Spencer Visits the Rooms of Requirement

A mate from undergrad came to visit this weekend. Spencer is currently studying in Budapest. Cheap flights to be had - thank you, Europe!
On Saturday, one of my Norwich mates who drove me up to Edinburgh when I moved was in town. We toured about the Royal Mile a bit with her, showed off my law school and favourite coffee shop, and went up Calton Hill - the home of several really cool monuments and observatories.
Sunday, we had a grand time trekking up Arthur's Seat in some fairly insane wind and rain. We were thoroughly soaked by the time we came down, but the sky managed some clear views while we were at the top, and it was well worth it. We also went to karaoke at Frankenstein's Bar - great ambiance. Spencer sang in the "State of Fifths" a capella group with Evan...it was so lovely to hear him sing again. The DJ was seriously impressed by his "Walking in Memphis".

Fare thee well, Norwich!

I have completed a lovely four days in Norwich and Cambridge. While I did not manage to give a lecture on the hydro cycle on Monday thanks to the train drama, I did manage to have several dinners and breakfasts with close friends, a really good meeting around the Marshall service project, and great conversation and feedback on my virtual hydro-hegemony work from my dissertation. 

Now, heading back to Edinburgh. I'm sitting in the Peterborough rail station once again...though this time, we are this far (mostly) on time. Known on wood!!

DRD Communities Map

As part of getting to know each other, my Dorm Room Diplomacy Group has created a communities map. Stars symbolize our citizenship. Places our families come from are indicated by diamonds, and our extended families and friends are shown with circles.

When we "unveiled" this map in one of our hangouts, there was a lot of excitement. We found shared circles of friends we never would have expected, learned about holidays and roommates, and heard stories of family histories.

Together, all these relationships create a picture that is "freakishly global". And, thanks to the friendships we are building in our weekly Google+ Hangouts (which have already included lovingly teasing blond jokes, debates on whether "Harry Potter" or "Lord of the Rings" is better, and discussions on the unavailability of Kindles in Malaysia), it is clear these ten differently colored communities are quickly becoming one giant network.

Train Update

The bad news: I am currently stranded on a train without electricity north of Peterborough, almost certainly missing the lecture I'm supposed to be giving at UEA.
The good news: It is significantly less of a very bad thing when this happens to trains than to planes.

The bad news: We don't have running water in the toilets.
The good news: This Girl Scout is prepared! My first aid kit, including hand sanitiser, has made me popular in my coach.

The bad news: We are clearly going to be stuck for a while, because they've started giving out free bottles of water.
The good news: We have water!

The bad news: We are stuck until the "recovery locomotive" arrives, and even when it gets here, there will need to be a lot of assessment work and time-consuming maneuvering to actually make something happen.
The good news: There's a recovery locomotive on its way! (A recovery locomotive! I feel like I'm in an episode of "Thomas the Tank Engine"...)

The bad news: Our recovery locomotive has apparently become lost. 

The good news: Such things lead to really great statements from British transport officials. "We sent an engineer out fifteen minutes ago to walk the locomotive in; however, it hasn't shown up yet. We're not sure where it is."

Reading Week

It's reading week for the University of Edinburgh - no classes for a week midterm. Many courses have essays and assignments due just after. Since I only have one essay per term per course, it's basically just a week off as far as I'm concerned.

So, naturally, I scheduled more classes for myself...

I'm currently on a train heading to Norwich to give a few lectures at UEA this week on my work on the hydro cycle and virtual hydro-hegemony. Nothing says vacation like a Power Point with trade relationship data!! :)

I'm also going to have a few days in Cambridge to meet with Marshalls on service project, a joint paper, and Thanksgiving planning. 

And, of course, lots of reuniting with Norwich mates. 

This is all dependent on actually getting there. At the moment, it does not look like I'm actually going to make the first of my scheduled lectures...the train I'm on is currently at a standstill with no electricry because the lines are down...and it seems we are the ones who fried the lines. Stranded north of Peterborough and missing the connection to Norwich I was supposed to make. The presentation was co with our artist, so hopefully she'll happily go on without me. I will sit here with a dying phone and no electricity! Grand fun. (The public transit system in the UK really is fantastic, and this does not usually happen. Only, apparently, when I'm supposed to be giving lectures and have tight timing turnarounds...)

Oh, what a day...

Things that happened today in the life of Rebecca:

• I got to see Malala Yousafzai in action - and also two of her friends from Pakistan, Kainat Riaz and Shazia Ramzan, who were on the bus with her and now go to school in south Wales. (By the way, my university gave Malala an honorary Master of Arts...)
• I sat directly behind Sir Tim O'Shea, the Principal of my university, and an alumnus of ours...Gordon Brown.
• The former President of Ghana, His Excellency John Agyekum Kufuor, chastised me for not spending more time in sub-Saharan Africa.
• I took Zainab Bangura, the UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, to the airport.
• I also had lunch with all of the above people.

Don't ever let anyone tell you grad school can't be epic.

Saturday's Events

Two cool things happening this weekend I get to take part of:


The Global Justice Academy is delighted to welcome the Global Citizenship Commission to the University of Edinburgh on 19 October 2013.
The Global Citizenship Commission – a body of global leaders representing politics, religious institutions, law and philanthropy – will be led by former Prime Minister, Gordon Brown.
The Commission will re-examine the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and discuss the many global developments since its passing over 60 years ago. Malala Yousafzai, the teenage girl who survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban, will be guest of honour at the event and will deliver a keynote address.
The Global Justice Academy has been working with students, through its Human Rights Courses, to encourage greater understanding of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. The Academy hopes to support students, staff and the wider public to make submissions to the Global Citizenship Commission.
And:
Voices in Conflict: Rights, Realism, and Moral Outrage. A conference from the Edinburgh Peace Initiative, including an interview with Zainab Bangura, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General on Sexual Violence in Conflict.

We'll see how these go! Excited to get to know the Edinburgh peace and justice community a bit.