Bonnie Scotland

Hello again! Don’t you love having mad time just to write and having a decent amount of exciting adventures to write about? I kinda do.

I’ve been in Edinburgh for 3 days so far, well, I guess two full ones, and I have perfected the art of taking night pictures, since that’s the only time I ever get to take pictures. I flew in Sunday evening past, checked into the Budget Backpapers hostel on Cowgate (which is amazingly convenient and central if you’re ever thinking of going to Edinburgh for cheap), and then ran off to get some dinner. The first place I found was a Nepalese place, and it was delicious. I ordered the hottest degree of spiciness and the waiter looked surprised and probably thought I was crazy: “Who’s the kid with the American accent ordering the spiciest sauce? What’s wrong with him?” It actually wasn’t that spicy at all, and now I can say I’ve eaten Nepalese food.

Down to the description of business: reading. As repetitive as it may sound, reading through these manuscripts is like having a really wide window back in time, reading the letters in order around the time of the Chinese Revolution is like reading a novel; I just want to know if the revolutionary forces made it into the next town, or if the government official was protected adequately. My reading room in the National Library of Scotland on George IV Bridge is a nice little place; the only problem is that it lacks windows completely. I’m reading the actual manuscripts of Sir JH Stewart Lockhart, the first civil commissioner of Weihaiwei from 1902 to 1930. In London, I was just reading fun scribbly-scrawly bits of handwriting, which was really cool, but made my eyes hurt. Thankfully there were some telegraphed bits interdispersed between them, so it wasn’t too bad. Most of the papers here are all handwritten, and I’ve gotten pretty good at reading it. It’s still a bit of a pain, though.

I’ve come across all kinds of awesome documents: letters describing the transport of prisoners of war, documents surrounding the abdication of the Xuantong Emperor, the last Emperor of China, and other more mundane things, like government gazettes and schoolboy essays. I’ve put in orders for photocopies like I’m downloading music, or something. I also get really, really excited when a box of manuscripts shows up. It’s a big rush, followed by a few hours of sitting down, hunched over papers from the early twentieth century.

As academic as my trip may seem, the library does close eventually. You may be asking yourself, what does Kyle do when he’s thrown out of his element? My friend, Siwan, who I stayed with in Cardiff over Easter of last year goes to the University of Edinburgh, and we met up for dinner the night after my first full day. My friend, Anna, from Glasgow also came into town for drinks and dinner. We went to Buffalo Grill right on the other side of Bristo Square in the middle of the university, and followed that up by chilling out at The Standing Order, a Wetherspoons in the New Town.

Afterwards, Siwan went out with her friends, but two of her flatmates and I had early days for the next morning, so we finished the night up Edinburgh-style. First stop was McDonald’s for an ice cream, but the ice cream machine had broken down, so then I was off to Burger King for my soft serve fix. Next stop was the chippy’s, or the late night grease pit (in American). Siwan’s flatmate, Sarah, convinced me that I absolutely had to eat a deep-fried Mars bar. It may sound like county fair fare (a doozy, no?), and I know this because before moving in, my folks took me to lunch in Rhinebeck and we heard about the deep-fried Twinkies. Anyway, I got one. It was perfect for the cold Edinburgh weather, and my three-minute walk back to the hostel.

Funny enough, the next morning after ice cream, a steak and a deep-fried Mars bar, I was extremely hungry. I scoured my part of town for a pub that was open at 8:30AM, but I was running out of places to look and I was soon losing hope. Then, I saw a pub door open and a guy directing kegs inside and asked if they were open. I was about to fall over from hunger, and he told me to take a seat. I got myself a full, legitimate Scottish breakfast: an egg, back bacon rasher, sausage, black pudding, a puffed roll and, of course, haggis. The haggis was delicious! I’m a fan of its typical ingredients on their own (I advise you to eat it first before you find out what’s in it if you’re faint of heart) but it was almost like ambrosia. I think I may bring back a can or two.

After my full and hearty breakfast, I sat down for the next few hours, poring over letters and newspapers. Such is the life of a history major: it may not be glamorous, but you do get to travel. Until next time, in Bristol!