is this real life?

Please don't hate me for not posting in ages and then this post not even being about all my travel adventures. But I just want to let y'all know, I'm still alive and kickin' and now officially done with my semester! REAL LIFE DUDES.  so I've got plenty of time for blog catching up. Which may or may not mean, like 5 posts at once. I don't think I can do that, nor would people want to read them all at once, so I'll spread it out a little. I've been trying to journal about my spring break first, which is part of the reason I haven't blogged. I haven't come close to finishing journaling, and didn't want to blog before I journaled because the last time I did that, I didn't end up journaling about it. And I have this really fabulous journal that I want to use. I have used it, just not for my bigger, crazier, travel adventures. So you know..slacking on the home front. 
Somehow this semester is over and I don't know how it happened. I just survived a semester overseas and at a highly ranked university, world wide. I looked it up...University of Edinburgh is #20 overall of top universities in the world. Insane. Sometimes when I'm here I have to remind myself, this is real life. Like I'm going to a prestigious university in Scotland, in what is arguably the best city. I walked to the Blackford Hills yesterday which are in Edinburgh, but not as well known as Arthur's Seat or any of the stuff right in the city. The view was amazing of Arthur's Seat and the whole city. I sat in awe. I forget a lot of the time how blessed I am to have gotten to go here. In the midst of a city is nature and how cool is that? So much nature nearby. Edinburgh rules. I may have gotten a bit sad, thinking how quickly the time has past and soon I'll be back stateside. But Edinburgh will have a piece of my heart and I have got to get myself back here. It's already a done deal. I can't not come back. I just wish it weren't so far away.
I'm still shocked that I finished academics here without dying. Oddly enough, I didn't feel like it was that much worse. Granted it's an entirely different way of teaching and learning and testing and all that jazz, so maybe that's why I only felt completely overwhelmed when I had to start writing essays, but honestly I rocked them. At least it wasn't that hard to get 2000 words and books are really a good source. The library is insane here. Everyone is there. ALL THE TIME. Like it's never not crazy there. I don't get it. Well actually it makes a lot of sense because the books we need for class are available in the library. I never had to buy any books for the courses I took, thank the Lord. I got lucky that they were almost always available at the library, and when they weren't...I just didn't read or I found other ones that could work decently for research. Yep, that's the secret to my success here. Half the time I did nothing academic! Ha. That's kinda the whole point of study abroad; it's not really about the academics but more about getting to experience the world and learn how to navigate life.
Complete sidenote: Today is May 4th. Someone just blasted the Darth Vader march or whatever it's called and then like 10minutes later a bunch of guys only in their underwear ran by. What? So random. Some guy is still shouting into a megaphone. Hilarious. I can't see what's going on from my room, but I love it. Crazy Scots at their finest.

random sneakpeek Spring Break photo. UNICORN!

Okay, I don't even know what else to say after that. Tomorrow I WILL post at least 1 post to start my spring break storytelling. =)