Winter in Edinburgh

After spending nearly a month in the States, it’s great to be back in Edinburgh and starting second semester. It’s been a whirlwind of change over the past month.  Just before the semester ended, the school let us know that they were overbooked in the halls and were letting students out of their housing contracts.  After about 10 seconds of contemplation I jumped at the opportunity to get off campus into a flat downtown. My friend and I didn’t end up finding a place to live before leaving for winter break and I ended up flying back to Madison with nothing locked down, so starting December 17^th I was officially without a home to call my own.

Luckily, over the first semester I made some good friends, and people were quick to offer me accommodation during my continued search for a new flat. Since I’ve been back, I crashed on possibly the world’s most comfortable air mattress at my friend Kirsty and Keith’s place for about a week, and then I moved to my friend Christian’s flat where I have had a nice little lofted bed to call my own. It’s been great having roommates to cook dinner and grab a pint with and share some laughs. And after a bit of searching, I found a fantastic place that I move into with my friend Carey at the end of next week (that’s it in case you’re wondering!)

Today I interviewed at a wine and beer specialty shop in Stockbridge.  It’s a super cool place and seems like a great way to increase my knowledge and work with some awesome people.  Hopefully I get the job!

We’ve also been pretty serious about knocking out a ton of beer as of late—starting as early as 7am or as late as 8pm—and the results have been fantastic. Some of the styles include a Belgian Wit, a couple Porters in an attempt to make a perfectly balanced coffee beer, an Amber Pale Ale and this weekend we’re going to brew up a Chocolate Stout using a mixture of a few types of dark chocolates bought from a local dessert shop—should be interesting!  Next week I’m planning on leading a brew day for a Belgian Tripel.

It’s amazing how fast the time seems to be going. I can hardly believe I’m half way through all my courses.  I am already excited to someday visit my friends wherever in the world they may end up, and see where their passions have taken them.