Weekly Update – Sept 19, 2025
September 19, 2025 – Hello, hello! Orientation wrapped up last week leading us into the first week of classes! In these beginning weeks, St Andrews Sports clubs host ‘Give it a Go’ sessions (this is something American Universities with large student activity hubs should learn from). In essence, they allow all people of any skill level to try out the sport to see if they might enjoy becoming a member. Usually, the clubs will have activities available for all skill levels and they are free of charge. This model is a great way to include all students and expose people to new things with no risk or cons. I had the pleasure of attending the lacrosse, ice hockey, badminton, and walking club sessions – I tried to get into clay pigeon shooting, but the sign ups filled too quickly.
I’ve learned that another St Andrews staplepiece is a good ol’ bonfire. Especially Wednesdays and weekends, you’ll find numerous special interest groups, residential life, or sports teams building bonfires on East Sands, West Sands, Castle Sands – you name it! Yes, the bonfires are usually accompanied by smores making; however, to my dismay, as a person who likes to stick my chocolate inside the marshmallow as I roast it to golden brown perfection, the marshmallows I’ve encountered here are too small and too powdery to accommodate such techniques.
Speaking of beach activities… this week marked my first sea dip! David, Lucas, and I moseyed down to Castle Sands. According to my scientific source,1 the water temperature over the past week has been between 12-13 degrees Celsius (53-55 degrees Fahrenheit). Lucas and I managed to enjoy a 33-minute swim 😍❗❗ (our peers are impressed – you should be too).
On September 15th I started modules (modules = classes) – Welcome to the Martinmas semester! ‘Martinmas’ is a Scottish term day as the legal Scottish year is divided into four quarters: Candlemas, Whitsunday, Lammas, Martinmas. In prior centuries, these dates coincided with leases, work contracts, and Christian holidays. The old Scottish term and new Scottish term dates vary (mostly for bureaucratic streamlining) but ancient universities had named their semesters after them; thus, the naming of semesters after the Scottish quarters is a tradition that persists at St Andrews. The spring semester is called the ‘Candlemas’ semester.2 3
While studying for “Quantitative Research in Social Science” aka statistics for the social sciences, my youtube instructor dropped this fun fact, “Logarithms were invented by a mathematician from St Andrews named Napier over 400 years ago.”4 I stopped the playback, exited the main library room, walked a single digit amount of meters, and I stood at the doorstep of the Napier Reading Room in Martyrs Kirk Graduate Library. How cool.
Due to the sheer volume of quaint coffee shops in this town, I’m not-so-reluctantly becoming a coffee enthusiast. My mom always said that she never drank coffee until grad school… the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. On the real, I still don’t love the coffee flavor, but I do love the warmth of a latte or cappuccino and a flavor enhancement. My favorites this week include a hot mint latte from the Northpoint and a hot white chocolate latte from Palompo’s Espresso Bar.
On the food front, it’s also been quite enjoyable. On Sunday, a large group of us savored brunch at the Northpoint – a cafe/restaurant steps from Deans Court. That evening, we followed up on a recommendation given by our dear driving instructor, Bill. He told us to find the best fish n chips local to St Andrews at Tailend on Market St. They did not disappoint!
Highlights
1. Late-night shawarma
2. Badminton practices
3. Speaker event through Foreign Affairs Society with Ambassador Timothy Davis
4. Crossing paths with many Winsor folk!! Shoutout to Chloe, Annie, and Audrey!!
Trials and Tribulations
1. My class locations have changed 4+ times in a week (several the day of)
2. The US dollar keeps getting worse
3. Lugging hockey gear (goalie) half a mile to the bus pickup location
What I’m Picking Up
1. How to understand UK and European accents clearly and consistently
2. How to golf
3. Looking right, left, right when crossing the street
New Things(s)
1. I bought a waterproof armband so I can listen to music via my phone even when it inevitably rains during a run
2. IBM SPSS Software
3. David and I wore eyeliner (shoutout makeup artist extraordinaire Nassim)
4. A gust of wind actually almost knocked me off my feet
Lots of golfing this week! The range, first set of lessons, putting and driving with friends.
postcards from EM 