The Love Month: February

So, the shortest month of the year has ended. Usually as soon as 1st February comes around most girls get excited since it means Valentine's Day is close. This year, being away from my boyfriend I decided not to celebrate it. However (fortunately? lol) I neglected to inform him of that decision and he surprised me anyway (aww :).hehe). Anyway, back to the topic of Valentine's day. It seems the day has become in the minds of some girls/women, a day to receive from their partners rather than a day of give and take or even just as a day of expressing love to all dear ones, whether boyfriends, husbands, parents or siblings even. I don't see why women should expect to be the only ones on the receiving end, guys also like to be showered with love and gifts too! Hopefully, come next Valentine's day, more women and girls will think about how to show their love to the men in their lives (and to their families and friends - it doesn't just have to be about romantic love does it?) rather than thinking of ways to acquire material things from their poor long-suffering boyfriends/husbands.

Another day that made February even more special this year was the fact that 2012 is a leap year, meaning 29th February a.k.a Leap Day came around. In Scotland, Ireland and a few other European countries, it's been known over the years as the day women are 'allowed' to propose to men. Interesting, huh :)? Here's an article I found talking about the different versions of how it came about: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/27/leap-year-proposal-tradition_n_1305525.html .

The first time I heard of this tradition was when I watched the romantic comedy 'Leap Year' sometime last year (click here for the trailer: Leap Year movie trailer (2010) ). Little did I know that I would be so close to a place where an actual proposal would take place on 'leap day' this year! A lady travelled all the way from UAE with her boyfriend and sprung a lovely surprise proposal on him at the Royal Mile in Edinburgh. (Watch the video here: Leap Year proposal in Edinburgh 29/02/2012 ).
Although these two days are special and well-noted days for love and romance and all that goes with it, I don't think we should limit ourselves to just these 2 out of 366 days for expressing love. So if these two days passed you by without any romantic gestures coming your way or without you taking the initiative to carry out a romantic act of your own, don't fret, there are still 304 days of this year left for you to find love and/or give love!
Everyday is an opportunity to love and be loved! Happy March everyone :)

Happy New Year! (better late than never! ;))

As the title of this post suggests, I am here to say 'Happy New Year!' and officially open the blogging gates for 2012! Yaaay! ^__^
In Edinburgh, the festival of Hogmanay (a Scottish tradition) is celebrated from Dec 30th to January 1st. It is opened with a torchlight procession on the night of the 30th (which this year I partook in with my boyfriend), continues with music concerts from then till midnight of the 31st when there's a fireworks display, and then ends with New Year games on the 1st of January. Most of the bands playing at this year's Hogmanay were all rock bands and since that kind of music holds no particular appeal for me, Glasgow became my destination for December 31st. (For more explanation on what Hogmanay is about, and particularly the 2011/2012 Hogmanay celebrations, check out this website: http://www.edinburghshogmanay.com/ )

The torchlight procession (ignore the strange man,lol)

New Year's was spent with my brother and my boyfriend (who came all the way from Ghana just for me!! Love!!) in Glasgow. It was quite simple, we went out to eat with a friend of my brother's and then got back to his flat just in time to watch the fireworks going on in Edinburgh at midnight (ironic in a way,considering I live in Edinburgh but only that night ended up in Glasgow,lol). It was quite different from previous New Year's I had spent in Ghana; up until 2011, I had welcomed in the New Year for the past 10 years at church with my family at the Watch night service.
After calling family back home in Ghana to share the usual 'Afe nhyia pa' greetings (roughly meaning 'Happy New Year' in Twi), we all went off to bed. Again, quite different from how we would have spent the early hours of New Year's day if we'd been in Ghana.
Most people like to make New Year's resolutions and ask others about what theirs are, this year however, I'm not making any lists. My plan is to finish my course successfully and hopefully, achieve some other personal goals which have gathered dust over the years and even more relevant to this post, be more committed and regular in posting here on my blog. Hopefully, this will help me hone my writing skills.
January is almost gone but it's still not too late to make some New Year's resolutions if you want to. May 2012 be a year of greater achievements, filled with more joy, good health, peace and love for us all!

