Two weeks down

I have officially finished my first week as an MBA student. Before I dive into that, I will catch up with the rest of last week. On Friday night, we had an MBA Ceilidh. That is a traditional Scottish dance. We had one back in Dalkeith for WIS, but I have to say this was much better. The band was really great, and since there was a shortage of fellows, the girls were dancing all night. The Business School provided an open bar as well as a buffet style dinner, both of which were excellent. The definite highlight was seeing all the guys in their kilts. It was so cool to see men from all over the world wearing kilts. Partners and families were also invited, and it was very nice to meet the people that are here with some of my peers. I have a few pictures to share. Thank you to Saahil for actually posting some!

 Here I am with Jason, Kieran, Maria, Lic, Amer, Daniele and Kim.

 Action shot! I am in the upper right of the photo with Evan.

 Sam was one of the only men in the room to wear their own kilt.

This is the guys with Tony, our Program Director in the middle. I think this is everyone who turned up in a kilt. 

After the Ceilidh, a group of us went out for drinks. We had to try three different bars because they kept closing on us! It ended up being a super fun (but late!) night, and my Saturday was pretty much a waste because of it. I still say it was worth it. We did go out to a Mexican restaurant for dinner, but sadly, it was nothing like the Mexican at home. Lic, who is from Mexico, probably had it worse off than I did, especially because she doesn't even think our Mexican food is authentic! Cholula hot sauce got us through the evening.

Sunday was mostly a day of preparing for class and tidying up around the flat. I finally got some groceries purchased, and was able to make my first meal at home. I went with chicken, broccoli and couscous. I have also made pasta and potato soup, which just consisted of chicken noodle soup with subbed potatoes for noodles and chicken. Today I bought ingredients for Cullen Skink, a traditional fish and potato soup, so hopefully it turns out a bit better!

Monday brought the first day of class. Our weekly schedule is pretty jam-packed. Most weeks we are in class from 9-6. Each of our classes are either 4 hours or 8 hours long. Right now we are in Semester 1a, and most of the classes I am taking now will end in October. The classes are Accounting, Organizational Behavior, Operations Management and Macroeconomics.

The classes can get quite long, but the lecturers are really good about giving us breaks and making sure classes are not just 8 hours of lecture. I suppose they need change, too! We have already heard some great speakers, including the Economic Director from Lloyd's bank talking about the Scottish Economy, an Operations Manager from Amazon, a R&D person from P&G, a plant manager at Gore and a few more. It has already been very interesting and eye-opening.

The content of the courses moves quite quickly. I think we were all taken aback by the pace at first, even though we were warned. Right now Accounting seems to be the class that most people are worried about, although I think that it will be fine in the end. We have spent the first couple of classes actually building statements, but are only expected to know how to analyze them for the course objective. Our lecturer just wants us to know where the numbers are coming from. I am not sure if I have a favorite class quite yet. I really liked both Macroeconomics and Organizational Behavior. I'm sure something will pull ahead in another week or so.

Due to all the class work, I had a pretty uneventful week besides work. On Friday we only had a class in the morning, so after that it was freedom! I went to dinner with Cassie, Lic, Liz and Chelsea. Liz and Chelsea are Cassie and Lic's flat mates. We went to a place called the Beehive in the Grassmarket area. I got a chicken and mushroom pie, which was amazing. Unfortunately, two meals at the table were less than satisfying. Liz ordered nachos, which turned out to be a plate of Doritos with half melted cheese and salsa on them. Cassie got a fish finger sandwich that consisted of fish sticks on bread with mayo. We got a pretty good chuckle out of it!

After dinner, some more MBAs met up with us and we had another great night of bar hopping. At the end of the night I was lured into a salsa club, which unfortunately spelled the end of the night for me. Kieran and Chelsea went home with me, and we stopped at a kebab shop. Don't worry, they are as delicious as I remember! Kieran then walked us back home, which was really nice of him. I spent all of Saturday relaxing with Netflix and studying.

Today I went to lunch with Cassie and Liz, then shopped for a bit. I only ended up buying things from Marks & Spencer, a department/grocery store. It was heaven to just be in a proper grocery store! I usually do all my shopping at Tesco Express, which has an incredibly limited selection but is right next door. I got the smoked haddock for the fish soup at M&S, along with fresh herbs. I can't wait to get cooking! I am going to invite friends over to have the soup as well. I hope it turns out!

