PSA: I survived my first semester of graduate school!
Happy New Year family and friends and future readers! I hope your holidays were great. December has been a whirlwind of events, new friendships, studying for finals, typing papers, traveling, surprises, and so much, but nonetheless it was a great way to end 2017.This month’s blog will be all encompassing story that features the highlight events of December 2017. You can see some new pictures uploaded if you go to photo gallery.
Finals Week 2017:
Honestly, my finals week was an emotional rollercoaster. Between spending countless hours in the library, having pep talks from other post-grad students, bits of procrastination, tears, writers block here and there, having my community Bridge Family Church pray over the students, and the glorious feeling of finding the perfect resources that already had the Harvard reference style citation attached, finals was a journey to say the least. Most of the finals essays and exams in the MPH course count for 100% of the grade. Despite all the class discussions, readings, and small assignments, this one grade was our one shot to prove our knowledge of what we learned in all of semester one.
In spite of the pressure to succeed, one of the highlight moments I will never forget of finals 2017 is taking my statistics exam in the beautifully extravagant building McEwan Hall. The glorious dome- shaped McEwan hall is the building where graduates of University of Edinburgh cross the stage to receive their degree. The building has been with the university since the late 1800’s; interior has wide-open space with roman-style columns and hand-painted murals of students and philosophers. And there I am little old 5ft 2’’ Kayla sitting at a tiny wooden desk in the middle of the room in complete awe of the beautiful details, while simultaneously trying to figure out the significance of the p-value and confidence interval on the first question of my exam.
Needless to say, graduate school has made me most thankful for my fellow classmates as a support system (notice they rightfully take the cover for this month’s blog cover picture, taken at our MPH Christmas party). We often joke around as public health students that we need to reevaluate our mental health practices of working on our papers at the craziest hours of the night and early mornings running on just a few cups of coffee. Currently I am still patiently (and quite honestly nervously) waiting for grades to come back. I am confident that the many hours I put into studying, researching, and writing should pay off.
Rotary Life:
A few weeks ago, I was able to attend a rotary event at the Scottish Parliament. The event focused on the Duke of Edinburgh award, a prestigious international honor, and encouraging young people. Here in RGBI (Rotary in Great Britain and Ireland) 2018 is named the “Year of Young People” .Despite the honor of even being invited to the Parliament building (which very few Scottish natives have had the chance to do) the event itself was a humbling experience. I was able to reflect on my experiences in district 5930 and being a component of youth in Rotary from my RYLA days in district 5810. There were keynote speakers, breakout sessions, and many opportunities to network. The event was led by Jean Best, district 1020 Peace Officer and Rotary Peace Award receipts from the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. I feel like am making a connection with the Rotarians as I see them more and more as district events continue. One Rotarian from the Kirkcudbright Rotary Club ( near the Scottish /English borders invited me to speak at their club in the near future just based on my Rotary story I was able to share with him. I am looking forward to going and exchanging flags soon. Thank you to district governor Betty Ramirez-Lara for sending me some Rotary gear from my sponsored district.
A Piece of Home:
In late December, I had my first visitors from the U.S.! Since I was not able to fly back home for the holidays my TAMUCC friends came to visit me and to see the bonnie Scotland of course (they probably mostly came for Scotland lol). It was so refreshing to have my university friends from Texas meet my Edinburgh friends and to have a sense of home here with me especially before the holidays. With their visit, it was cheaper for them to fly into the London, Gatwick airport, so it was a perfect excuse for me to go to London for the first time to pick them up! I rode the bus to London (8 hours by bus 4 hours by train) and waited for my friends at Kings Cross Train station. While waiting at the station I saw one of my residents from the student accommodation, so we chatted for a while (#RAlife). As I get older, I notice the world is getting smaller. Anyways, I finally met my friends and we brought a day ticket to travel on the underground tube (the London subway system). Thanks to the street signs, google maps, and kind strangers, we were able to see all of the popular London tourist places in just 8 hours! We went to the London Eye, London Bridge, Big Ben (although its under-construction now), Buckingham Palace, and we even enjoy delicious food and music in Camden Town (birthplace of Amy Winehouse). When we arrived, back to Scotland I was able to be a part time tourist in my own city, as well as a full-time stressed graduated student trying to finish my last paper. We went to the Christmas markets, the national museum, attended a white elephant party with Bridge Family Church, did some Ceilidh dancing, attended an underground tour, and even hiked to the top Arthur’s seat. That week I learned so much more about Edinburgh. I am so grateful my friends came to visit, they are lovely humans and they helped to heal my holiday homesickness. I am ready for my next visitors (hint hint, please visit me). I know it is not cheap coming across the pond but you will not regret the adventure that awaits. I have been in this city for over five months now so I am self-acclaimed five star tour guide.
