Leah Petr
Napier University
On our first Monday in Edinburgh, we had our official welcome from the school. All of the North American students studying at Napier for the semester piled into a classroom as all of the EU exchange students filed out. In all there must be close to 300 of us temporary foreigners. This 300 estimation applies only to the single-semester studiers; Napier has a very large percentage of European students who chose to come here for their entire “uni” education. Even after being in Edinburgh for only such a short time, we are coming to realize that the city is very similar to Napier in this regard: there are very few actual Scottish people living here. It’s an extremely international city which I think is great. It makes the place thrive and adds all kinds of foreign flavors to create a very exciting atmosphere.
Anyway, we were welcomed, given some much-needed information, and sent on our way with a schedule of the week’s events, both academic and social. The first social event on the agenda was a Welcome/Welcome Back (for people here on year-long exchanges) party at the Golf Tavern which just happens to be right next door to my flat. From all of my pre-departure google mapping, I knew that there was a pub in close vicinity to my building, but it was so exciting to actually see it and set foot inside of this great place. It has all the ambiance you would expect of a traditional tavern/pub. It’s not the grungy kind of place where the history is palpable in the worn wooden benches you sit on, but rather hearkens back to this kind of feel without sacrificing comfort, cleanliness, or design. The walls are paneled in dark woods with niches of book shelves crammed with old tomes. The plush leather and velvet arm chairs and couches are arranged perfectly to accommodate the socializing patrons. Fantastic Victorian-style mirrors adorn the ceilings and a suit of armor stands in the corner by the door to the bathrooms (more about the knight another time). Somehow they managed to work about 10 big screen TVs into the décor without anything seeming to clash, a necessity for the football- and rugby-crazed Scots.
After the insubstantial hike from our flat next door, we made our way upstairs to the second level of the tavern which was reserved for our party. Even though we planned a fashionably-late arrival we were still some of the first people there so we made ourselves comfortable at a set of facing couches. We got comfortable and settled into our easy conversation, not even realizing that a lot more people were pouring in. When we looked around, we knew we looked like the snooty Americans sitting in a corner refusing to mingle with anyone else, so we jumped up and made some efforts to meet people. It was surprisingly difficult given the amount of alcohol flowing around the place, but it seems that we weren’t the only ones who had found a group of students from the motherland and had quickly formed bonds. It definitely took awhile for everyone to warm up and separate from the friends they had already made. With the bar being so incredibly packed and noisy, I was proud that we managed to communicated with anyone at all, especially while having to decipher some crazy accents.
It wasn’t a crazy fun night, but we did come out with a few new friends: Cailyn’s Germans, Alex’s German, more Germans, Stephanie’s Scottish bartender, a Northern Irishman, a Spaniard, a Swede, a Canadian, and a few more. It’s really amazing how this gathering was bringing people from all over the world together. It would be fascinating to count how many languages the people in that crowded tavern could speak.
Napier University
On our first Monday in Edinburgh, we had our official welcome from the school. All of the North American students studying at Napier for the semester piled into a classroom as all of the EU exchange students filed out. In all there must be close to 300 of us temporary foreigners. This 300 estimation applies only to the single-semester studiers; Napier has a very large percentage of European students who chose to come here for their entire “uni” education. Even after being in Edinburgh for only such a short time, we are coming to realize that the city is very similar to Napier in this regard: there are very few actual Scottish people living here. It’s an extremely international city which I think is great. It makes the place thrive and adds all kinds of foreign flavors to create a very exciting atmosphere.
Anyway, we were welcomed, given some much-needed information, and sent on our way with a schedule of the week’s events, both academic and social. The first social event on the agenda was a Welcome/Welcome Back (for people here on year-long exchanges) party at the Golf Tavern which just happens to be right next door to my flat. From all of my pre-departure google mapping, I knew that there was a pub in close vicinity to my building, but it was so exciting to actually see it and set foot inside of this great place. It has all the ambiance you would expect of a traditional tavern/pub. It’s not the grungy kind of place where the history is palpable in the worn wooden benches you sit on, but rather hearkens back to this kind of feel without sacrificing comfort, cleanliness, or design. The walls are paneled in dark woods with niches of book shelves crammed with old tomes. The plush leather and velvet arm chairs and couches are arranged perfectly to accommodate the socializing patrons. Fantastic Victorian-style mirrors adorn the ceilings and a suit of armor stands in the corner by the door to the bathrooms (more about the knight another time). Somehow they managed to work about 10 big screen TVs into the décor without anything seeming to clash, a necessity for the football- and rugby-crazed Scots.
After the insubstantial hike from our flat next door, we made our way upstairs to the second level of the tavern which was reserved for our party. Even though we planned a fashionably-late arrival we were still some of the first people there so we made ourselves comfortable at a set of facing couches. We got comfortable and settled into our easy conversation, not even realizing that a lot more people were pouring in. When we looked around, we knew we looked like the snooty Americans sitting in a corner refusing to mingle with anyone else, so we jumped up and made some efforts to meet people. It was surprisingly difficult given the amount of alcohol flowing around the place, but it seems that we weren’t the only ones who had found a group of students from the motherland and had quickly formed bonds. It definitely took awhile for everyone to warm up and separate from the friends they had already made. With the bar being so incredibly packed and noisy, I was proud that we managed to communicated with anyone at all, especially while having to decipher some crazy accents.
It wasn’t a crazy fun night, but we did come out with a few new friends: Cailyn’s Germans, Alex’s German, more Germans, Stephanie’s Scottish bartender, a Northern Irishman, a Spaniard, a Swede, a Canadian, and a few more. It’s really amazing how this gathering was bringing people from all over the world together. It would be fascinating to count how many languages the people in that crowded tavern could speak.