don’t feel homesick does not equate to I do not miss you. Mom.

Befriend your local independent baristas. Not only are they able to serve you good coffee (sometimes food too!), but often barista-ing goes well with an interest in art, literature, and marihuana, so you’ll always have something to talk about. Or, if you’re not interested in coffee (what?), do the same thing at a place of your choice.

True Edinburgh style

Describing them in three words: Miserabilist barry pals.

There’s no food here I wouldn’t eat. I do remember celebrating my first ever Canadian Thanksgiving with some classmates, and I could not handle how full I was after that experience. We just ate and ate, and then people would show up with more food and we would just eat and eat and it was amazing.

BBQ versus Arthur’s Seat

There’s unfortunately no such thing as a cheap cocktail here, but yes, the nature is overwhelming, in the best way possible. I live somewhere in between the Meadows and Holyrood Park, which means I can walk one way for about half an hour and find myself among people barbequing or using the free golf range, or I can walk half an hour the other way, and be on top of Arthur’s Seat.

I climbed Arthur’s Seat my first day here. At the top, a massive raincloud became visible from the other side of town, creeping my way fast. Several tourists around me became giggly, as we were in for some bad weather, with no way to make it off in time. We all looked each other in the eye and nodded our heads. We didn’t need to say anything, we knew. We would make it out of here alive, wet, and together.

The rain lasted maybe 4 minutes and was just a little drizzle.

I wiped my glasses on my shirt, hoisted my backpack on my shoulders, and started the trek down.

My experience that day, the thing I learned, is that maybe, just maybe, I tend to get a little dramatic sometimes.

Create your own experiences

I don’t fully know how to answer this question. My life is shaped by the people I’ve met, by the people I live with, and the people with whom I share a classroom. I would not recommend you to do the same because they are mine, find your own friends. Create your own experiences. You can do it. I know you can.  Take some extra Vitamin D supplements, go outside, walk or bike (not for the faint of heart) everywhere, drink amazing coffee, try the (veggie) haggis, drink some whiskey, drink some Tenements, order Chinese food, watch Trainspotting again, pause it, turn on subtitles, unpause. Enjoy.