Knowing I was in for three winters in a row was a challenge in itself when deciding to study at Edinburgh University. I accepted the fact I was not going to see a summer for over a year and upon receiving the RICS U21 study scholarship I was set on Edinburgh as the place to study for the next year.
Arriving in the UK in late August I felt the end of the heat wave that stung Europe in the summer of 2006. University didn't start till mid September so I travelled around the UK for a couple of weeks staying in London then travelling around Ireland, a destination one must go. My first impression of Edinburgh was not what I had expected, however this soon changed when I moved into Pollock Halls, home to over 2000 university undergraduates. Pollock was where I started to get a real taste for university life in Scotland. Although it seemed like a majority of the students were English as opposed to Scottish, Pollock has been a source of many good times with there never being a day or night with no entertainment.
With the first week full of tasting the famous malt whiskey's of Scotland I started at Edinburgh University studying Accounting, Finance and International Business. As there is no Property School at Edinburgh University my commerce degree was what I was working towards. The way of assessment seemed very strange with there being no internal assessments – 100% of your grade determined by the exam. Coupled with this was the fact the semester consisted of only 10 weeks of classes with each week containing a total of only nine hours contact time. Hence material was covered very quickly and required a lot of self reading. I finished my exams in Mid December and am waiting on my grades.
Having only nine hours contact time per week my schedule was very flexible. This flexibly allowed me to travel during the semester. My first excursion was to Norway where a friend and I stayed in Oslo for five days. Being oblivious to the fact Norway was one of the most expensive countries in Europe we still had a blast visiting various sites.
I have also had the opportunity to visit various whiskey distilleries around Scotland and have joined a several university clubs including the ballroom dancing and Tango club and the sailing club. In November I was present at Murray field providing a bit of trans-tasman support when the Aussies took on the Scots. I have since got a job at the ground for the Six Nations games.
Hearing all the hype about Hogmanay in Edinburgh I made sure I had my ticket and that I was back from Europe by the 30th. Arriving back in time with a few mates the trusty or not so trusty Scottish weather turned. The rain started and the wind picked up, blowing at 75mph. With the scaffolding of one of the stages falling down, Princess Street was closed, Hogmanay cancelled and the whole of Edinburgh in absolute chaos. Although this happened I had an amazing time and I now have an excuse to make my way back to Edinburgh to experience the really Edinburgh Hogmanay.
I am now back at Edinburgh University studying four papers; accounting, economics, Jurisprudence and International Business but I am absolutely fascinated by the fact I can walk to university in the snow or look out to Arthur's seat and see it covered in white powder - this is a simply amazing site. Three weeks in, I feel its time to knuckle down and get into the new semester, but I seem to have more I want to explore. My next adventure is up to the Highlands of Scotland in the middle of March and over Easter I am hitch hiking to Morocco from Edinburgh in order to raise money for LCD (Link Charity Development) whose primary aim is to assist in the education of children in Africa.
On a final note I wish to thank RICS for the valuable assistance provided. I am grateful for the scholarship assistance in helping to meet the financial commitments of my studies and I am particularly appreciative of the mentoring and advice that RICS have given so freely. Thank you.
Jacob Vermunt