So overall, it was a really great week. I definitely have a long way to go, but it will be worth it in the end. Tomorrow I have a meeting with Tony and Ros, the Careers Manager, to talk about the opportunities that might come from the MBA. I am really looking forward to meeting with them. My peers have told me great things about their meetings.

I will be back in MN on Wednesday for my dear cousin Erin's wedding. I can't wait for the wedding, and am really looking forward to seeing everyone. It feels like it has been way longer than just two weeks! See you soon!

 I went running through Holyrood Park and just had to take another picture. What a sight!

 This is the group from this Friday hanging out with Greyfriar's Bobby.

 Inder, a Canadian guy, ordered this beer. I teased him a little bit, and had to take a picture,

 These are the infamous nachos.

 Holding my beloved kebab. How I have missed you, sweet prince.

First official meal of the flat!

This is my official head shot that will get published online as well as in the Student Profiles book that is sent out as recruitment collateral. Mom says I look fine, but I think I look quite old and strange. Must be the suit.

Induction Week Continues!

The week has continued to be full.

We had a great presentation by the Careers team on Tuesday, who seem very involved and engaged. Edinburgh is currently trying to up it's ranking in the world (currently 83, aiming for top 50) and AACSB accreditation and higher graduate wages will help do that, so they are very focused on that area of the program. The School also has a new Director, so he chatted to us for a little bit. Tony Kinder, the Program Director, also gave a nice presentation on cross cultural learning.

Tuesday night was pretty laid back. After class I ran to Argos to get bedding. It is a shop very different than anything I have seen. There are no products out on the floor. Everything is in a catalog, and you check stock on items in little machines before placing an order. Once your order is ready, you pick it up and are on your way. They sell a huge array of items, similar to Sears. I was able to get all my bedding for a very reasonable 40 quid. After Argos I was able to Skype with Travis (finally!) then went out to dinner with Cassie (SC) and one of her neighbors. We tried to go to a little Japanese restaurant on the Royal Mile but it was closed. We settled for a Turkish cafe instead with delicious food. I had chicken with cous cous and salad. It was amazing!

On Wednesday we did a practice case study and had a really great presentation on networking from Rock the Boat Consulting. It was very informative and interesting. After the presentation, I attempted to get my student ID. Unfortunately, somehow all the IDs for Sugarhouse Close (my residence) were lost. Luckily, they use Datacard printers and were able to get me a new one right there. I told them my mom worked for Datacard; I was for more excited about that than they were. After getting IDs, I chatted with a few other MBAs. We were getting on so well they kicked us out of the room! We stopped over to a bar for a pint and to continue chatting.

Later that night there was a welcome party for the Business School. All of the MBAs, MScs and staff were invited. There were quite a few people there! There were acrobats and shirtless Highland drummers for entertainment. Sadly, I did not get good photos. On the bright side, the drummers were much more "rugged" than I prefer anyhow. Once the party winded down, the MBAs went to Teviot House, a Student Union building. The University subsidies food and drink there (yes, booze too!) which is amazing. I chatted mostly with a Swiss about hockey and made plans to see the Edinburgh team play this winter. A Scot also explained the rules of rugby to me, and hopefully we will make it to a Six Nations game this Spring. Overall it was a really great night! I also finally got my check card sorted out with the bank so I have access to funds again.

Today we had a really good lecture about teams from the Executive Development Manager. I was part of a group demonstration where we had to work together to organize cards. We did 1:04 the first time, but only 30 seconds the second time around! I was chosen for a demonstration yesterday as well, so I must just look like I want to participate. This afternoon we had a presentation about citation and forgery. I also got a ton of errands done! I opened a UK bank account so I can deposit my loan check, got some school supplies and most importantly, went to IKEA! I almost bought a calculator, but didn't because I thought 9 pounds was too cheap when they are sold for $40 in the US. Turns out Texas Instruments is running a racket back home, and they aren't expensive at all.