Fireworks at Calton Hill (after the procession)

Have A Merry Scottish Christmas!

So I haven't been regular with my posts here. I would like to blame it on the numerous essays I had to write at the end of the semester which kept me cooped up in my room for weeks. However, as a new year is approaching, I will take full responsibility and admit that I have been lazy. I shall now bow my head in shame.
Ok, now that's out of the way, today is the 24th of December, 2011, a.k.a Christmas eve and I am in Glasgow. I cannot believe for the very first time in my life, I'm spending Christmas away from my home and family in Ghana. Perhaps this is one of the many signs that my life is changing and I am growing. I cannot say that I like this particular change but you never know where change will lead you so I have accepted this. I must say though, up till this point I have not really felt that it is the Christmas season. Could it be because there is no goat bleating outside my window in the mornings? That the weather is cold and white not dry and hazy? That I've found myself shopping on Princes street in Edinburgh and Buchanan street in Glasgow and not in Makola, Accra? Could it be because there aren't crates of Malta Guiness, bags of flour chips and cakes in the kitchen instead there are half empty packs of Chinese takeaway and plastic bottles of 7up and Pepsi? Or even more importantly is it because all I'm hearing is Santa Claus bringing gifts and not the story of how Mary and Joseph travelled to Bethlehem to have baby Jesus? Yes, these are all the reasons why I still don't feel it's Christmas. Because my memories of Christmas in Ghana are quite different to what I'm experiencing in Scotland. As an aspiring anthropologist however, I shall not turn up my nose at this different Christmas, rather I shall observe and try to find the joy in this very Scottish Christmas of 2011.
I am thankful to God for this Christmas, and for the new experiences it brings with it. Come tomorrow, I hope I will finally feel like it's Christmas. Even if it's away from most of all I hold dear.

Merry Christmas everyone!    

Wet Weekend in Glasgow (part 1)

Ok, so I haven't been as regular in posting here as I would have liked. I guess I tend to feel as though I haven't really fulfilled the purpose of blogging unless I've written a long piece. But I've changed my mind about that now so here I am!
So, a lot (and I mean A LOT) has happened since I last wrote. That should probably be obvious from the fact that I've been absent here. even today, I ended up taking the wrong bus and having to find my way home on foot carrying a large six pack of water, but that's a story for another day. But as the title of the post says, I'm going to tell the oh-so-delightful tale of how I was beaten by the rain (again) but this time in Glasgow.
This happened I think..(checking the calendar) 2 weekends ago. I went to Glasgow because I was tempted by my friend(s) with promises of banku, fried plantain, beans stew, chicken soup (CHICKEN SOUP!!!), etc etc. Having starved for most of the week because I can't bring myself to get used to the 'obroni' food here, quickly did I pack my stuff and head to Glasgow! (My initial plan had been to study over the weekend but alas, my stomach won the fight over my brain, hmm).
So I took the train from Edinburgh to Glasgow which lasted about an hour. I had a smile on my lips through the whole train ride thinking and dreaming about the treat my stomach was about to experience. When I arrived I wasn't disappointed; I started off with some deliciously spicy jollof with mince stew (just remembering it is making my taste buds wake up) washed down with a cool bottle of Malta Guinness (Malta Guinness?! In Scotland?! I was in food heaven :)). I was so happy! And we spent the rest of the early evening chatting (gossiping, hehe), watching TV etc etc.
And then, (and this is where the real story begins) I was told that we were going to head out and meet up with friends for drinks. Feeling very full, relaxed and content where I was, I really wasn't enthusiastic about dressing up and going out into the cold night (the word cold is even an understatement); I dragged my feet for as long as I could but eventually had to give in since everyone was going and I felt it was the least I could do after I'd been fed so well.
We all dressed up and were ready by about 10:30 pm, and this was Saturday night. So they started calling different taxi companies to find one that could take us to the bar/club. Being Saturday night, most of the taxis were very busy so the only taxi we could get would have come in half an hour at the earliest. Realizing that the friends we were meeting were already at the place and had been waiting for a while, we decided to walk. Yes, walk. This would have been ok except when we got outside, it had started to drizzle slightly. My first instinct was, 'Let's go back in!'. But no, it wouldn't be nice to have kept our friends waiting that long and then not show up at all so hoping the drizzle would stop soon, we continued walking.
We'd walked quite some distance when the inevitable happened; it began to drizzle harder, and the drizzle gave way to serious rain. so now we're stuck in between the bar and the apartment, dilemma; which way do we go? We continue bravely towards our destination, shivering because we were dressed up in 'Saturday night chilling' clothes. And it continued to rain. Those of us with weaves began to worry, and me with my braids, wondered if I should worry too. hmm. To make our situation even more painful, the taxi we had called seemed to have made it after all and we watched in silent despondence as it sped past us and took the curve heading to the apartment. Oh, the ironies of life!

