Autumn in Edinburgh

Last Friday was the second-to-last match of the Rugby World Cup, so I was able to watch the entire Argentina vs. France game for bronze. I think I understood the entire match, which is great for it being only the third or so rugby game I've watched all the way through.

Saturday night was the final, England and South Africa. Walking around the streets in the afternoon was interesting, because many of the native Edinburgers were discussing the upcoming game, wearing their Scotland jerseys, stocking up on lager, etc. As you can imagine, most Scots were rooting for South Africa. But there's also enough English in this city that England flags were everywhere. I wasn't planning on watching the final, but I wound up at one of the pubs frequented by students where a huge crowd had amassed. The pub itself is small, but it has a large outdoor area with about forty picnic tables, all completely full of students, then a solid wall of extremely tall guys standing up at the edge. I stood behind a few of these men, and so could see about 10% of the large projection screen. Not very good for following the match.
South Africa won, to the chagrin of the England supporters, and the delight of everyone else. As soon as the match finished, the previously-empty sidewalks were flooded with fans, including my group. Not twenty seconds later, the sound of police and ambulance sirens drowned out the cheering. Not surprised that a rugby match involving England would end in violence.

I think the World Series is going on at home? I only hear vague snippets, mostly overhearing American students talking about it. With the rugby gone, I'm not sure what sport will fill the void. Football (soccer), I guess.

In the past week the weather has changed very suddenly. Trees have turned golden and now the sidewalks are full of crunchy leaves. The early mornings (anything before sunrise which is at about 8 AM) have temperatures hovering just above freezing. It's not the temperatures that are bad, really, it's the wind... Edinburgh has the fortunate nickname "The Windy City", and it is very true.
At the same time, the gardens I pass by on the way to KB are even more colorful than before. A lot of roses, especially, and some gardenias, hydrangeas, some flowering trees that look like azaleas... beautiful!

Also on Saturday I poked around the Archaeology section of the National Museum of Scotland, about a fifteen-minute walk from home. The museum is split into two huge buildings, and probably takes over a day to see everything---something I would like to do eventually, and it is entirely free, so. The Archaeology was extremely interesting, so even if I didn't have to write a short paper on my findings, I would still have enjoyed it. All the artefacts in the collection are from Scottish sites. In Britain, anything dug up must be reported to a government branch dedicated to preserving the cultural and material history, and artefacts belong to the nation as a whole (or maybe the Queen? not sure). A council decides where the artefacts should go after they are analyzed---a local, regional, educational, or national museum, usually, so that they are completely accessible to the public. As a result, the collections of Scottish archaeological finds are impressive, and this exhibit was very well done.

I feel that my Archaeology of Scotland class is teaching me more about Scotland's geography and climate than I would have otherwise learned. I know all about how the Ice Age shaped the Highlands, where waterways are, the quality of the soil in different places. Completely impractical knowledge for me, but fascinating.