Nothing too exciting today..

Today was a day mainly full of people talking at us about things relating to the services the school provides for us, such as computing and counseling and things like that.

We were set free at lunchtime, when I had my second go at matriculation, and was finally successful. So I am now OFFICIALLY a student at Dick Vet. Brilliant! After matriculating Jessica and I found a cute little cafe off the main road called Elephants and Bagels. I didn't take a picture (stupid!) but I will inevitably be returning there. I did collect this photo off the web, so you can get an idea at least what the outside looks like.

Elephants and Bagels

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The inside was very cute, on the wall were all drawings (presumably done by customers) of elephants doing various things (usually having to do with bagels), and there were little elephant figurines and things all over the place. The food was also quite enjoyable. I had a cup of Tomato & Basil soup and a buttered bagel, along with a delicious mug of cappuccino. Jessica had a bagel with hummus (spelled hoummus in the UK oddly enough), and a chocolate muffin. I'll try and snap a picture of the inside of it next time I go.

Also, it is interesting to note that this is NOT the same place as "The Elephant House" which is the birthplace of Harry Potter. However, I have passed The Elephant House a few times, and will be going in one of these days, if only to take a picture of the place J.K.Rowling sat while writing HP, because I am obsessed. Although it is reputable as having the best coffee in Edinburgh. :)

I also passed a little statue of Greyfriar's Bobby, which I snapped a shot of. "Bobby" was a dog owned by John Gray, an Edinburghian policeman in the early 1800s. John Gray died in 1858 of tuberculosis, and was buried in Greyfriar's kirkyard. Bobby, who outlived his master by 14 years, was often to be found sitting on his master's grave. In 1867 when a proclamation was made that ownerless dogs be captured and euthanized, Sir William Chambers (a director of the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), paid for Bobby's license, thus making him the responsibility of the city council. Bobby died in 1872, and is buried just inside the gate of the Greyfriar's kirkyard, and his epitaph reads: "Greyfriars Bobby — died 14th January 1872 — aged 16 years — Let his loyalty and devotion be a lesson to us all."

Greyfriar's Bobby
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Being the future vet that I am, I of course find this amazing, and I love how a dog has so much recognition and respect. Go Bobby! It is also hilarious to point out that the dog's statue used to face the opposite direction, looking towards his master's gravesite, however at some point the owner of the Greyfriar's Bobby Pub had him turned around so that the pub would be in the background of tourists pictures. (Thanks to Wikipedia for all this information!)

So after lunch we returned for a tour of the Summerhall building. We had already been around much of Summerhall, but I did snap one cool picture of the oldest lecture hall in Europe, I think it was.

Anik and Jessica in the Old Lecture Theatre
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We returned then for more introductions to school organizations, and there's not a whole lot to say about it here, but suffice it to say that it felt like forever. We did have one very interesting lecture at the end about the History of Dick Vet, and got to see some pictures of what the school looked like back in the day. I should point out that this is the oldest vet school in Scotland, second in the UK only to London, which beat it by about 20 years.

Anyway, so then we returned to Pollock Halls for some much needed rest before dinner in about 30 minutes, and tonight I'll probably spend finishing my EMS forms and typing up my notes from yesterday. Fun stuff! I'm already excited for the weekend!

Tomorrow I believe the real lectures begin. We've got lectures on the Animal Body for a good 4 hours tomorrow, and then Friday we have our first dissection (So excited!!).