July 14th - First Day Back, The Royal Mile and Haggis

I woke up at 4:22 this morning thinking I had overslept because it was so light outside. I hadn't. I still had to check all available clocks to make sure. Of course, then I was kind of up. I slept for a little bit longer. Kasia got up to go for her run and turned on the main lights on accident. When she left I was able to sleep for an extra 30 minutes before getting ready.

Breakfast was in the hotel and wasn't bad. They have the option of vegetarian sausage, but I didn't ask for it. I went with two pieces of toast, a croissant, a Scottish pancake, and a chocolate croissant with some orange juice. Not the best food or selection, but it did its job. After breakfast, we made our way up to the Hilton hotel for our first day of classes. Surprisingly, everything is rather close together. It wasn't a far walk especially when you're in the company of friends and excited for the day's activities. We walked past the Balmoral hotel where J.K. Rowling finished writing Harry Potter. Then we went across the bridge that had great views of the city.

The Hilton, is a much nicer hotel than the one we are sleeping in. It is more of the standard we had in Rome. It was a nice change in scenery. Our welcome back lecture was good as well as the faculty readings. I'm still a bit jet lagged so I really had to work at not falling asleep a couple of times and not because things were boring.

For lunch, Mary, Alisha, and I set out for the Royal Mile. We ate at a nice place across from St. Giles Cathedral. I had a potato-leek-blue cheese soup and pasta. A nice meal while watching the grim reaper survey the tourists walking by and listening to the street musician. Service really is not the highlight here. And of course I got a bit of a sunburn from the sun which shouldn't be out in Scotland but is. Grrr!

Alisha went back to the hotel for her orientation and Mary and I checked out some tourist shops with the extra hour we had as well as more street performers. It was nice relaxing hour before workshop which I was kind of nervous about.

For all my worry, workshop was amazing. We spent the first bit just getting to know each other. It was really nice to have that time available to us and to be with just a ya group compared to last year's mixed bunch. When we came back after break, Leslea put us through some writing exercises. At first I was a bit hesitant because they had to do with remembering plus the pressure to perform on command. It ended up being really great, especially because I was writing again. It was actually a really good starter and I might just steal it for my students. :)
After class, I set up a time to conference with Leslea (Sunday) about the upcoming independent study. I'll be nervous about that as well, but it'll be nice to actually have met my mentor in person this time around. I had signed up for a group dinner and we met at 6:45. We ate at the Rosehip behind our hotel and down the street. It was a cute little restaurant. I felt adventurous and ordered the veggie haggis. I know it's not the same as traditional haggis, but it is the closet I can get. It wasn't bad. A bit spicy. Then all I had was a walk home in the blessed rain drizzle.

July 13 - Arrival

My flight to Amsterdam was uneventful but long. The entertainment system wasn't working in the seats starting at row 32. I was luckily sitting in row 30. I really dodged a bullet on that one because even with the entertainment system I was going a little stir crazy. There was an empty seat beside a me which allowed me to expand a little which helped, but I still thought I was going to be sick about halfway through.

The lunch on the plane was predictably bad. Eggplant lasagna which might be good at any other time but not so much when you're not cruising at 30,000 feet. I ate bits and pieces of what I could stomach and let them take the rest.

This flight was different than others I've been on. Granted I was flying Delta for the first time when I normally fly United, but I was given warm towels to do what I don't know with and given an eyemask to help you sleep. I promptly lost the eyemask. It sucked. Still, I made do.

I arrived a bit early in Amsterdam and was able to calm my stomach before getting on the next flight where I was squished into the window seat, my least favorite position. It was a short flight back the way I came to land in Edinburgh.

I found my Spalding peeps right away, and we got on the coach to get to the hotel right away. There was a slight argument between the guide and the driver about when he could drive, but we soon made it to our hotel where my room was not ready. I had lunch with a few other Spalding fiction writers while I waited for my room to be ready.

Finally, I made it up to my modest room with a super tiny hallway/doorway. I started to get my barrings when Kasia arrived. We caught up and unpacked. I took a shower to get the airport grim off of me before collapsing in bed.

The welcome back dinner was at the Amber restaurant at the Scotch Whiskey Experience where there were too courses of fish. I was weary of eating the fish but I gave the salmon a go. It wasn't bad. The dessert course was cheese, grapes, oatcakes, and chutney. Not bad, but not exactly dessert.

It was good to talk and catch up with everyone. By the end, I was ready to leave. We strolled through the streets of wet pavement from the recent rain and I smiled to myself. I felt like I had come home.

July 12th - FlyPDX

Today starts my second year as a Spalding University MFA student. After spending four days bedridden from an illness, it's good to be out and about. I just hope my stomach will handle the journey. It's still a little tender.

I had all my bags packed last night so it was a long morning of waiting, especially after I dropped toothpaste on my shirt and it took forever to dry.

Fully dressed in a somewhat dry dress it was off to the airport. The lines at baggage drop off weren't too long. Security took about the same time. Now it's just the waiting game. Luckily, I've managed to find a seat next to an unused charging station and next to only midily annoying children. Soon, it's aboard the plane and in 10 hours we touch down in Amsterdam for a shirt layover before I arrive 'home' in Edinburgh.