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.