To the beach!

13 July 2013

It's hot and sunny in Scotland - Quick, get outside and enjoy it!

This seems to be how things work here and I am trying my best to fit in. It was a nice day today, so I headed to the beach! One of the "suburbs" is called Portobello and is only about 15 minutes by bus from where I'm living right now. It was a bit windy, but I enjoyed a nice lunch on the beach and a bit of time reading in the sun.





The beach seemed relatively busy with lots of families and plenty of dogs. The esplanade has a couple of nice places to eat and get treats like ice cream. It was a bit windy and not terribly warm, so I opted for a sugar and lemon crepe instead. Yum!





I walked along the beach and enjoyed sticking my toes in the ocean - it's been a long time!

Toes in the sand :)

I enjoy carrying a carabiner around -
you never know when it might be
handy!

While I was walking along the beach, I ran into this little guy crawling around:

A panoramic of the beach:

Some other scenic pictures from the beach:

Shells, seaweed, and ripples.

Two types of ripple marks in the sand - I would
love to ask my students to look at this and tell me
what is going on here...

Somebody is hiding in the sand!

These were the waves before the wind picked up.

Random Observations - The first of many...

7 July 2013

This post doesn't really have a unifying theme, but here are some interesting observations (all shown in photos) from my first 2 weeks in Edinburgh. Enjoy!






They have interesting dog poop warnings painted on the sidewalk. This was the least explicit artwork from my walk to the store today.









The doors here are very historic. They are large, made from wood, and look like something that should be on a castle. This also means that the keys are cool - when was the last time you saw a skeleton key in the US? I now have two on my key ring...













I needed to buy a mug to keep in the office for tea time. I found one on the discount shelf because it had a chip out of it - so cheesy, it's cool.










Gas prices mean nothing to me here. After a little bit of work, I converted 133.9 p/L (pence per litre) to $7.69 USD/gallon. Happy we don't have a car here!

Andy (my colleague) ordered me a hammer for our field work - so excited to go out and use it! Tentatively schedule for the beginning of January.

These are ALL ciders of one variety or another.

I LOVE all the cider here! There is a cider festival at one of the local pubs. At the grocery store, there is an entire section that is all hard cider. So much more selection than in the US. It's also nice that every pub has at least one cider on tap :)  I think we are definitely going to have a larger alcohol budget over here...

 My first time out for whiskey, there was a menu that explained how to determine the "palate" - the text in the photo is normal, but the items shown for this are apples, coffee, and asparagus. Who has ever smelled asparagus in their whiskey? I don't think I want to try that one...

It's very light here until late - this picture was taken at 10:15 at night on my way home on July 4th. The street lights were just starting to come on.


Enjoying the sunshine this weekend and hoping it stays sunny for at least a little while longer!

How to get a UK bank account

 5 July 2013

If ads really showed the truth: "You, too, could have your very own UK bank account in only 14 painstakingly slow steps!"

I need a bank account before I can get paid, so this is high on my list of priorities when it comes to getting settled in here. The steps should be 1) go to the bank with documentation and 2) sign up for account. However, it certainly has taken a lot more than that for me and this is AFTER they've improved the process. There are numerous horror stories about the catch 22 that used to be in place: you couldn't get an account until you had utility bills in your name and you couldn't typically get a flat until you had a bank account. This particular problem has been fixed, but it still hasn't been a simple process. As far as I can tell, here are the steps to getting a UK bank account.

Obviously, you first need to obtain a job in the UK and get a visa. Once you are in the UK, you need to:

1. Get a letter from your employer that states that you have a job, specifies how much you make, provides your complete name and your current address.
2. Take a copy of this letter to the bank where you wish to open an account.
3. Have them verify that you have all the proper paperwork in order and then book you an appointment to open the account (several days in the future).
4. Show up for the appointment with paperwork and passport.
5. Have the bank personnel explain that you need to have the letter addressed to the bank (instead of "To whom it may concern") and that it must be an original (not the scan of the original which was sent to me by the university and then printed out). This is despite the fact that they verified my letter 3 days prior to this appointment.
6. Schedule another appointment for several days in the future.
7. Walk to the other part of campus in order to pick up an original, signed copy of the letter. See the map below for an idea of just how far apart the pieces of campus are from each other.
8. Get information about the type of accounts (see * below) - some come with interesting perks that have nothing to do with banking...
9. Go back to the bank for the third time.
10. Wait for ~60 minutes while they critically scan every document, make numerous photocopies, and step out to ask the manager numerous questions. 
11. Register for the account and deposit money (no change fees!). 
12. Receive debit card in the mail next week.
13. Celebrate bank account with a pint at the pub :)
14. (Optional) Go back in three months (after you have a few months of credit history) and apply for a credit card so you can start building more credit in the UK. 

