Going Plaid 2: The first week and Fringe

The plane from Newark arrived late so straight after Tom and Eunice (the wonderful amazing glorious family that agreed to house me and love me and take care of me this year) picked me up. We went to their place dropped off my stuff, changed called the family, and immediately went out for the whole day. We went to the fringe festival, got tickets for 3 different programs High Jinx with the Hamiltons, Wedding Band and Silence in Court. The Hamiltons are a celebrity couple, the husband is an ex politician who left politics because of a scandal, and together they started this chat show. They featured guests who were all having shows at the fringe so it was good to watch them first that way we could figure out what was worth seeing and what wasn’t. It was a fun show and from watching it we decided to see one of the featured artists in his little play Wedding Band. It’s a typical wedding and the singer and his mates are making all the preparations to play that night. The main character was great but his friend stole the show, it was funny and simple and sweet.

Next we walked around Edinburgh for a bit, we went all down the Royal Mile. (the road that leads from Edinburgh Castle to Holyrood Palace) the road was cut off from traffic and the streets were lines with touists street performers and an endless sea of people handing out fliers for their fringe shows. Then we had dinner at a Californian restaurant. It was pretty good too, I didn’t realize that there could be a wholly Californian restaurant, but I liked it immensely. After dinner they asked me if I was tired yet and wants some sleep, and of course I was too excited, I was starting to feel tired but I couldn’t let that stop me.

Our last show was a great drama. I basically presided over a rape case, and I totally called it. The premise is the audience is the jury, there are no witnesses and no evidence, just his story against hers. You hear them out and you get to cross examine them. The actors and actresses had to be very fluid in their lines and had to be ready to answer our questions. The way the end was done changed each time depending on the verdict, and it was by far my favorite fringe show.

Edinburgh is BEAUTIFUL! I can’t believe how incredibly gorgeous it is, the buildings are all artistic in design and structure and you can tell there is a story and a history in every brick, in every cobblestone. I spent the whole time gawping at the view, it is really just sensational, I didn’t even bother to bring out my camera that first day, I was too much in awe, plus I would have really looked like a tourist. That night we caught a cab home, talked to my parents once more and finally went to sleep.

End of Day 1

On Day 2 I slept in until noon. But each day I began to get more and more on track with the time difference and over my jetlag. Some days we went out, other days I went out with Ross and Julie. (Tom and Eunice’s daughter and son in law) We walked in and out of the closes (alleys) listened to folk music, wandered through Grassmarket (a great part of town) and saw a lot of street performers. My favorite part of that week was going to Camera Obscura with Tom. A camera obscura is a camera or type of pinhole camera placed up high with a 360 degree view of the city, it is projected down into a small room where people can see, but that was just the beginning. This place was 7 floors high with something new and fascinating on each floor. On one floor is a bunch of history, old pictures of Edinburgh when the city was being built and modernized, pinhole camera photos and so much information. Other floors featured optical illusions holograms and play areas like photo booths that morph your face, a make your own kaleidoscope program, an infrared camera, and a mirror image camera. There were also a mirror maze room, a morph mirror room, a tricolor shadow room, a 'leave your shadow behind on the wall' area and so much more. It costs something to go to the actual camera obscura show but I think free to visit all the rest of the floors, and its right on the Royal Mile where the real heart of the city is.

Our last experience with the Fringe festival ended on a somewhat sour note. We went to see a comedy chat show, where people from the festival talked and did bits from their routines. It was completely vulgar. I am usually all for people having a right to say whatever they want, its what freedom of expression is all about, but someone should have warned me what that show was, and I wouldn’t have gone, because I was literally cringing in embarrassment. I was so uncomfortable that I sank lower and lower in my chair and wished I was anywhere else. I knew that Tom and Eunice were just as uncomfortable as me but we didn’t have an easy path to the door and were too cowardly to walk out from the front row. They all used crude language, which in itself I wouldn’t have minded much, but the subject matter was mostly about sex and just gross for grossness sake. We learned our lesson from that show and vowed to never again be shy about leaving a show you don’t like.

I went sightseeing and shopping and wandering around. One day Tom and Eunice said “go off wandering for a bit” they gave me bus fair and set me off. I went over to the west end of Prince’s street, the main shopping strip, walked over to the Scott Monument (my favorite building) and wandered back to the place I’ll be staying for the year. From there I caught the bus back to Tom and Eunice’s house. They were proud that I figured out where to go and how to get there on my own.

The jetlag and pushing myself out into the cold lowered my immune system a bit and I caught a small cold on the last few days. It didn’t move down to my chest thankfully, just lingered in my sinuses. Eunice knew just how to take care of me, she made me soup and gave me ibuprofen and gave me vapor rub to put on my chest within a few days it was gone. She also wouldn’t let me out of the house one day until I had my jacket and scarf on. It’s really sweet the way she takes care of me.

The rest of the week was just me getting used to the city and getting ready to move in. Next post I’ll share my first experience in my new flat and Fresher’s Week.