Pakistani Night

The once in a history of time, "Pakistani Night" will be kicking off at about 8 PM on 8th of February. The night will give you introduction to Pakistani culture and a chance to taste Gastronomical delights from Pakistan. It will also give a chance to fellow ISC'ers to learn a few phrases/ writing their name in urdu (National Language of Pakistan). 

We are also showing award winning Pakistani film "Khuda ke liye" (In the name of God) concerning post 9/11 treatment of Pakistanis in America.

Bring good mood and your lovely faces!

Shukria

25 Tickets go on sale 1pm (Not 12pm as in the Newsletter) Monday 1st of February.

NOTE: The food will not consist of a full meal, please ensure that you have eaten before the evening.

Potluck

This Monday (1st of Feb) at 7.30pm at the ISC, there is a fabulous chance to share some dishes prepared by you and your friends!

This event is FREE, you don't need ticket for it !

The rules are very simple:

1. Bring a dish!
You can bring whatever you want: something traditional from your country, sweet or salty, something typical, something easy - the only condition is: eatable ;-)

2. Bring the recipe of the dishe ! (even if it is a secret family recipe!)

3. Bring your friends with you [make sure that they bring some food too]!

4. Share it with other people!

5. Socialize!

It's gonna be fun:)
There will be prizes for the best dishes!

(* - A potluck is a gathering of people where each person or group of people contributes a dish of food to be shared among the group)

The ISC Weekend Trip [27/02 - 28/02]

Our accommodation

TICKETS

Tickets cost £70 per person and do include:

- comfortable transport "There and Back Again"

- a pair of professional tour guides
- sleepover at Loch Lomond SYHA
- dinner on Saturday night
- followed by a ceilidh [inc. live band!]
- breakfast on Sunday morning

- and most importantly - countless unforgettable memories from one of the most beautiful countries in Europe [we dare you to challenge this bit :)]

Tickets [£70 per person] do not include:

- Saturday + Sunday lunch - so either bring packed lunches or enough cash
- drinks
- entrance fees [on Saturday you will have the opportunity to visit the Glengoyne distillery or take a boat trip on the loch - alternatively you can just relax on the bonnie banks]

90 TICKETS GO ON SALE ON TUESDAY [02/02] @ 6PM at the ISC Lounge.

Do not forget to bring your student cards and please bear in mind that we will sell only 2 TICKETS PER PERSON!

Itinerary [purple dots]

View International Student Centre Edinburgh 2009/10 in a larger map

Do not forget that you can upload your photos on to our Picasa account - click here to learn how.

Facebook event here.

Edinburgh Castle for £2! [10/02]

Our "bargain" trip is back - how far can £2 take you in Edinburgh? Not even there and back again [although some of us recall the days when buses cost a mere pound]...

So how about you join us for a visit to "a fortress perched on a volcanic rock offering impressive vistas across the city and the home to the Scottish Crown Jewels" - for *only* £2 [concession tickets cost £10, so you are getting 80% off]?

100 tickets go on sale on Monday [01/02] @ 12 [noon] - please try your best to *bring exact change* - it is not that difficult and makes our lives much easier.

We can take two groups (50 people per group), leaving the ISC either at 11.30am or 1.30pm.

For more information visit Wikipedia or the castle's official website.

Facebook event here.

Do not forget that you can upload your photos on to our Picasa account - click here to learn how.

Skiing Trip to Glenshee [06/02]

Skiing definitely has not put Scotland on the world's map, but believe us - impossible is nothing and the Highland resort of Glenshee offers 21 lifts and 36 runs, catering for  beginners and seasoned skiers & snowboarders alike.

Glenshee

We have decided to organize the first ever ISC skiing trip that is taking place on Saturday [06/02/2010], with our bus leaving @ 5.30am [you might want to stay in the previous evening...]. 68 tickets go on sale on Wednesday [27/01/2010] @ 5-7pm.

Piste Map [Glenshee]

Prices (All but the transport needs to be paid Wed Jan 27th at the ticket sale):

- Transport: £7 - £14 (depending on number of participants)

- Lift pass: £13 (beginner slopes, includes 3 lifts) or £22 (pros)

- Ski / Snowboard Rental: £14 (including boots and poles)

- Only boots: £8

- Helmet: £3

- Pants & Jacket: £11

For equipment rental, provide us with the following info at the ticket sale:

- Shoe size (British)

- Weight (kilos)

- Height (cm), length of skis.