With much shivering, we continued on and just when we were about 5 minutes away from the bar, the rain receded. Can someone tell me why the elements find it so hilarious to play these pranks on us poor mortals?? Anyway, after having our IDs closely scrutinized by the bouncer at the entrance, we made it into the warmth of the bar (ahhhh, dry land at last! :)).
We really didn't have to say much by way of explanation to the friends who had now been waiting for about an hour; our soaking wet clothes said it all and they sympathized.
 We found somewhere to hang our coats and joined them and tried to get warm. After chatting for a bit we decided to get drinks! We looked through the menu and each decided, a few of us remained seated while the others went to get the drinks. In the meantime, I amused myself by watching the off-beat dancing antics of the 'mmr)fo', it was really hilarious and I was entertained for a while.
Then one of my friends decides all this techno/obroni music just isn't cutting it for us Africans.So, she took it upon herself to ask the DJ whether he would play some hip-hop (we're Africans alright!). I did my best to dissuade her but she was determined. I watched as she walked into the DJ's 'box' (is that what it's called?), and I knew I was going to enjoy the events that were about to unfold. I watched as she asked the DJ a question, watched as her lowered his earphone to make her repeat the question and watched as he decisively shook his head. Needless to say, she came back with a very heavy head and, as we used to say back in primary school, a 'black eye', hehe!
By this time our drinks had arrived and we proceeded to down them, I savoured mine for as long as I could; a strawberry cosmopolitan (mmm -__-). Not long after I was finally starting to feel relaxed, I realized 2 of the friends were getting up and putting their coats on, they were leaving! I checked the time on my phone; we'd been there for at most 40 minutes! So they left but I thought to myself,well, there's still a lot of us here maybe we'll stay a while. That was not to be. Less than 5 minutes after the first 2 left, the rest decided we might as well all go home.
I looked at the drink in my hand and looked at their faces and thought to myself; so I walked through the rain at the risk of catching cold or even pneumonia just to come and sit in a techno-playing-offbeat-mmr)fo-dancing bar and have one drink?? Such is the sadness that is my life.
I sipped the last of my drink and we headed out. Now,how to get back home was our new dilemma. However, I think God was feeling sorry for us so miraculously we walked up right next to a taxi which had just dropped off some people. I have never been so grateful to see an empty taxi! Was I relieved when we got home!
And the moral of the story is.....(drum-roll please!) she who thinks with her stomach will surely be beaten by rain as punishment. No wonder gluttony is a sin, smh.
(I'm sure you've noticed this post is titled 'part 1', you guessed it! this was not the end of my encounter with rain for that weekend, watch out for Part 2!!!!! *Ghanaian movie advert voice* :)

 

The food that pulled me to Glasgow (jollof and Malt!) 