* I discovered that there is a "credit-free" account for free but that most bank accounts here have a £10/month fee if you want to build credit. Building credit is necessary because my more than a decade of great credit history in the US apparently doesn't count for anything, despite the fact that they have the same credit company (Experian) in both places. I guess when you move abroad, you become a different person and you might just stop paying your bills on time. This is also interesting considering that you have to show proof of financial ability to support yourself in order to get a UK visa in the first place. We're going to get this account now, but we're shopping around and we can always move it around once it's set up.

The other interesting thing about these accounts that have fees is that they come with "perks" including:

• Insurance for your mobile phone for both joint account holders
• European travel insurance (medical, trip, etc.) for both joint account holders
• Identity theft insurance
• Three free movie rentals each month and 2 hours of streaming video
• 5 free song downloads per month

I'm still not sure what any of this has to do with having an account at a bank, but it seems to be universal. The banks issue the equivalent of renter's insurance (content insurance) as well as the travel insurance, so I'm guessing they lump these services. However, the movie and song downloads are still baffling...

The star is the location of my building. The other part of campus is called King's Buildings
and is located at the bottom of this part of the map. It is approximately 2 miles from
one to the other. You can see Edinburgh Castle (top left corner) and Arthur's Seat (park
in the top right) for landmarks. 

A great weekend!

30 June 2013

A good friend of mine, experienced at moving internationally, told me that there would be really high highs and really low lows associated with this experience. He was right. I have definitely had some lonely and difficult times, but this weekend was great and it really helped lift my spirits. (If you're interested in his experience with living in France, and now New York, while his wife is at working in the Netherlands, here's a link to his blog: Anonymous Mad Scientist in a Strange Land. His wife's blog is a little more up-to-date and has lots of great pictures and a fun trivia contest so you should check that out as well: Traveling Through the Stars).

What went into creating the positive "perfect storm" of a weekend? 

• I was going to save the best for last, but I can't because I'm too excited about it: WE HAVE A FLAT!!!!!  I decided on a flat and contacted the landlord. I sign the tenancy (lease) this Wednesday. I had narrowed it down to 2 choices. When I was describing the second option (the place I hadn't seen yet) to Andy's wife (Andy is my colleague on the project), she recognized the neighborhood and advised against living there. I guess I really liked the other place and just needed an excuse to choose to live there. We have a place to live worked out and that is really a burden lifted off of me. I don't move until August 26, but at least it's all worked out.

  

  Our flat will be the windows on the top floor
  (not the ones on the weird corner). 

  
  
  

  

  This is the park that is about 2 blocks from our new flat. Saw lots of  happy dogs, so Kasha will enjoy it.

  

  There is a canal that runs near our place. We can take it
  into town or miles outside the city. It reminds me of a
  paved ditch-bank road. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  

  A view of the sitting room in our new flat.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• I woke up on Saturday morning with energy and felt normal for the first time since I arrived. The main part of jet-lag has been over for a couple of days, but there was a lingering tiredness in the mornings that made it difficult to get up and moving. I'm a morning person so this was extremely weird and difficult for me. At the end of the day, I started to feel like I have enough energy to do things like grocery shopping.

• I went out hiking with Andy (the person I am working with on the research project) and his son and his son's friend. We went out to Blackford Hill and set up a climbing rope for the kids to play on. Of course, that only lasted a little while and we spent the rest of the time playing hide-and-go-seek and running around. The day was beautiful and I actually got more of a tan here than I got in New York. We finished off the day with Star Wars pancakes - those definitely went over well with the kids :)

Climbing at Blackford Hill.

