I absolutely love what I'm doing! Don't get me wrong, I am really overwhelmed, at times frustrated, because this stuff is hard. Most days I don't know what I know...and I don't know what I don't know, but everyday I know that I am 100% certain that this is where I want to be.
I have met some amazing people here, and I really feel like I'm surrounded by the best of the best. In my program there are about 45 people, from every corner of the world. There are about 15-20 American and Canadian students, a handful of Germans, Dutch and Brits, a few Chinese and Japanese, while Australia, South Africa, Mexico, Norway, Ireland are all represented as well. There are more girls than guys, maybe a 60/40 split. Some have backgrounds in the European Union, political science, or history, while others studied English literature (yay!), business, or even music.
But I love trying to absorb all the information on theories, institutions of the European Union, and European law. Just on Friday, I went to a transatlantic seminar on "Obama and Multilateralism," which was very interesting about how the President has gone about making foreign policy thus far and what his biggest challenges are going to be in the future.
By the way, the picture is taken from Arthur's Seat, an extinct volcano, which overlooks the city. In the distance, right of center, you can see Edinburgh Castle, which is actually also built on a volcano. The tall buildings in the center are where I have some of my classes. (Click on the picture to make it bigger)
In my next entry, I have got to tell you about the international relations simulation that our class did at Edinburgh Castle, in a private room no less! Inevitably, the simulation turned into a war game! And guess who was representing the good ol' USA....