My one drink :( (strawberry cosmopolitan) and the candle I tried to warm myself with -__-

First Week - A Wet Welcome (Part 2)

Let me continue from where I left off; I had just parted ways with my flatmate and was heading back to my room (at least, I thought I was). Please note, that on this 'journey' I have a duvet tucked under one arm and a pack of two pillows in one hand. With this picture in mind, let me proceed to narrate my tale.
As I walked down the street, I took note of the buildings I remembered seeing from when we had first gone to do our registration. All seemed to be going well and I was becoming more and more confident with each step until, the weather changed. Yes, it had been slightly cloudy since morning, but then all of a sudden, the wind became stronger and it started to drizzle and the drizzle was slowly turning into full-on rain.
Strong wind + fast rain = wet slaps in the face. These wet slaps were quite painful, almost like a human hand was behind them (remember how I said the wind here seems to be a person hiding underneath a cloak of invisibility?here's the proof!). This rain was giving me two huge problems; 1) The rain in my face was blinding me, so I really couldn't see where I was going - a particularly dangerous problem for someone with a penchant for getting lost and 2) The wind was really strong and with every two steps I took, the wind pushed me back one step - which was very discomfiting especially since I was already weighed down by a duvet and two pillows.
A smart person would ask; 'Why didn't you take the bus??', my answer; 'Directionally-challenged girl from Ghana + new city x new country x different traffic rules = walking is safer'. I could hardly remember the way back to my flat on foot; how was I to know which buses even went that way? Anyway, back to the situation.
I was making as much progress as I could considering all the elements against me when one very (on retrospect, quite hilarious) embarrassing (since I was in public) thing happened: a particularly strong gust of wind grabbed hold of the pillows  in my hand just as I was struggling to open my umbrella (I was getting tired of the rain in my face) and whipped them straight out of my grip! I watched in dumbfounded amazement and incredulity as my brand new pillows tumbled down the pavement heading for the street where huge buses were rapidly approaching; in that split second my hopes of a good night's sleep flashed before my eyes and disappeared with my captive pillows. By some miracle, one lady at a bus stop close by who like the other pedestrians had noticed my misfortune, grabbed the pillows right before they tumbled into the path of an approaching bus! She smiled sympathetically as I approached her and took the rescued pillows from her, I couldn't thank her enough! God bless that woman! (The umbrella didn't survive though, it rests in pieces on my bedroom floor now).
With that hurdle crossed, I turned round with an embarrassed smile - some of the pedestrians who had witnessed the Runaway Pillows incident were looking at me with sympathy(or was it pity?) - and returned to my previous goal; finding my way to the flat.


It was still raining and the wind was still strong and I was COLD! Obviously, I got lost- this, after walking for approximately half hour (it might have been shorter,being beaten by wind AND rain can do things to one's sense of time) . I couldn't recognise any of the signs or places I was near so I decided to stop at  the closest bus stop to get my bearings-smart move right?
I was busily scrutinizing the map I had picked up from the visitor's centre earlier that day (oh yes, I was forearmed :)) and trying to figure out where on the map I was when I heard a bus approaching the stop I was standing in front of. It had stopped raining but it was wet everywhere. I looked up absent-mindedly as the bus got closer. Without warning, my face was met with a huge splash of rainwater from a puddle in the road which the bus' tire ran through as it drove past! I was in shock! My mind tried to process what had just happened; I felt as though I was in a film or was the object of a sick joke. I looked round quickly to make sure no one nearby had witnessed my humiliation; the coast was clear (whew!).Luckily, I had a hankie in my pocket -thanks to the have-a-hankie-at-all-times training I was given in boarding school- so, I wiped my face, feeling very sorry for myself and missing home (sobs) and resumed my quest to find my way to my flat.
I stood at that bus stop for another half hour or so before -through divine intervention I believe- I realized the street I was on, was right behind the street where I lived. If I wasn't feeling so sorry for myself I would have smacked myself.
When I finally got to my room, I sat down for a while pondering over what I had just experienced. Then I suddenly remembered my face had just been 'baptised' with dirty puddle water and went to wash my face :-| .
Note to self: Learn from Hansel and Gretel's example and leave pebbles along the way when leaving the flat next time. Then again, they were kidnapped by a witch in the end *pause* probably not such a good example then. The only other solution, is to stay in and never come out.      
So that, was my very wet welcome to Edinburgh, true story.

