Hogwarts in the Snow

Halò my fellow adventurers! Update: I have decided to transfer to Hogwarts here in Scotland

Just Kidding! Don't worry I still attend the University of Edinburgh, but from the looks of this photo, can you tell where I am?

No Hogwarts express, no magical spells, cars or any other transportation other than my feet were needed for this magical photo to happen!

I am actually standing in the middle of the University of Edinburgh's College of Divinity school grounds! Now of course it doesn't snow just above this campus, it just so happens that for a few days here in Edinburgh it snowed, just in time for me to swing by the college and pose for a quick photo!

Once inside the school of divinity, there are multiple classrooms, a stunning library and a beautiful courtyard that I'm sure must be stunning in the springtime! While I am currently not taking any divinity classes, if I ever make it back to Edinburgh someday in the future once I have graduated, I might consider taking a course or two here because this might be the closest I ever actually get to studying at Hogwarts (with the bonus of taking some amazing religion classes)!

Today as I write this post, the date is Wednesday January 24, 2018, which feels like a Thursday to me since I have no Friday classes, giving me more time to explore this beautiful city!

The photo above of me taken at the school of divinity is from Sunday January 21st, and since then I have explored so much more of the city, it was only a bonus that it snowed!

Believe it or not, during the fall semester of 2017 here in Edinburgh, so I have been told (since I was not here yet), this entire past winter season it did not snow once in Edinburgh. As a matter of fact, while at a coffee shop I overheard a local barista say that it hasn't snowed in the city of Edinburgh in almost 5 years, so I should feel lucky to be here with snow at this time of year (which I am, I am so blessed and grateful for every experience I have had)!

Back to this past weekend before my Hogwarts photo was taken, on Saturday the 20th, I attended my first two local farmers markets in Edinburgh, one called 'the Edinburgh's Farmers Market' and the other called, 'the Grassmarket Market'. While both of them were much smaller than what I am used to experiencing in the states, I love going where the locals go, doing what the locals do and emerging myself in culture so that I can get to experience every aspect of the country I am in, in order to grow out of my comfort zone! In another post under the 'excursion reviews' tab I will go more in depth about the markets, add some photos and share my thoughts about it. Not to give too much away, but in short I really enjoyed the markets a lot, I know I will be going back in the future to another one!

Aside from the farmers markets, I also did some antique shopping with a friend! While we didn't buy anything at any of the antique stores, we did by some nice unique leather wallets at a little shop down the street. The leather wallets we got (see picture on the right side), have a little book shelf on them with book titles and everything! The moment I saw this wallet I knew I had to have it! My friend who got a wallet too, got the black version, as I got the tan one, and cool fun fact, her wallet bookshelf has different titles than mine has! Reading the book titles from left to right (on my wallet); Watership Down, Winter's Night, The Scarlet Letter, Far From The Madding Crowd, Gulliver's Travels, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, On The Road, The Chronicles of Narnia - The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, The Three Musketeers, The Hobbit, and finally (the last one on the right), The Golden Notebook.

After doing a little shopping, we then headed over to a place nearby called Hula Juice, and let me tell you, if you are ever in Edinburgh, I highly recommend checking out this place because my smoothie was amazing and I know in the very near future I will be going back for some food! And of course like i've said before, stay tuned for a whole food post about Hula Juice which I will feature under my 'restaurant reviews' tab!

Now moving back onto Sunday the 21st, before this photo was taken, a small group of friends and I actually attend church. Every Sunday at 11am, Greyfriars Church (an Anglican church), holds mass in their beautiful parish located not far from the school! Once inside, I have to say the mass, singing, readings, scenery, all of it was so beautiful, I know I will go back again, however, what struck me most of all about the church were the local parishioners who attend the mass weekly, who came up to us to welcome us into the family. A sweet old man and a middle aged woman proceed to tell us all about the church's history and significance after the mass. They were so encouraged to see such young university students attending that they told us we were welcome back anytime, and of course we accepted. Now while I am used to going to a Catholic church back in the states, I have to say that while I am here in Scotland, even though Catholic churches do exist and perhaps I will find one, just the experience of having a service spoken in a Scottish accent, in a church parish that is attached to my school, next to the famous graveyard where J.K. Rowling got many of the names for her Harry Potter books (such as Voldemort), I have no problem attending a different mass as it once again goes with my theme of living as the locals do in this foreign land!

Finally about an hour or two after mass, stopping in between at a really nice french bakery to get some lunch and coffee, was when the photo of myself was taken at the University of Edinburgh's College of Divinity campus! After the photo, my little group of friends and I walked down to Princess Street to do some shopping, buy some sweaters and basque in the glory of our magical time in the snow!

Now here I am today, January 24th, 2018, writing this post, and all I really have to say about Monday and Tuesday is that I had classes, studied, cooked some good food and enjoyed every moment of living in this new world. Of course today, Wednesday, I was supposed to have a morning class as well, but it got unexpectedly cancelled (of course after we all got to class the professor called out sick), so after I left, I made some lunch and then walked to St. Giles Cathedral with a friend, took some photos (which I will share in another post), did some school work and now I am so tired, I am ready for bed!

Before I sign off there's just one thing I want to mention, I know I said in my very first 'Welcome to My Blog' post that I would try and write everyday, however, that prediction was made before I got to Scotland, started attending classes and realized that sometimes a few days need to go by before I feel as though I have enough to write about! So moving forward, while of course I will still try and write as often as I can, it seems as though my posts will be coming out every 3-4 days or so, maybe every 2 days once I start getting into the swing of things. So don't fret if you don't see an update for a few days, I haven't forgotten about you my fellow adventurer, I am just out and about creating memories!

Until Next Time...

Cheers,

Meghan Chayka

(P.S. - don't forget, if you ever have any travel questions, suggestions or just want to say hi, feel free to message me from my Contact page, I would love to hear from you! I am also open to suggestions as to what countries I should visit during my April spring break, so please if you have any I would love to hear from you!)