Maarten during his time in Edinburgh

Everyone here is just a bit more polite, and strangers—usually people serving you drinks—like to chat with you. They want to know how your day is going, what your plans are, and whether you’ll give them a good review on Yelp.

Another thing I’ve noticed, which might seem small, is that in Edinburgh there are almost no trash bins when you need one. My coat pockets usually get filled for a few minutes with wrappers and other bits of plastic, which reminds me I should eat better.

Not feeling homesick isn’t an insult

I’m not really someone who gets homesick. I do try to Skype my family often enough (for me, about once every month and a half) and I message my friends back home almost daily. I did get a wee bit homesick (very Scottish way to say it) when I had my first haircut here. The woman was very kind and had a parrot, but my barber back home just understands me. It will take forever to rebuild that trust.

I feel very much at home in Edinburgh, and that’s probably why I’m not homesick here. But I do get a bit guilty about it because it feels like I should feel homesick. It’s the thing everyone asks about, and telling people you’re not homesick almost feels like a personal attack on them. Not feeling homesick doesn’t mean I don’t miss you. Mum.

Make friends with your local independent baristas. They can serve you great coffee (sometimes food too!), but baristas often also have interests in art, literature, and marijuana, so you’ll always have something to talk about. Or, if you’re not interested in coffee (what?), do the same at a place of your choice.

True Edinburgh Style

Description in three words: Miserabilist barry pals.

There isn’t any food here that I wouldn’t eat. I remember celebrating my first Canadian Thanksgiving with a few classmates and I couldn’t believe how full I felt after that experience. We just kept eating and eating, then people brought more food and we ate even more, and it was amazing.

BBQ versus Arthur’s Seat

Unfortunately, there’s no such thing as a cheap cocktail here, but YES, nature is overwhelming—in the best possible way. I live somewhere between the Meadows and Holyrood Park, which means I can walk about half an hour and suddenly find myself among people having barbecues or using the free golf course, or I can walk half an hour the other way to the top of Arthur’s Seat.

I climbed Arthur’s Seat on my first day here. Once at the top, a huge rain cloud appeared on the other side of the city and quickly crawled toward us. Several tourists around me giggled because we were ready for some bad weather and knew we wouldn’t make it down in time. We all looked at each other and nodded. We didn’t need to say anything because we all knew: we would survive it together, wet.

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

I wiped my glasses on my shirt, hoisted my backpack onto my shoulders, and began the descent.

My takeaway from that day, what I learned, is that maybe, just maybe, sometimes I can be a little dramatic.

Make Your Own Experiences

My life is shaped by the people I’ve met, the people I live with, and the people I share a class with. I wouldn’t advise you to do exactly the same because these are mine—find your own friends. Make your own experiences. You can do it. I know you can. Take some extra vitamin D supplements, get outside, walk or bike everywhere, drink delicious coffee, try the (vegetarian) haggis, have some whisky, drink a few Tenements, order Chinese food, watch Trainspotting, pause it, turn on subtitles, watch again. Enjoy.