First Week - A Wet Welcome(Part 1)

I was fortunate enough to have my big brother around to pick me up from the airport and help me find my feet in Scotland that first weekend. He dropped me off at my flat on a Sunday and then I was on my own. (For those of you who don't know me, I'm currently in Edinburgh to do my MSc at the University of Edinburgh, so this blog is sort of a record of the events and experiences I'm having , will have and hope to have while I'm here)
The start of Induction week at the school; registration, matriculation (call it what you will), selection of courses, all the necessary processes for becoming a fully registered student at the school take place during this week. Being both a postgraduate and an international student, there were other events which were catered to a person in my category (I think ?). 
My main focus for the day though was to get my student ID card. There were two reasons for this: 1) the student card is my passport/visa in the country that is the University;it grants you entry into most of the places on campus and, 2)there are several discounts for students (food, clothes, transport, the list is endless!) provided you can SHOW a valid student ID. You decide what my most important reason was...;). 
There were several obstacles which threatened to impede my acquisition of this treasured, tiny but powerful card; A)The weather( I strongly believe the wind in Edinburgh is actually a person who is using a cloak of invisibility and gains great satisfaction from messing with people's hair, clothes etc. Seriously), B)My completely hopeless sense of direction compounded by the fact that I have never been in Scotland before (and also the fact that I come from Ghana where we drive on the right side of the road-not the left- and if you need directions you can ask just about anyone and they are bound to have some idea of where you're heading-even if that idea is wrong) and C)My exhaustion (I hadn't had a chance to rest properly since I'd stayed up late chatting the night away at my brother's apartment + I had neglected to order a duvet and pillow prior to my arrival so had slept terribly on Sunday night). However, I was determined!
Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on how you look at it) I was not the only international student feeling like a headless chicken that had been spun round several times; most of my flatmates also needed to figure out where we were to pick up our ID cards. Thus, our little adventure began.
I forgot to mention, we had lunch with other students in our building before setting out so this gave us the chance to come up with a common plan on how to get the card and also to fuel ourselves with much needed energy for the 'excursion'. 
Through some miracle (thank you, God!) one guy in our little group knew the way to the registration centre,so we followed him dutifully like obedient sheep follow their shepherd. And we made it there in one piece (YES!). 
I think after finding this previously elusive venue, I was feeling stupidly overconfident and so I decided to go and do a little shopping for my essentials (i.e. a duvet and a set of pillows). This is not where my overconfidence steps in though,watch this space. Thankfully, 2 of my flatmates also needed to buy similar things so we went together to buy our stuff. (Now this is where my stupid overconfidence kicks in, just watch.And this is after we've all paid for our items)
My flatmate: I think I'm going to explore Princes street a bit, wanna come?
Me(feeling very confident):Oh, you go ahead. I think I'll head back to the flat.
Flatmate: Oh ok. Guess I'll see you later then!
Me: Sure! (we both smile,wave and head off in opposite directions) I think to myself, 'I've got this! I remember the way back!' Not!
So,guess what happened next? your guess is as good as mine...:) (To be continued)
 

Welcome!

My journey to the land of Scots began on my 24th birthday;by the time I was 24 and a day old, my feet (and obviously-or not- the rest of my body as well) were in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Today is my (counting my fingers) 12th day in Scotland and several words describe my time here so far:cold, windy, interesting, enlightening, cold(yes, I know I already said that), beautiful, new and et cetera (yes, et cetera also describes the experience i.e. it is an ongoing adventure :)). And today, I begin this blog which will detail my life in Scotland and specifically in Edinburgh. That is, unless I digress or procrastinate. Hopefully, I will stick to the main goal.

Anyway, welcome to the life of a Ghanaian girl in Edinburgh, Scotland! I hope we will all enjoy this journey :)