Nothing very exciting happened today. The most notable even was probably that I found out I somewhat know how to cook pasta. For anyone that’s curious, pasta turns out edible but somewhat gooey if you don’t wash it after it’s cooked. Like 2 old ladies, Mike and I have a system: I get home from work earlier, so I’ll cook; he’ll do the dishes. Neither of us have much experience in any area, but no biggie: we’ll probably give up on this not eating out fad after a week anyways.
Now that I think about it, I’ve learned a lot so far this summer. Most valuable has been the importance of talking to people. Lack of navigational ability, ignorance as to which pubs are worth frequenting in Edinburgh, lack of know-how about how to swim in a Loch: simple blabbing can make up for a lot of inadequacies! Not just that, but I’ve also learned a surprising amount just bullshitting with people. Just this past weekend, I found out that some Canadians actually do say “eh” on a regular basis, argued about corporate social responsibility with somebody so much that she was probably only half kidding when she told me “because I have a master’s degree that says so, that’s why,” and shot the breeze about how to get into Harvard grad school with somebody else. If you ask me, not bad conversation for passing the time on a bus...
I’ve definitely got a lot more to take in over the next few months. Although I’m getting a little better at understanding accents, I still can’t understand another language. Maybe I can learn a little basic French, or at least how to say “help me, I’ve been gored by a bull in the crotch” in Spanish? Navigation’s much better than ever before but definitely has a ways to go. Most important to remember is the power of seemingly pointless talking it makes friends and prevents me from knocking myself out by trying to jump into freezing water. If I get good enough at the art of bullshitting, I’ll end up learning more this summer than I did in my first year of college!