Settling Down

I AM IN SCOTLAND AT LAST. I left last Friday, Jan 8, at 5:45 pm and got here Saturday night. The flights were fine--long, tiring... Our long 7 hr flight was the worst, only because Madeleine and I had the very 2 middle seats--no room to stretch your legs and nothing to lean your head on--therefore, I didn't sleep much at all. Also, I didn't expect gourmet or anything but, the airplane food included fake chicken and rubber pasta at 11 pm and for a light breakfast we were give a juicy, cold banana and a fake Egg McMuffin...So on top of all that and jet lag, I'm exhausted.

Madeleine and I arrived at the airport in Edinburgh to find everything but her bags. We stayed there a while to deal with that and were welcomed by the Univ. of Edin. ambassadors which were super friendly and fun. We then took a shuttle with 7 other Univ. Ed. students (which was a great way to meet students) which dropped us off at our accommodations. We're staying in a flat on 38 South Clerk Street (also the name of the flat). So Madeleine and I walk in our flat and want to cry. It closely resembles a prison... Bare off-white walls, blue metal doors, and a creepy, gross kitchen. We were promised bed packs with sheets, pillow, and a duvet-- well of course that wasn't there. So we had to fetch those up the street...In the snow. We come back and realized it is absolutely freezing in our rooms!! We tried to turn on the heat but it wouldn't turn on...So we trek back up the street to the apt. office to complain about not having heat and were told no one could get to it until Monday...
We were so cold and didn't really know what to do so Madeleine called her cousin, Dorothy, (who she has never met) who lives here with her husband and child (how convenient!). Dorothy and her husband came to pick us up. We went to their friend's apartment and played Cranium with some of their friends. Mad and I were such duds so Dorothy took us home to get some sleep.

We get back to the flat and meet one of our roommates, Kalla. She is such a sweetheart and we love her! She is from Minnesota, and she's kind of like my mom here. Makes sure I'm up in time, find my classes, get everything taken care of etc. She nannies so she's used to doing that sort of thing and I'm not gonna lie, it's nice having someone keeping me in line ;) Mad and I barely slept bc of jet lag and being so cold...

The next day, Sunday we had orientation from 11-3:30. It was good hearing all about the school and city, all the cool things to do, smart ways to get around, trips to take, etc. It was also a great way to meet people! Still exhausted, I walked back (you walk EVERYWHERE, and I LOVE that!) to the flat and immediately fell asleep (apparently a big mistake when you are jet lagged but I couldn't help it!) Kalla woke me up and asked me if I wanted to go out with some of her friends (no matter how exhausted I am, I'm trying to do everything and be up for anything!) Her brother's best friend is engaged to a guy from Scotland, Ian. SO Ian and his friend Euan took us out on the town. They were great tour guides (at least they knew more than we did) so we walked ALL around the city which was great because I really got a feel for everything. The city seems big but it's all very manageable and not really big. By the way, the city is the most beautiful city ever! It is so picturesque. If you look at pictures on google or something, that's exactly what it looks like, and I lOVE it. So the guys took us to dinner at a place called The Tron, which was pretty cheap and great atmosphere. We walked around more, etc. then called it a night. I didn't sleep at all Sunday night because since our heater turns off every 30 min, I was paranoid it would get colder so I would stay awake waiting for it to turn off so I could get up and turn it on again--very sad. Bc it has been so cold I lay my socks or scarf on the heater so they'll warm up before I put them on... SO when the heater turned off I jumped up to put my scarf on top of it and turn it back on... I had been in bed for about 5 min when suddenly the fire alarm begins to sound at 1:15 am! I seriously thought I had set it off with my scarf being on the heater...BUT apparently, they have fire drills alllllll the time-- really annoying considering we're in our pj's and have to stand outside in the cold in the wee hours... So Sunday wasn't the most spectacular day... Thank goodness the room has warmed up a little so I am hoping tonight I can get some sleep!!

Monday, today, we started school! My stomach was in knots.. I had no clue how to get around campus/where buildings actually were and such. It took me 45 to find my first class! I am taking Health & Society, Abnormal Psychology, and an Intro to Lit class. They are 20 hour classes but transfer over to Ole Miss as 15 or 16 hours? Not really sure how that works... Madeleine and I have 2 classes together so that's really good. So today, I went to class, registered officially, scheduled my classes, and met with my advisor (who was great). After all of that roaming around campus, Mad and I went all around town looking for a post office to exchange our dollars for pounds. We got lost a few times, but all is well. We then purchased out 5 pound phone (cost 5 pounds) so that was good. I also purchased some ugly electric blue bath towels at the Pound Saver. I thought we needed some color for our bare flat. :) I then went to the grocery store which was a big mistake around 5:00 because everyone in Edinburgh seemed to be there, too! I had no idea what to buy because all the packaging is different! It was so crowded that the 3 lines leading to cash registers were wrapped all around the store, it was the most ridiculous scene in a grocery story I've ever seen! (so I left) Since I hadn't really eaten much in days, I decided I settle into a popular coffee shop called Kilimanjaro Coffee for some tea and soup. I needed some warm comfort food to calm my nerves. Tomorrow I will go for coffee!! It's suppose to be the best in town!

And supposedly the weather we are having now, cold, wet and snowy, is the worst it has been since 1960, so everyone is going crazy. I love the snow--it makes everything it lands on just that much more beautiful. The ice is tricky though!

So as it may sound, the past few days have been a little rough, but I feel better and better about it everyday. I think once I get in a routine, meet more people, get situated, adjust to the lifestyle, I will begin to feel good about it all.


Must go try to get in bed!