For clothes rental we need at the ticket sale:

- weight (kilos),

- height (cm)

- Clothes size: Male or Female XS, S, M, L, XL.

As we cannot predict the weather, we reserve the right to cancel the trip [but you can always check the resort's snow conditions here]. We also cannot accept any liability for personal injury and loss/damage of property - please check that your insurance covers these areas - better safe than sorry!


View International Student Centre Edinburgh 2009/10 in a larger map

Facebook event here.

More info on Glenshee here.

Do not forget that you can upload your photos on to our Picasa account - click here to learn how.

Library

The ISC Library Opens!

Come trade your old books, novels and textbooks, for new exciting reading. Or, if you feel generous, donate your old books for the benefit of others.

The ISC Library will be open from 12-2pm every Monday and Thursday.

It has a good selection of much British literature (Shakespeare, Ian Rankin, etc.) and many other goodies (Harry Potter), we even have a few DVD's! It is entirely based upon your contributions and it is a good way to get rid of your old books in favour of more interesting reading.

"This sounds amazing! how does it work?"

Well, any book may be lent for a deposit of £5 (which you will get back upon returning the book) or any DVD for £10. Or you may trade yourself to the book. Every book is colour coded into three different categories: Red, Yellow and Blue, and each category has different trading conditions.

Red Books are the ones considered "the most valuable". This is a decision made by our 'Librarians', in this category you are likely to find Shakespeare, Dictionaries and Guides of Scotland. These books may generally not be traded as their are of general help to any International Student or forms part of the literary classics of Britain. However if you have any book that would fit this category, you may just be lucky enough to trade yourself to one of these. Or you could read it at the ISC!

Yellow Books are the "standard trading" books. Here you will find anything from Terry Pratchet, Plato to Dan Brown. These books may in general be traded for any book 1 to 1. Only exception is books in very bad condition or books written in another language than English.

Blue Books are the "if you want it - have it" category. Here you may find books in a very bad condition, obscure or we might have multiple copies. Books in other languages are also found here. These books you may take without trading, they are yours.

So come along and get yourself some good reading!

If you are unable to be at the opening times (Mon & Thurs 12-2pm) please send a mail to Rasmus@dall.dk or drop by at the ISC, maybe I or another Committee member will be there to help you.

Whisky Distillery Trip [30/01]

"Freedom and Whisky gang thegither!"

[Robert Burns in 'The Author's Earnest Cry and Prayer' (1786)]

Can you possibly claim to have spent some time in Scotland without discovering the true secret behind its most famous export? The answer could not be any clearer and we have no intention of hanging you out to dry. Joining us at our trip to "Dewar's World" is a must...

The trip is taking place [as per usual] on Saturday [30/01/2010] and costs £12 per person - tickets go on sale on Monday [25/01] @ 5-7pm - please make it to our Lounge early in order to avoid disappointment - university security thought that two days ago we were staging some sort of silent protest on Buccleuch Place [little did they know about our ticket sales]. Please bear in mind that our trips are for matriculated UoE students only [we might ask for your student ID, so please have it on you] and tickets cannot be under any circumstances pre-booked - if you cannot make it, try to send a friend along, but bear in mind that each person can buy just 2 tickets [we hope you understand].

You might ask whether you get any value for your £12 - we provide you with transport all the way to Aberfeldy, where Dewar's Distillery is located [pictured above], a guided visit that also includes playing with all the toys at the distillery's interactive museum and, most importantly, some whisky sampling.

If you are lucky enough to get a ticket, dedicate a few minutes of your time to some solid preparation - the video above is the ultimate "how to drink whisky" manual and features a real [Whisky] Master Blender - avoid looking like a complete amateur and get ready to impress!

Do not forget that you can upload your photos on to our Picasa account!

Click here to learn how...

Facebook event here.

We are on Twitter!

Just a quick shout for those of you that use Twitter - we are there too -  follow us!

@isced or http://www.twitter.com/isced

Our Twitter theme

[© Jonathan Riise & Lukas Gajdos]

Events 18th & 25th of January

Hi all

Welcome back!

The first two events of the ISC this year will be:

Film Night, Monday 18th of January at 7pm.

Come relax with a good movie or two. Or play a game in the lounge!

This coming Monday the ISC will screen two movies. The German movie - The Life of Others (Original title: Das Leben der Anderen) from 2006, and the British zombie-comedy: Shaun of the Dead from 2004.

