First of all, something I forgot to mention in my post yesterday: Getting through immigration at the airport was surprisingly easy. I was envisioning having to re-experience a lot of the song and dance I had to go through in order to get my visa, re: proving I have money and such. To that end, I had a folder full of stuff, just in case the immigration people wanted to see it. I even purposely fell to the back of the line, because I was expecting my interview to take a long time and I didn't want to hold up the people behind me. But, all they did was ask me for my original offer letter from the university (which I had ready), scribbled a bit on the back of my landing card, and scan two of my fingerprints. Maybe 2-3 minutes and DONE. Easy.
Now then. Yesterday, I had my first significant breakthrough with flat-hunting. First I called a company which manages some flats in Leith (the northern part of the city, on the Firth of Forth), and arranged to see two of them today at 2:00. Later on in the afternoon, sitting in the ruins of St. Anthony's Chapel up in Holyrood Park, I called another company with a flat available in Abbeyhill, which is a neighborhood in the east-central part of the city, just north of the Park. I'm pretty sure I could actually see the place from where I was sitting. I spoke to a lovely Englishman named Matthew who said I could come that day at 3:30 and view the place, which I did. It's a 3-bedroom apartment, and the other two people who live in it are a Scottish guy and a Spanish guy, both somewhat older than me and working. I met and talked to the Spanish guy for a bit, and he seemed very nice, and also seemed to like the flat a lot. Besides the bedrooms, there was a living room, a bathroom, and a kitchen. It was all pretty small, and the kitchen in particular was cramped and windowless, but it did have a dishwasher and a washer/dryer, both of which are BIG pros in my book. Plus, the view out the front door is of Arthur's Seat. Can't beat that in Edinburgh. I walked around the neighborhood a bit before I viewed the place, and I saw mothers with strollers, people walking dogs, and a couple of kids playing outside, all of which are pretty reliable indicators that an area is safe. The building where this flat is located is next to another building of very modern- and high-end looking flats, which means the people who live there are probably pretty affluent, which I've also found to be a positive safety indicator. And I'd be able to move in pretty much right away. All in all, I liked it. I told Matthew I'd call him by the end of the day today, after I view the places in Leith.
So, today's agenda is seeing the places in Leith and then making a decision. Whoo!
In other news, I moved into a different room in my hostel. I've never been in a room with thinner windows or curtains in my life. All the street noise and light from outside came in, as did an Italian family of three at about 1 in the morning. I didn't manage to fall asleep until sometime after 2am. So the fire is now lit under me more than ever to find a permanent abode. But there was one bright side, and take note here Inception fans: I remember the beginning of the first dream I had when I finally fell asleep.
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