The crew. Scottish/British
accents are adorable on little kids!

We used the pancake moulds that I brought
from the US. They were a hit!

• I dug around in the luggage that I had packed and found some of the things that I didn’t remember packing in this load, but that I really needed – tennis shoes, sweatshirts, and another pair of jeans! All things that I wasn’t wearing back in NM because it was WAY too hot. It’s still pretty hot over there and only getting hotter with the heat wave going through. I wish I could share the rainy, chilly weather. Finding all these clothes felt like Christmas morning! 

• I heard from Nico that he bought Kasha an airline-approved crate and she slept in it the first night. This bodes well for us being able to bring her over on the plane without traumatizing her. Although she was originally crate-trained, she hasn't actually used a crate in years (except for the cancer-removal surgery recovery). That was also an open design and the one she has to use on the plane is more closed. 

• I heard back about the bands/orchestras in Scotland and everywhere seems very friendly and they are looking for trumpets. I need an orchestra that rehearses once a week and doesn't have a concert during my field work in December/January. It looks promising - One group is doing Shostakovich Symphony 8 and the concerts are end of November and then in March and May. Some of the places even practice close (about 5 blocks) to our new flat. Sounds like I will find a fun group to play with this year!

• Finally, the Queen is in town throwing her annual garden party. Although I didn't actually see the Queen, I probably wasn't that far from her (relatively speaking) and I still think it's kind of cool :) 

Hopefully the next week will bring even more settling in and next weekend will see me just as happy!

My first pint!

26 June 2013

After one of the people in my office had a hectic day working on a grant, we headed to the pub to let off steam. Of course, if she had completed the grant that day, we'd have been out to celebrate at the pub. Or if we just needed somewhere to hang out, we'd have headed to the pub. It seems to be the social place to hang out no matter what the occasion. I learned a lot more than just hassles of grant writing - in fact, I was educated on all sorts of fun new terms and traditions here in Scotland.

I tried a new hard cider: Black Rat. It was
very light, but with good flavor.  Pints
are typically ~£3.50.

Here are a few of my favorites (with more to come in
future blogs as I discover them!):

Some things make logical sense, but it's not the word I
would have used:
     Filled rolls - Sub sandwiches
     Cooker - The oven/stove combo
     Toasties - Grilled sandwiches

Some things are popular and I've heard them
plenty on British TV shows:
     Flat - apartment
     Diary - Day planner/calendar
     Bin - Garbage can

And some things were completely new to me:
     Swede - Turnip-like vegetable (although, I'm still not clear on it exactly, although this blog does the best job I've seen). I've been enjoying some carrot & swede, or sweet potato & swede mixes, so I guess it doesn't matter how it is technically classified.
     Hob - Stove top (not necessarily in the same location in the kitchen as the oven).
     Jobbies - Dog messes. It seems to be a "tradition" here to tie these up on the branches of a tree instead of walking over to put them in the bin.

There were a few more words I learned, but I don't think they're appropriate for a public blog. You will have to come over and visit and I'll fill you in on the "adult" parts of the conversation...

Finally, I learned that Scotch eggs are, in fact, something that people eat in Scotland. Essentially, it's a hard-boiled egg, covered in meat (like sausage) and then covered with bread crumbs and fried (See an example recipe and photo here). I'm hoping to apprentice to my officemate and learn the recipe the next time she makes her popular treat.

Flat Hunting

25 June 2013

This is a nice, but small, kitchen in one
of the flats I looked at.

There are lots of flats. In fact, my initial problem was that there were too many flats available on all the websites. Once you filter by location (within walking distance, so less than 2 miles), price (needs to be something we can afford with one salary), and type (looking for 1-2 bedrooms so no studios or huge places), there are still somewhere between 30-50 flats on the main websites (like gumtree). However, there are a couple of big problems: the good ones disappear within a day or two and almost all of them don't accept dogs. We want to bring our "daughter" with us, but it may be more difficult than we thought...

