Coming back to Edinburgh as a fourth year is a strange experience

Has it changed or have I?


In May 2021 I left Edinburgh to study abroad as part of my degree. Now, in October 2022 the city is undoubtedly a changed place, but I must admit so am I. Finding new routines and adjusting to new demands as a fourth year, surrounded by a city that knew me as a second year has been a rather steep learning curve. Only with a breather now, after Reading Week, have I been able to reflect and gather my thoughts on what’s changed and what hasn’t.

The city, geographically, has surprisingly changed. For as old a city as Edinburgh is, I was shocked to find the layout of the city had changed. I had been banking on the fact that finding my way around Edinburgh would remain the same.

But new places have opened; the eating scene in Edinburgh is almost recognisable. Old favourites for a lunchtime snack have been replaced by new up-and-comers and the year and a bit I have spent away has meant I can no longer keep up with trying new places as there is simply too many of them.

The introduction of St James’ Quarter is also a gamechanger. When I arrived in first year, it was still a pile of scaffolding with little to offer – I fondly remember my mum complaining about how dark John Lewis was because the building works obstructed the light. Now, I have a new shopping destination.

However, the one constant of Edinburgh’s geography is the scaffolding on George IV. Whilst the scaffolding has changed sides since I was here last, you still have to trek across one side of good old treacherous George IV. When will this scaffolding ever be done? I’m not quite sure but its familiarity is oddly comforting.

The rental market has undoubtedly changed (much to my chagrin). Affordable student flats have now been put out of my budget and my flatmate has seen a hike of upwards of £100 for our flat, compared to last year. I personally could not find a flat for three months and only moved in during the first academic week of term, and I’m considered lucky. No more Covid rent reductions or moving around because flats were cheap. Now also, my Newington or Marchmont friends are situated in Bruntsfield or further afield – Gorgie, Granton amongst others. There has also been a change of flatmates – new routines and new quirks to learn. And new habits myself; I admit I’ve become a bit grannyish in my flat habits. Weekly cleaning rotas have been established and friends invited round for dinner or charcuterie night rather than getting sloshed on vodka and mixer.

The lack of Covid is something I was so excited for coming back. My second year had been full of long walks (for want of anything better to do) plus Covid tests, quarantines and stay at home orders. Last time I attended university in Edinburgh, everything had been online with Zoom breakout groups and Microsoft teams being a regular part of my studies. Now, I can attend class! I can get as sick as I want with fresher’s flu, attend lectures with hundreds of other students! And as a language student, the value of in person oral classes cannot be understated.

The coursework has changed considerably from my second year to my final year as an undergraduate. Second year didn’t academically count for anything – this year, everything does. Every formative assessment will ultimately lead up to my first university exam ever (and what a first exam it will be). The majority of my classmates have spent their third year adjusting to honours whilst I have had a year abroad messing around and forgetting how to write an essay. There is talk of dissertations, master’s applications, and dreaded exams. But on the plus side, at least I can speak Russian now. Having spent my year abroad with the people also studying Russian, it’s been lovely to come back to Edinburgh with a whole new cohort of friends and a sense of unity with the class rather than blank screens and names during an online tutorial.

And finally, and perhaps most importantly, I have changed. Whilst I am older, I feel much more settled and self-assured in my identity now. Having dealt with the inevitable difficulties of life abroad (and an unexpected invasion of Ukraine and subsequent quick removal from Russia), life here seems so much easier. I will happily wait on the phone for two hours to get my council tax exception because at least I know they speak English. There’s a different level of motivation – I know where I want to be and who I want to be. Making decisions about next year, I feel for the first time like I am making decisions which will impact my future. I can also think in a different language now, use complex declensions, grammatical points and speak quite off the top of my head – something unthinkable in my second year. And hey, it’s always good to be able to swear in Russian.

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