Been recovering from the cold Scottish weather! Seldom do I see the blue skies in this part of the world, but this update needed less grey so I decided to attach an image taken from my weekend stroll to Princes Street Gardens (this photo taken before the clouds devoured all that vibrance). Aloha to my travelogue. So where have I been? When I'm not in Edinburgh, I am in the midlands. Not that I hate Edinburgh (and the forever cold weather), but being closer to the family I have in the UK has made me less of a sulking, crazy Ph.D. student. Train stops, old or new, have been a constant reminder of how relevant this transportation mode is to this country. I dream to have one as culturally embedded as this one in my homeland every time I step into this utterly blissful platform. I totally understand Sheldon (TBBT) and his love for trains because I also love train...stations. Living near one now and it has been a convenient stop whenever I felt like shopping, reading, people watching, or the constant eating. Train stations are good places to meet people from different parts of the world. Locations visited: Cambridge, Suffolk, The Highlands, Birmingham, Chelsea [in London]. I haven't really thought of buying a map and crossing out towns but I might do that soon to be able to really understand the varied places UK has been offering me. Scotland is turning to be a very cold and "warm" second home, and by saying that, I actually engage my thoughts in both sarcasm and happiness. It wasn't exactly easy, but I guess constantly having this happy vibe has made me adapt to the lifestyle. I actually made new friends, prettyyyy well [or so I thought].
Added a photo above of ATM graduation season. I still feel that this city has this fleeting vibe as most of its inhabitants are migrants - students, workers, you name it. As I see these, I felt that bittersweet feeling that everything is constantly changing, including the faces of people I interact with. Perhaps, that girl I see at the coffee shop working will be going back to her country by tomorrow; or that part-time cleaner whose love may have graduated with these students [now UoE alumni] will now be putting things in a box cleaning their home and will be starting a new life again in their country. I find this inconsistent routine a bit challenging especially for one whose life has been constant and happy back home. Quite an adventure, new. Aside from reading a lot of literature review for the last 6 months, I am also rediscovering art - stitching, painting, doodling. I also engage in fruitful visual discussions with Caravaggio just because I saw them in my seatmate's desk table. HAHA! Kidding, haven't really thought of browsing books at his part of the table. But dumping all artsy things on my IG has been quite a clutter so I might change that soon again. I have this uncanny way of changing everything in an instant because I have this love- hate relationship with clutter. Know me for you to understand. Basically ending this with a bad conclusion, the usual. 11:32pm. Finally, the long sunny day is over. Time to dream. |
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Lifeisatravelogue by CDSNadal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. |