Look here for more info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lives_of_Others
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaun_of_the_Dead

The timetable is:
7.15 - 9.30pm: The Life of Others
9.45 - 11.30pm: Shaun of the Dead

At any time you are welcome to sit in the lounge and play boardgames, or just chat. The lounge opens at 7 and closes again at 11.30.

There will be snacks and soft drinks to enjoy, besides the normal coffee and tea. NO tickets necessary - come along! It's free!

Japanese Night, 25th of January, 8pm.

Back to ISC's nationality themed nights! This semester every second week will be in a different nationality's colours. Our first night will go to Japan. The other countries will be disclosed asap.

Our Japanese hosts will treat you to some sushi and Japanese tea. Maki-zushi (rolled sushi) come in a variety of 'fillings' and there will be a list of ingredients that have been used for the night - try and work out what was in the one you ate! Of course, you can have some wasabi with your sushi if you wish. You can also try making a rice ball for yourself.

Or, if you would like to be a bit artistic, give a go at the origamis and see what you can come up with!

At the end of the night, feel free to stay for a Japanese movie (in English).

So, whether you know a lot about Japan or not, come at 20:00 on 25 January (Monday) for some fun!

Tickets cost £3 each and 25 are available at the ISC from Monday 18th, 12pm.

Welcome back

Hello dear fellow students!!

First of all: happy new year and welcome back!! I hope everyone had a great winter break and got their batteries recharged for yet another exciting semester. The ISC will open again Monday at 12.00 as usual. This semester we have changed our ticket selling times to 5-7pm on Mondays. Hopefully this will mean no one will find themselves unable to get tickets because they have to attend lectures at the ticket selling times.

The scheduled trips can be found on this very blog - just have a look further down!

International pub night at Bannermans is on again as well, I hope to see a lot of you there on Tuesday (9 pm and onwards) for a great reunion night!

Map

Due to a fair amount of people leaving or deciding not to continue, we are short of volunteers. Thus we will be having a new volunteers session on Thursday after the usual coffee evening. So if you would like to volunteer or know anyone else who would, please come along to the ISC lounge on Thursday at 6 pm (or before)

Last years end-of-term volunteer party!!

I hope everyone has a great semester and look forward to seeing you around the lounge!

-Jonathan

Semester 2 Trips

Edinburgh Zoo [16/01]

Quite possibly the best zoo in the UK. Located on Corstophine Hill, it offers stunning views of Edinburgh and, of course, all sorts of animals, such as Britain's only koalas and a penguin that is Colonel-in-Chief of the Norwegian King's Guard - make sure you greet him during the zoo's daily Penguin Parade. Expect all the "usual suspects" too.

St. Andrews [23/01]

A picturesque seaside town that has Scotland's oldest university [famously attended by Prince William], medieval castle & cathedral, beautiful harbour and rightfully claims to be the "Home of Golf".

Whisky Trip [30/01]

"When in Rome, do as the Romans do" - more details TBC!

Skiing Trip [06/02]

Impossible is nothing and you might as well end up skiing in Scotland - we are organizing a skiing trip [weather-pending] to one of Scotland's five ski resorts, so keep an eye on our blog for more details...

Lindisfarne/Holy Island [13/02]

A tidal island with its own castle and monastery off the north-east coast of England (also known as Holy Island) connected to the mainland by a causeway (flooded twice a day by tides). Sir Walter Scott says:

For with the flow and ebb, its style

Varies from continent to isle;

Dry shood o'er sands, twice every day,

The pilgrims to the shrine find way;

Twice every day the waves efface

Of staves and sandelled feet the trac.

ISC Weekend Trip [27/02]

Our Semester 1 Weekend Trip was a major success and we shall attempt to stand up to the challenge once again - watch this space for more details...

Loch Lomond [06/03]

The largest lake in mainland Britain, lying in the heart of the Trossachs National Park, filled with countless islands.

A large part of Loch Lomond's beauty is due to its islands, those beautiful green tangled islands, that lie like jewels upon its surface. [H.V. Morton]

Oh, ye'll tak' the high road, and I'll tak' the low road,

And I'll be in Scotland afore ye;

But me and my true love will never meet again

On the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomond.

[Scottish folk song]

Linlithgow Palace [13/03]

Ruins of an ancient palace situated between Edinburgh Castle and Stirling Castle in nice rural setting.

Rafting Trip [20/03]

Taste white water of one of Scotland's wild rivers - more info TBC!

Location, Location, Location
Most trips are included in our Google Map!

View International Student Centre Edinburgh 2009/10 in a larger map