IKEA was definitely a highlight. I got a ton of stuff like hangers, dishes, kitchen stuff and just things I needed. I can finally get my flat sorted out! Pics to come hopefully this weekend! Cassie was a great sport. We were at IKEA for about two hours and she only needed a few items. She also helped my pack away the stuff after ringing out so I wasn't That Guy in line.

I haven't really taken all that many pictures, but I will share the few I have. Some are repeats from Facebook!

 Potato chips, or crisps, are in the craziest flavors here (I saw Flame Grilled Steak at Tesco today) but I had these last time I was here and LOVED them. They are still great!

 This is a picture from the square in front of my building. That is Arthur's Seat in the background. Leah and I climbed it before, but I will do it again soon. Hopefully it will be a bit quicker this time around!

 I had to stop by the registry today and get my loan check. This is Old College, and is actually a square with grass in the middle. Some University offices are here, along with a gallery and the Law School. It is very beautiful and was built in 1827. Back then, it was called New College because it replaced even older buildings!

 These are my dishes! They were 80p for each set of 6. I feel a little silly, but they are microwave safe, so it was a heck of a deal. My favorite part, a "key feature" of the utensil sets: "The knife blade has a serrated edge to be easy for the child to cut and divide food with." Should be simple enough for me to use, then!

This is Cassie, who is an MBA also in the 16 month program. She is from South Carolina. We live in the same residence, but different buildings. She has been a great person to get to know!

These are my absolute favorite Scottish treats. They are a little sponge cake topped with orange marmalade, then dipped in dark chocolate. I shared them with my peers to get them on board. They sell them at Cub, but no guarantees that they are the same. I recommend giving them a try!

The Adventure has begun!

I made it! I had a wonderful flight on Icelandair. It was a very direct itinerary to Glasgow, and overall quite pleasant. I was able to sleep almost the entire flight both to Iceland and to Glasgow, so that really helped with jet lag. Once in Glasgow, I took a bus to Central Station to hop a train to Edinburgh. Unfortunately, Central Station does not have regular service to Edinburgh. After another bus to Queen Street Station, I was on my way! After a short cab ride from Waverly, I was home.

One thing I love about Scotland is how willing people are to help out. I had been struggling with my luggage (yes, I did over pack), and at least three different times people stopped to help me out. It reminds me very much of "Minnesota Nice" and makes me feel quite at home.

Currently, home consists of a very small studio flat. It is in Thomas House, which is a part of the Sugarhouse Close residence hall. It is all quite new, so kinks are still being worked out. A wonderful neighbor allowed me to use her shower this morning because I didn't have hot water. Other people mentioned no cold water, leaky showers and unbearable heat. Luckily, they are sorting things our quite quickly. When I arrived home tonight, everything was working properly! I have a small kitchenette, but haven't attempted to make anything yet. I do not know how I will do with only two small burners (plus, Pops isn't here to clean up after me).

Yesterday was a busy day. I got into my flat at about 1:00 in the afternoon. After doing some shopping for essentials, I started meeting people. All University of Edinburgh students that live in Sugarhouse Close are postgraduates, but from all colleges. So far in my hall I have met a Film Studies, History and another MBA. The RAs hosted a wine and cheese mixer to get to know people, and it was quite packed! It was very nice to start getting to know others, though.

This morning, we started the official Induction for the MBA program. Our week seems to be very full and structured compared to other departments. We started with a kick off with Tony Kinder, who is the director of the program. Most of the professors for the first semester turned up and talked about their classes as well.  From there we had a tour of the Business School, had our photos taken for our student profile and had a Royal Mile scavenger hunt. After the hunt, we met at Bank Bar for some drinks. Unfortunately, my team did not win. We might have gotten third, though!

Overall the day was really great. There are about 46 students in the program, all from incredibly diverse backgrounds. Not only are there many different nationalities, ages and work experience differ greatly as well. I can already tell it will be an incredible learning experience. Just tonight, I had dinner with people from Taiwan, Thailand, Ecuador, Egypt and South Carolina.

That is about it for now! My current goal is to get sheets and a pillow for my bed. Good thing I brought the Harry Potter Snuggie, or I would be a cold girl. Hopefully I will be able to get to Argos tomorrow, then to Ikea at the weekend.

Cheers!