for most of the second half of 2000, i'm living in edinburgh, scotland.
why did i do this, you ask? well, why not?
hands down, this is the best decision i have ever made. both to take time off from studying, and to spend that time here. for the first time in years i feel balanced, strong, calm, at peace. more and more i realize that it's not actually the city, or taking the time off, but the fact that i was able to make this decision, follow through with it, tell myself that i would succeed and then actually do so... and for the first time i actually feel comfortable with being american -with being me. although i do think my accent is changing. we will see. :)
i live with my friend virginia in a beautiful top floor (4th floor) flat south west of the city, in a neighborhood called bruntsfield. it was first settled about 150 years ago, and is full of these grey stone tenements, with small shops on the ground floor and flats on the floors above. there are two parks nearby (bruntsfield links and the meadows) and a grand total of 5 movie theaters within a 15 minute walk. this makes us very happy.
i work at edinburgh's telford college, which is a community college on the north west side of the city. i work in the communications school, doing administrative assistant stuff. while the work is occasionally dull, and often frustrating, the people i work with make it all worth while. what a difference having cool people around makes! i don't think i ever want my own office.
other cool stuff here include :