Looking for a place to live brings up a couple of other issues: phones and buses. Just calling places to arrange appointments was harder than anticipated. I got a new SIM card for my smart phone that had 300 UK minutes, 3000 texts, and unlimited data for about 15 pounds. The phone system is set up differently than in the USA. The phones have free incoming calls and the cost varies depending on what type of phone you are calling. Calling a local number is the cheapest (landline), with mobiles (cell phones) and business numbers being more expensive. The minutes included on the plan, however, are only landline minutes. I had to add additional money to my plan to call mobiles and businesses. I like the US plans where I don't have to worry about who I'm calling.

A crucial part of looking for a flat included actually seeing properties and I used the bus system a TON. In general, Edinburgh is small and easily walkable, but for longer trips and especially at the end of the day, it's nice to take the bus. (Side note: First of all, I'm still getting used to which side of the street I need to stand on to get the right bus.) Bus tickets are only £1.50. The buses are designed well and no matter where I'm going, I generally only need one bus and a small amount of walking. I also really like the bus stops here with their electronic signs indicating when the buses are arriving. Thank goodness for Google Maps and the great navigation on and off public transportation! 

There are lots of big letting agencies that focus on Edinburgh. As a general rule, letting agencies don't allow dogs. That leaves me looking for private landlords. However, it is harder to find private landlords. I spent the first week or so looking at flats through agencies but only got more depressed about the prospects as I went. These days were great exercise, though. I walked a bare minimum of 3 miles a day and usually closer to 5 miles. 

Shared garden of the flat that I really liked - most flats don't have any yard at all and this one is actually quite large.

After not finding anything and having numerous appointments cancelled or rescheduled, I got smart and put up my own "Flat Wanted" ad on Gumtree. I got several great responses from that and set up a couple of viewings. I absolutely fell in love with one of the places that I saw! I didn't want to commit right away and she said she would hold it for the weekend for me. I plan to see one other place and then decide between them. However, it was a weekend and not much progress can be made so I switched gears. 

View part of the way to the flat. Fun city landscape. 

29 June 2013
Time to explore the local pubs! 

View of the castle on the walk to the flat that I liked.

I walked from my office to the flat that I liked (~35 minutes with beautiful views of the castle) and then I found a pub to try. While I was there, I met the pub mascot (a golden retriever) and his owner. The nice, retired gentleman told me how the neighborhood is great, how the take-away restaurants are delicious, and how the neighborhood is nice and quiet and I would be lucky to live there. I couldn't have asked for a better reference. He also complimented me on the fact that I was 
drinking a pint :) While we were talking, he found out I was a geologist and told me how this area used to be covered by a mile of ice - very impressive and not your run-of-the-mill pub patron. 

Back to the flat in time to get some laundry done. It's a nice feeling to be in the home stretch - just need to look at one more flat before we decide! 

Starting work

(Note that blogs were written the date that is shown, but are being posted on a bit of a delay.)

24 June 2013

I'm working at the University of Edinburgh.

After only a weekend of being in town, I headed off to my first day of work. Luckily, it was essentially all just filling out paperwork and getting things started. An easy first day.

As I was walking from the bus to the office on my second day of work, I saw two people were walking down the street in my direction.  I only took particular notice because they were each holding roses. As I walked by, the girl reached over and handed me a flower and said, "Have a wonderful day!" and kept walking. I thanked her and headed to the office. I didn't have a spectacular vase, but the flower certainly did brighten my bare desk up and helped make me smile. 

Someone randomly handed me a rose on
my second day of work and said,
"Have a wonderful day!"

I'm sharing an office with three other people at the moment - and none of them are Scottish! It's an odd, international mix here, but everyone has been really welcoming. I've also lucked out on getting an office on the same floor as my chlorine lab, which will certainly make the lab work a bit easier. Just to emphasize the international nature: I was cleaning out my desk and I found currency from four different countries (UK, US, Euro, and Iceland). I also found a cell phone charger that fits my phone, a stapler, and some duct tape!

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      Lots of people have been asking about my research. I'm just getting started and I promise to explain it in a later post, but for now, you can check out this great blog (with pictures) from the same project that I am a part of...and there's another field season to Antarctica this year!

You know you're working at an international institution
when you find currency from four countries while
cleaning out your new desk.

     


       Update: I have an actual contract
       and my website profile exists –
            It's official! I have a job!

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