If you’ve ever heard anything about Freshers’ Week at British universities, you’ll know that they’re generally regarded as week-long parties and nonstop socializing. This proved to be true at Edinburgh, and the picture below accurately sums up my feelings about it.
Fresher’s Week in a nutshell; Margi and I couldn’t keep up with these kids and their youthful energy!
While I enjoy an evening out as much as the next person, I can’t do a pub crawl every single night and be sane or happy. In fact, after the welcome meeting for our residences halls Sunday afternoon, we had an RA-led tour of the bars in our neighborhood (I did meet a number of friendly girls there, though). Coupled with icebreaker activities that sent me straight back to freshman orientation at Kenyon, I was thrilled for the start of lectures this week.
Of course, it wasn’t all bar nights and flat parties – I went to loads of society meetings and University sponsored events throughout the week, which proved to be much more conducive to meeting new people than the nighttime activities. On Monday, I toured the National Museum of Scotland with the Archaeology Society. Even though we didn’t see all of the exhibits (the museum has nearly four floors full of artifacts and displays, it was nice to have a group with which to explore. The next morning, I headed to the Centre for Sport and Exercise to sign up for a gym membership. I thought I had been spoiled by Kenyon’s gorgeous athletic center, but the CSE takes it to another level altogether! There’s a huge cardio room with dozens of machines attached to a weightlifting area as well as a few other arenas for training.
Tuesday was also the mandatory meeting for all visiting students at the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, so we piled into the cavernous George Square Lecture Theatre to learn about the different services and resources offered to students on exchange. Afterwards, Sam, Grace, Aliya, and I went to The Elephant House to refuel. The Elephant House, by the way, is where JK Rowling was known to sit and write the first sections of the Harry Potter series. They also do a fantastic cappuccino.
Casually caffeinating at the same place JK Rowling penned Harry Potter.
Some of the Harry Potter-themed graffiti in The Elephant House bathroom.
Later that night, after attending a meet and greet for different activist groups, I picked up some Indian food with my friend Margi and we ate in her flat while watching Come Dine with Me, a British reality show featuring four individuals trying to throw the best dinner party in order to win a thousand pounds.
Wednesday was the Societies’ Fair, which IFSA-Butler highly encouraged us to attend. The University of Edinburgh has roughly 260 societies, which made for a bit of an overwhelming experience, but I enjoyed walking around and surveying all the groups on offer. I ended up signing up for:
- Edinburgh Archaeology Outreach Project (a club that aims to educate children about archaeology and various aspects of prehistory)
- Fresh Air Student Radio (the girl promoting this society sold me when she said there were opportunities for marketing and design)
- Social Anthropology Society (an academic society, as the name would suggest)
- Feminism Society (a group for those who identify as feminists)
- Kickboxing Society (a sports club that meets a few times a week for training)
I’m sure I was conned into signing up for more than just these societies (just as I’m sure that I won’t be attending the meetings for all of these groups), but the Societies’ Fair proved to be a fun way to meet different students and see all that the student groups have to offer. That afternoon I was also able to attend the kickboxing taster session, which was so much fun! It was nice to meet a few upperclassmen and the workout was great (I’d like to thank 7 years of Tae Kwon Do for preparing me for that).
Later that night, Margi and I went to meet some friends at their flat before heading out. On the way to Frankenstein, a spooky-themed bar, we picked up Margi’s flatmates at a pub in the student union. Coincidentally, the party happening there was an “American-Style Frat Party” complete with people dressed in togas, beer pong, red Solo cups, and sticky floors. I’m not sure the party’s organizers appreciated my remarking “How cute!” at everything, but it was pretty funny to see how American stereotypes were interpreted in that setting.
Thursday was a low key day. Margi and I went to the Feminist Society’s meet and greet and that’s about all we did that day. On Friday, I registered with the University Health Centre and tried to get a ticket for a tour of the castle, but they sold out only twenty minutes after the box office opened. I opted to scout out all my classroom locations instead before heading to the Writers’ Museum with my friend Emily. I can’t say I enjoyed it as as much as the National Museum, but is was something to do (and it was free!), so I’m glad we checked it out. We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around Old Town, walking up to the castle gates and then back down towards the University, also stopping by Greyfriars Kirkyard.
Greyfriars Bobby, the Hachi of Edinburgh.
Me and my new furry friend.
Greyfriars Kirkyard (graveyard for my American compatriots).
That night, Margi, her flatmates, and I headed off to the Big Céilidh, which was fun since it was a much larger scale than the first dance. However, in the small Potterrow dance hall this meant that there was a lot more bumping into people and very little space for spectators.
Saturday morning, Margi and I climbed Arthur’s Seat. We stumbled upon a parade while walking there. Apparently, Saturday was a celebration for the Loyal Orange Lodge (LOL for short, which made me laugh when I read the abbreviation on peoples’ uniforms) and the charming tradition of burning Catholics. Most of the paraders were also very staunchly “No” voters on the matter of the referendum, which was interesting as it seems there has been more vocal lobbying on the side of the “Yes” vote.
“Proud to be British, proud to be Scottish.”
After looking at the parade for a bit, we eventually made our way down to Holyrood Park. On the first day of the trip some other students and I walked around Arthur’s Seat but didn’t make it anywhere near the summit, so I was really looking forward to actually climbing to the top.
Arthur’s Seat from its lower peaks.
The path upwards.
We had beautiful weather for the hike – warm for Edinburgh, but not too hot – and my only complaint was that it was a bit too hazy to take full advantage of the view. Nonetheless, it was very pretty up there and I’m glad I was able to check this spot off my Edinburgh bucket list.
The view from the top.
I’m sporty sometimes. Note the math team shirt that made it across the pond.
Margot and Margi, hiking extraordinaires.
After the climb, we took the long way down (only to find that instead of ascending via rocky, narrow paths, there was a gently sloping grass route) and stopped into a curry shop on South Clerk Street for a late lunch.
That night was the Freshers’ Ball, so I headed over to Margi’s flat to hang out beforehand (I’m slowly becoming an honorary member of their household). Margi, Lisa, Emma, Kenzie, and I stopped at another flat for predrinks with some of Lisa and Kenzie’s Law friends, where this happened:
Not pictured: Willy actually playing the bagpipes pre-Freshers’ Ball.
We ended up arriving at the Freshers’ Ball pretty late, missing both the long queues and the the real party!
All in all, Freshers’ Week was incredibly busy and exhausting, leaving me with a slight cold and fully ready to take on classes. That being said, it was a great time for meeting new people seeing more of the city!