Mini European Travel Tour:
I am convinced that I have become the queen of quick affordable adventures (hence my 8 hour London trip). A couple of my friends and I decided to take advantage of our geographic location and go on a Euro travel extravaganza to Amsterdam, Brussels, and Paris! I would like to take a moment to thank all the affordable airline companies in Europe as well my University of Edinburgh student ID for getting us into the many beautiful museums for free #blessup. 6 days, 1 backpack, 2 buses, 3 countries, 4 flights, less than £150 on transportation ( including all flights and buses) , 60 miles of walking, and many great people to share this experience with along the way.
Amsterdam was our first destination on our Euro travel trip. I honestly never the Netherlands has never been on my top list of places to travel but I have developed a love for this uniquely charming city. Highlights of Amsterdam were definitely visiting the Anne Frank house, seeing the thousands of bicycles, and the genuinely nice citizens of Holland. Standing in the hiding annex where Anne Frank and her family hid for two years during WWII before they were captured by the Nazis was something I will never forget, the feeling of stillness and awe consumed my body realizing that this was their reality. This was reality not only for the Frank family but also for the hundreds of thousands of people that were targeted during the Holocaust. The inspiring thing to hold on to is that Anne Frank's words lived on even until today and will continue inspired millions.
Afterwards we caught a bus to Brussels, Belgium, land of the true French fries, chocolate, waffles, and capital of the European Union. Highlight of Brussels was definitely reuniting with my Rotary friend Max, who was an exchange student in South Texas last year. We also met with kind another kind Belgium Rotaractor, Lionel, whom gave us great hospitality and accommodation for the night. Max and Lionel showed us around the beautiful city of Brussels with the historic downtown square and the palace of the current King Philip. I am so grateful the guys where there to be our translators and tour guides. Their company and the beauty of the small city made Brussels one favorite top destinations. I hope to go back soon.
Paris the city of love (good thing I am in a relationship… with my passport… I know you all have been curious about that part of my life lol). Before going to Paris, I thought it was overrated and everyone made a big deal about it, but now that I have been, I know how incomparable this city is. After navigating the Paris metro system, ordering at a local French restaurant, and finding our hostel with maps all on the first day, we were convinced that we were French. My New Orleans roots and culture defiantly helped. When we arrived to the hostel we settled in and made friends with some of our new roommates from Brazil, Canada, and California. I even met a guy that graduated a few years before me from my same high school Plano West. Tell me it is not a small world.
It was nice to know that many young adults were traveling for the holidays, and that we would not be alone for Christmas. On Christmas day we went to the beautiful Notre Dame cathedral, took free history of Paris walking tour, and a boat ride near the Eiffel Tower .The entire day felt like a dream, as I tried to sit and just take it all in. The next day we traveled an hour outside of the city to visit the beautiful palace of Versailles. All I can say is lavish decadence. Just to put things into perspective, it was told to us that, just one candle on one of the many chandeliers in the palace was equivalent to a weeks’ worth of wages for a French commoner during the1600s. King Louise XIV truly made a beautiful momentous palace, yet unfortunately at the cost of others. No wonder why the French Revolution happened.
Guided Pathways
When leaving the Paris Charles De Gol Airport, we unfortunately were held from going through security due to a bomb detainment, which caused us to miss our flight. Since that was the last flight going to Edinburgh, we had to sleep overnight in the airport and get the first flight to the U.K. the following morning free of charge. What seemed like a glitch in our trip would turn out to be one of my favorite travel stories. As we search for a plug to charge our phones, vending machines for dinner, and a comfortable place to sleep on the floor, I ran into some wonderful people who also missed their flights. It was a southern girl from Alabama, and a girl from Ecuador also studying in the U.K., and a guy from southern France. Turns out we all had these crazy stories from our travels and we were all young believers. We stayed up laughing, sharing stories, testimonies, and of course following each other on social media. Airport friendships are the most spontaneous but always the greatest! I was thankful to end my Euro trip with them.
Funnily, when we got back to Scotland, it was like flying to a new adventure all over again. Although this blog shares highlight events that I will always remember nothing beats those slight experiences that are difficult to portray in words. As I mature, I am valuing conversations and people I meet more, even if it is just once. Not just those surface level conversations but the ones where each person shares what they truly think and show their authentic perspective and experiences through life. Take notice in the little things in life this 2018 you never know who and what adventures you might be led to.
I will be sure send updates at the end of January!
Much Love
jusqu'à la prochaine fois
Kayla
