The Excitement of Edinburgh Living!

Sounds like it should be the title of a magazine, right? Although I do not expect the transition from small-town Maryville every day living to bustling Urban city Edinburgh to come with ease, I do believe that planning ahead in steps, such as this, will help increase my success rate of having a better idea for the process of different living for the future months to come.  Away from home for the first time, I have the opportunity to spread my wings and taste a bit of freedom through activities on campus and outside of the school setting. 

Although I haven’t really thought too much about how everyday life will play out, I have thought about what my goals are to do during the time between classes and studying for exams.  It will be interesting to make the transition between the mind frame of thinking and living like I always have to fully immersing myself into the various aspects of my host culture.  To me, living like a local means doing several things. First off, the everyday eating style changes drastically from hamburgers, burritos, coke and chili to haggis, steamy bread, fresh vegetables and non-iced water.

 

      

Most students who attend the University cook their own food for themselves every day that they purchase weekly or bi-weekly at a small grocery outlet.  Thankfully, there is a small store that is within walking distance of the housing buildings for Napier, so it will not be too difficult a task to find food.  

Outside of school, I imagine my daily life consisting of bus rides from the city centre to the countryside where I could sit and enjoy the cold, brisk air while completing homework. Afterwards, I might find myself meeting up with some friends at a coffee bar to warm up and socialize a little bit before heading back into the city where I will cook dinner for myself and perhaps a few classmates while we wind down and chat about whatever we find interesting.

    

Ok, so hopefully my cooking in the upcoming months WON’T look like this! I’ve done a little bit of research on healthy and easy recipes that might come in handy. For example, one of my favorites is the Simple Spinach Cheese Pie that my mom makes at home.

Ingredients:
INGREDIENTS

§  1 tbps. Olive Oil

§  1 cup Chopped Onion

§  1 10 oz Package Frozen Chopped Spinach

§  3 cups Low-Fat Shredded Cheddar Cheese

§  ½ tsp. Salt

§  1/8 tsp. Ground Black Pepper

§  1/8 tsp. Nutmeg

§  5 Large Eggs, beaten (or Egg Beaters if you want to cut calories)

Directions:

1.     First, preheat your oven to 350 Fahrenheit.

2.     Lightly oil a 9-inch pie plate, use cooking spray if you have it.

3.     Next, heat a frying pan and oil in a skillet over medium heat.

4.     Once hot, add the onion to the pan and cook for 5 minutes, stirring until soft.

5.     Add the spinach, and continue to cook and stir, until the moisture has evaporated; remove the mixture from the heat once done.

6.     Now, in a separate medium bowl, beat the eggs or egg mixture. Once beat, mix in the cheese, salt, pepper and nutmeg.

7.     Next, combine the egg mixture with the spinach & onion mixture by carefully pouring the eggs into the pie plate, and spread the mixture evenly throughout the pie plate.

8.     Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the top is lightly browned. Use a knife or toothpick to test center to make sure it’s cooked; the firmness of the pie and how clean the toothpick is upon removal should give you a good idea of how ready it is.

9.     Let stand for 5 minutes. Cut into four to six triangle, pie-style pieces, plate and enjoy!

Recipes like this will come in handy as I cook to feed myself and the people that I invite over to my flat. As my mom always says, “The best of friends are formed over food!”

Napier University also offers many on-campus activities that both traditional students and foreign students (me!) can participate in. For example, Napier’s website boasts that “Around 29% of our total student body are international students coming from over 110 countries. Our largest numbers currently come from Ireland, China, France, India, Poland and Germany.”

The site also includes information on a program offered by the university titled, [EN]Gage which offers information such as the, “Sports Centre at the Sighthill Campus features a 200m2 fitness suite with the latest state-of the-art equipment, from Life Fitness treadmills to Olympic weight lifting platforms. If you prefer getting fit with your friends, our 1200² sports hall is available to book for sporting activities such as football, basketball, badminton and table tennis.”

Which sounds totally awesome!! Since I’m a part of the cross-country team here at MC, it would be wonderful to have a place to continue to stay fit even when it’s freezing and slushy snow covers the ground.