Orientation

Alright, let's get back to it.

Sunday was orientation for all of the new visiting students where we got the low down on the school, a campus tour, and lunch. Some interesting things about the university:

• It's really old
• It's really prestigious
• Lots of important people went here
• It's really international

Now, that last point may be true for non-exchange students, but, based on the "sit down when the country you're from is called" game we played, I'd say close to 70% of the second semester exchange kids were from the States. Not that that's a bad thing, but I expected a bit of a wider distribution. I only counted three other kids who sat down when I did, so it looks like the Canadian contingent here is pretty small. I also didn't expect that so many people have never heard of Toronto, based on the number of times I've had to explain where exactly it is. So far Vancouver is the most recognized city, no doubt in part to having hosted the Olympics, and a select few have heard of Montreal. Fear not—I only use Toronto as a reference point to explain where Mississauga is and don't pretend to actually live there.

Some other things I learned during the presentation was that 40% counts as a pass here (!) , but apparently it's very rare to get above 75% because "there's no grade inflation." They also recommend about 13 hours/week of studying per class outside of class, which is something I almost certainly won't adhere to. The last point that was stressed is that UK students tend to understate the amount of studying they do and to thus proceed with caution when they tell is it's fine to go to the pub with them because "[they've] done no work too."

The tour did a nice job of highlighting all of the important buildings on campus, and it's a mix of old and new architecture. I'd have to say the most impressive were Teviot (the oldest student union building in the world) and McEwan, which is used for graduation and other fancy events. Teviot has four students pubs inside, one of which I went to last night (Library Bar). Not only was it one of the nicest student bars I've been in (Gert's, while holding a special place in my heart, sets a low standard), but it was also one of the nicest bars I've been in ever. Unfortunately I don't have pictures of them yet, mostly because I'd feel a bit tool-ish taking photos on campus, but I will in due time.

A few of us went shopping after lunch for things we needed and I got my first glimpse at the historic Royal Mile and New Town.

Looking at the New Town from the North Bridge.

Across the bridge again. Double-decker buses!

I don't know what this is, but it's still impressive.

I think the middle tower might be the Nelson Monument. Waverley Station is in the foreground.

Walking around the city was pretty surreal and I felt out of place amongst the thousand-year-old buildings. It's a really beautiful, albeit dark, city and I look forward to exploring more of it.

Our final flatmate moved in when I got back. His name is Kevin and he's from Amherst, Mass., studying at Bates in Maine. We were immediately at odds with him being a Bruins fan, but the tension quickly dissipated when we realized we both want to play some hockey here and golf in St Andrew's this semester. Hopefully these things materialize sometime in the next 5 months.

I was going to post more, but this is lengthy enough as is. Here are some photos that should've accompanied earlier posts:

Plane from Pearson.

Fire truck outside of the dorm.