I had a great few days visiting with my friend, Mike. It was just great to see a friendly face and to be able to show a friend around my new city. He and his parents were in Germany visiting Mike's brother and wife, and because of their Scottish heritage, they made it over here for a few days. It worked out really well because I was doing a Leadership program during the day and Mike was sightseeing with his parents. We managed to go out together every night, though! Tuesday evening I took Mike on a midnight tour of the major sights. After dinner in a pub, we walked up and down the Royal Mile (stopping to "refuel" of course), visiting the castle, Parliament and Holyrood House. It was a little creepy, but mostly super neat. There were no people around and we got a great view of the city at night, even though it was a little foggy. Wednesday, I took Mike to Cambridge Bar in New Town. I had eaten there with Cassie and Elisa, and it was just as delicious the second time around. On Thursday, I had a reception for the end of the Leadership program, so Mike met me at the venue later in the evening.
The Leadership week consisted of lots of group work and presentations, culminating in a presentation on how Scottish political leadership should change for the better. We had to survey Scottish people on the politics of the country, which was certainly not popular. It was a tough week, but I think we all learned a lot. I was mightly glad when it was over, however! At the reception, I got some feedback from one of the external judges that assessed our final presentations. He said I was one of the top three speakers he saw that day! I was really glad about that, especially since I am not terribly confident presenting and was not exactly proud of what my group put forth. The reception was in Marlin's Wynd, a really cool catering venue. We had lots of Prosecco and capapes, and it was a great way to unwind from the week.
After the reception, the School provided a ghost tour. Mike attended with me. We went around Old Town, ending in Greyfriar's Kirkyard, the (supposedly) most haunted place in Scotland. It was kind of fun, but the evening was cold and our group was large and tipsy, so it was difficult to keep everyone on track and quiet. From there, we went to a few bars and clubs, and had 4am pizza at a little shop on South Bridge. I had promised Mike a kebab, but apparently takeaways can't be open past two am during the week. I am a bad friend.
Mike left on Friday morning. I was very sad to see him go as we only had a few days together. I attempted to get him to stay in Europe longer but I was unsuccessful. I had a meeting on Friday afternoon with the other Program Representatives from around the Business School. As Program Representative, I am responsible for gathering feedback from my peers around improvements that can be made. The meeting consisted of the Reps from all School programs, MBA and MSc, meeting with staff to make future improvements. It was good to see issues addressed, but the meeting went a little long, and some of the Reps really liked to hear themselves talk. Hopefully our next meeting will be more efficient.
On Saturday, a group of us went out for sushi in Haymarket. The food was delicious, but the service was quite poor. Nabeel and I shared the Chef's Special, a magical 6 course feast. The chefs/servers failed to pace our meal with everyone else's so by the end of the night, our friends were waiting for us. I even had to cancel dessert! The food was really good though, so I would try it again with a smaller group. My favorite part of the night was taking the train to Haymarket. The restaurant was located right next to Haymarket Station, and I live five minutes from Waverly Station. It was only 2.50 to get a return ticket! It was a little embarrassing to only take the train for four minutes, but it sure beat walking or paying for a cab! I felt very "in the know," even though I got the idea from Google Maps.
I am going to separate this update post as not to drone on for too long at once. Here are a few pictures from this week:
Mike and Inder made fast friends at the pub.
Me, Elisa and Cassie with our good friend Karim.
Mike and I's very British drink selections our first night together.
The sushi portion of the Chef's Special.
They called this a grilled scallop, but it was so delicious and creamy, almost like a graitn.
My miso soup and sashimi seaweed salad. The salad was the best thing I ate all night. Just absolutely delicious!
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