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it was. And you better believe I wasn’t going<br />
to let her down. I told her that I booked the<br />
tickets, and quickly after she told me that<br />
she was coming to Edinburgh too. We were<br />
finally going to meet!<br />
A step out of the comfort zone<br />
There are a few things you should know<br />
about me before I tell you the rest. Before<br />
Edinburgh, I had<br />
never travelled<br />
alone, let alone been<br />
in an airport alone.<br />
I had never had<br />
dinner alone at a<br />
restaurant, and my<br />
navigational skills<br />
were nowhere to<br />
be found. I almost<br />
failed orienteering<br />
in high school, so<br />
this trip would<br />
really test me. But<br />
surprisingly, it<br />
went as smooth as I<br />
could have possibly<br />
imagined. I got through the airport in Oslo<br />
with the help of my mom, and I got on the<br />
plane. Inhale, exhale. For the first time in a<br />
while, I was completely alone. I was ready<br />
to take on the challenges of a solo trip.<br />
I had planned to stay 5 nights in the city,<br />
so I arrived there on the 31st of October,<br />
on a sunny Tuesday (which is not normal<br />
for Edinburgh at this time of the year, I’ve<br />
learned). The transportation possibilities<br />
were really easy to get to, and I quickly<br />
managed to find my way out of the airport<br />
and into a tram (which is similar to what a<br />
trikk would be in Norway). Within the first<br />
ten minutes of the tram ride, I had already<br />
fallen a little bit in love with the city. Every<br />
building we drove by was gorgeous! I<br />
kept staring out the window, and after<br />
about 40 minutes, I had arrived in Leith,<br />
a little district about 10 minutes outside of<br />
Edinburgh. After a short walk I had arrived<br />
to this really cute Airbnb where I was<br />
going to stay with the young couple that<br />
owned the place. They were really great<br />
and welcoming, and I had a nice chat with<br />
them; and their cute cat while I unloaded<br />
my baggage in my room. They gave me a<br />
lot of recommendations for activities in the<br />
city, and I was ready to explore around on<br />
my first day in Edinburgh.<br />
The goals for the first day were simple.<br />
Explore around town, visit the St. Giles<br />
Cathedral, maybe the Central Library, and<br />
find a place to eat (preferably a ramen<br />
place since I was really craving it). And<br />
during the 6 hours or so that I had stayed<br />
out, I managed to visit the Scott Monument<br />
and the New College, walked through, and<br />
explored Victoria Street, peeked into the<br />
Central Library, and found a place to eat.<br />
Edinburgh is a really great city to walk<br />
through because every main attraction was<br />
within walking distance from each other. I<br />
got to see a lot just on the first day.<br />
And now came the big challenge – to dine<br />
alone at a restaurant. I actually found this<br />
really cute ramen place called Maki &<br />
Ramen, and it was a tiny little restaurant but<br />
still packed with people. My anxiety started<br />
to get to me when I walked in that door, but<br />
I was quickly seated at a table for one by<br />
the very sweet staff. I had brought with me<br />
an emotional support book with me in case<br />
I wanted to look a bit busy, but surprisingly,<br />
I didn’t feel as bad once I had sat down. I<br />
placed my order and waited a few minutes.<br />
It was interesting to look around at the<br />
people in this restaurant. I wasn’t the only<br />
one there alone, and in some way, it felt<br />
really comforting. I got my huge bowl of<br />
ramen, and it was absolutely magnificent.<br />
The warm soup and noodles also added<br />
to this comfort. I tried to stay away from<br />
looking at my phone for the whole dinner<br />
to really stay in the moment, and it was<br />
actually quite nice. I felt in control again.<br />
I had my dinner in the bustling restaurant,<br />
<strong>DESEMBER</strong> 2023 <strong>UNIKUM</strong> NR 10 21