Well the semester, already shorter than a standard GW one, has flown by incredibly quickly. In just three weeks I'll be back on US soil, something I'm looking forward to just as much as I'll miss Scotland. In the meantime exam season is fast approaching. Unfortunately for me I scored the worst luck possible, my first exam is on December 9th (the first day possible) and my second and final exam is on the 21st(the last day possible.) I've also got a paper due in the middle but I am highly annoyed by the spread. I like a few days to prep in between my tests, not a few weeks.
I'd rather get everything out of the way in rapid succession than have to wait and struggle to stay in the zone. I'm also annoyed since my flight is at 06:00 on the 22nd and I was hoping to have a full day to pack and get my things in order but now I'll have to do it earlier. I'll get through it but I wish it could have been a little more convenient. If the test was a week earlier I may have even took a trip somewhere, something which I was prevented from doing by a poorly located mandatory discussion section (called a tutorial here.)
In the spirit of the forward thinking mood I've been in for the past few days I'm now going to list things that I'm looking forward to and things that I'm not looking forward to or will miss.
Things that I am looking forward to:
Not having to do mental math before every purchase: Its not necessarily mandatory, of course you can get a sense of what's a good price and what isn't, but I think that, since I make money in dollars in the summer, I should probably stick to thinking in dollars when I spend my money.
Snow: Okay, so there may not be snow at home now but I can't remember if there has ever been a time that my part of Wisconsin did not have a white Christmas.
The break: who doesn't like some time without essays?
My friends: sure I've got friends here but I'm excited to see my Wisconsin friends who I haven't seen since summer and my GW friends who I haven't seen since the spring semester.
The cold: I'm one of those weird people who like truly cold temperatures. As long as you dress right and layer your clothes its not a problem. The weather here is varied, some days it'll be in the low 30s the next morning it will be 50s. I know Wisconsin hasn't been as cold as some years yet (and I guess that's good so people don't complain when I get there because they are already sick of it) but I'm counting on it to pull through for me.
Things I'll miss:
Arthur's seat (and the beauty of Scotland in general): This is one gorgeous country. I wish I could make it up to Skye and the highlands again but even the area around Edinburgh is beautiful, especially on a clear day.
The low cost of food compared to DC: There are a lot more grocery options around the University of Edinburgh's campus and each one seems to have cost advantages in different things. If you know where to look for each good you want you can save quite a bit of cash. Also, quite a few of the restaurants are slightly cheaper than DC's, especially quality vs price wise, even with a pretty hefty sit in tax.
The Prague Shack: Just a little Czech food truck that also happens to sell an amazing deep fried cheddar sandwich. I couldn't find a picture of the sandwich but here is a different way that they offer the cheddar.
The Christmas market: I know it goes down in January but can't express how much I like the Christmas market.
Being able to see a castle from my window: this one is pretty self explanatory as well.
Things I'm not looking forward to:
Leaving for the airport at 0:300 on Dec 22: that one's pretty obvious.
My exams: I'm feeling confident, but does anyone ever really like tests?
Packing: I do not have a scale so I need to wing it with my big bag an hope for the best..
The endless questions about what life in England was like: Scotland's wonderful, I don't know what they're talking about