Dorms
Okay, first things first: the dorm rooms. King's College has the smallest, shoebox-sized rooms I've ever seen. I mean, look at this!
At King's, there is no separation between the show part and the rest of the bathroom, so the sink and toilet get sprayed when you bathe. Not to mention, the entire bathroom floor stays wet for the rest of the day, causing the bathroom to smell bad and remain nasty.
Edinburgh University, however, is another story. The rooms are HUGE!
I also have a nightstand and a reading lamp!
Scotland: 1, England: 0
View from Dorm Windows
I have not taken a picture of the view from my King's College dorm because it's only the other side of the building. At Edinburgh, however, I get to see this castle outside my dorm window everyday.
Scotland: 2, England: 0
Courtyard
The King's College courtyard is nothing but bricks, and drunken undergrads and police sirens make living there noisy at best. In Edinburgh? Quiet, true, peaceful, country quiet. Ahhh.... Also, we have this view of the mountain:
Scotland: 3, England: 0
Food in restaurants is great in London, I'll give them that. At King's College, however, you're lucky if the vending machine is in service. They have no cafeteria, but each floor of the dorm has a kitchen. The catch? You have to buy your own pots and pans, and the equipment does not always work. Nice....
Edinburgh University is a completely different story. When you stay here, a complementary breakfast buffet is included in the price. Now, I'm not talking about some nasty Comfort Suites buffet with day old mini-muffins, Frosted Flakes, and bananas that are starting to rot. This, my friends is a TRUE buffet. This breakfast buffet puts the Sheraton Hotel's Easter buffet to shame! They have bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, eggs over easy, omelettes, fruit, deli meat, cheese, any kind of bread you can imagine, pancakes, hash browns, several kinds of juices, milk, coffee, sodas, jam, cereal...basically, anything you could possibly want to eat, and it is all delicious, all free, and all you can eat.
Here are some of the views from around the cafeteria.
Scotland: 4, England: 0
If you've been following this blog or have read my tongue-in-cheek Facebook posts about all of the British "gentlemen" I've met in London, then you know how much I just love Englishmen. UGH. Honestly, though, the women are snooty, too. I have too many stories to tell, but essentially if you ask a question about a menu or even tell a Londoner thank you, they look at you as if you are a deranged insect.
Edinburgh, not so much. We were exhausted last night from the drive and did not have a chance to get dinner until after 9:30. So, several of us found a Chinese take away (or "take out" to Americans) place. The man working there was so hospitable! He answered every question, talked with us, and made sure our orders were correct. I've had the same treatment from everyone I've met here.
Additionally, people seem more receptive to compliments about their children here. In the US, it's rather common to tell a mother she has a beautiful family and for her to at least smile. In England, not so much. When I was at Canterbury, this adorable one year old was trying to walk up the steps, and he made it! I clapped for him because it was adorable; the mother got away from me pretty fast.
Today on the bus here in Scotland, however, the cutest child I've seen so far in the UK got on the bus with her mother. She had to be no older than two, and she was wearing white pants, a pink and white striped shirt, and pink sunglasses. The big kicker was she had red hair and pale skin--such a cute little Scottish baby! On the bus, she was fascinated with the window. When we got off the bus, I told the mother, "You have such a cute little girl!" She told me thank you, then looked at her daughter and said, "Can you tell them goodbye?" The little girl waved at our class, saying "Bye!" CUTENESS!
Scotland: 5, England: 0
Accessibility
Anyone who knows me well knows that disabilities are something I care about deeply. While in London, I have been disturbed by the oversight in making buildings accessible and the at times outright hostility I have witnessed toward people with physical disabilities. In London, only one fourth of the Tube stations have elevators ("lifts"), many staircases or even steps into buildings do not have hand rails, I have seen maybe two wheelchair ramps in the whole city, and the sidewalks are extremely crooked and difficult to walk on. On a more offensive level, the people themselves seem not to care. There is one person in our class with a physical problem, and people refuse to give her space when she is walking, will not let her have the accessible seating, so many bad things. I even saw one woman, who did not have a physical issue but was sitting in the handicapped area anyway, give the student a dirty look while she had to STAND in the Tube. One loser in particular really made us mad the other day: I was holding her arm as she walked and there was a man on the corner, blocking our way; when I said, "Excuse us," he looked up, picked up his cell phone, and started texting - he did not move. After we passed him by, which was tricky, I called him a pretty nasty word involving male genitalia, and I said it just loud enough for him to hear. What a LOSER! I have to say, that kind of nonsense makes me proud to be American. Not only do we have the ADA which enforces strict building codes, but we also would not tolerate some jackass like that!
Edinburgh? It's been night and day! There are lifts/elevators in each building we have seen so far, and there seems to be more awareness of disabilities. The librarians themselves seem to be more concerned with accessibility, too. For instance, in the National Scottish Library, the main librarian explained to us that they have accompanying audio with all of their exhibits to ensure, in his words, "disability accessibility." The sidewalks are actually paved, too. Also, people actually get out of the way here.
Scotland: 6, England: 0
If you read my post about St. Paul's Cathedral Library, then you know how I feel about people who refuse to speak audibly. Today at the National Records of Scotland, the archivist said, "I speak quietly, but if you can't hear me, please tell me. I don't want to be so quiet no one can hear me."
Scotland: 7, England: 0
Festivals
Edinburgh has a jazz festival and a film festival going on right now. London does not.
Scotland: 8, England: 0
Londoners still refer to the United States as "the colonies." When we rode to Stonehenge on the Fourth of July, one bus driver told us he always wore black on the Fourth to mourn the "loss of the colonies," and yes, he was dressed in solid black.
The impression I have so far is Scottish people appreciate Americans because we got our independence. For instance, when we were at the National Records of Scotland, the archivist pointed us to a big statue, which happened to be of George III. He said, "That statue makes him look rather glorious, but I suppose that was misleading. I love showing Americans that statue." Ha! Overall, I have not witnessed any caustic attitudes--so far, at least.
Scotland: 9, England: 0
Overall, I'd say even after a day I much prefer Scotland to England. Don't get me wrong; London is a fantastic city, and there are many splendid towns in the country. Taken as a whole, though, there are a good many pesky things about London that are absent in Scotland. As one person said in our class, everything is so chill here. It really is. Oh, and no one has called me a "stupid little American" for taking a picture. And seeing mountains all around doesn't hurt. :)
I'll end today with a few pictures I took. Enjoy!
The hotel where J.K. Rowling finished the last Harry Potter novel:
"It's not unusual..."
Outside the National Records of Scotland:
Inside the National Records of Scotland:
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| George III! |
A view from the George IV Bridge:
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| Edinburgh Castle! |
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