Sunday 20 September 2009

A Real Update this time.

So, here's the update that I'm sure you have all been just waiting by your computers for.  Just a couple of stories and info about life to catch  everyone up.

This week, Bailey registered for all her classes, and her internship.  She put her top six choices (each museum or gallery only has a few, or one, spots available).  She was the first to request the Stills Gallery in Edinburgh, a gallery of photography.  It is relatively new, comparatively, but would be great for her photography background.  From talking to her advisor, it seems pretty clear that she is far more qualified for photography-related work than anyone else in the programme.  She'll know by the end of the week, but if she doesn't end up there, she might just have to work for the National Gallery of Scotland or Holyrood Palace (the one where the Queen lives).  Life is rough right now.
Classes are only two days a week, but there's a lot of writing and out of class work, plus the internship.  She's also looking for a part-time job somewhere, for some extra income, and she found a big camera store (think Ritz, only bigger and better), so she's drooling a bit.

We went to Holyrood Abbey Church of Scotland last week, since it is within sight from the end of our street.  It is a bit different from what we're used to, but was pleasant, and the Church of Scotland is, expectedly, the most prevalent here.  The service was nothing spectacular, but the people were extremely friendly, offering tours of the building, getting contact information and just chatting.  We felt very welcomed.  We returned this week again, though the service was about the same, we felt very welcomed, and were even invited to lunch.  Lunch ended up starting just after the 11 am service and lasted until 6 o'clock.  We met some other students, and a retired Irish couple who now live in the area.  The meal was excellent and talk was a lot of fun.  They enjoyed hearing about the US, and teasing us about the US, but were also happy to explain themselves to us, when all the Scots there understood.  We felt very at home and welcomed.  It is such a joy to have found a welcoming church family with our first church visit.  We are still debating visiting some other churches in the area, but that might have to wait, we also have a lunch invite for next Sunday.

Also this week, we received a tea and dessert invite from another American couple at the church.  He is studying for his PhD in Bible at Edinburgh Uni, and is in his second year.  They were quite happy to visit with fellow Americans, while offering their insights on Edinburgh and Scotland for us.  We really enjoyed visiting with them, and will hopefully spend more time with them soon.

Our adventures have not taken us very far in the city, but we have at least learned the area right around us fairly well.  We ventured Saturday to the Edinburgh Zoo, which is said to be one of the best the world.  It wasn't a sprawling landscape because of the hills, but had a great selection of animals, including some that are found at almost no other zoo in the world.  They are also very keen on educating people about them, and doing conservation work as well.  For a very reasonable price, we spent all day there, and enjoyed talking with some of the workers and seeing the animals.  We were even treated to feeding birds from our hands and a parade of penguins about the grounds (Bailey was particularly happy).  We also saw a hyperactive, summersaulting wolverine...hah, bet you didn't expect to read that, but it's true!

We had a nice dinner, and then came back to our home.  We are slowly making it more like home, and getting used to the quirks.  The appliances are considerably smaller than American ones, so we've had to adjust schedules and habits, especially grocery shopping.  But, we've had several successful cooking ventures so far, and we are really starting to feel at home here.  The rest of our stuff hasn't arrived yet, so we are a bit short and sparse for now, but are looking forward to that ending in a few weeks.

Monday is a Bank Holiday here, which basically means that things are closed or limited hours for no particular reason (that's the Scots' definition).  Bailey has a meeting tomorrow, and then starts classes officially later this week.  She is really getting excited to be back in school!

I think about covers everything.  Again, we'll have full internet installed Friday, so we can then upload photos easily and quickly.  We have plenty to show so look for them soon!

We miss everyone, but are making new friends, so that is exciting.  We look forward to having chats and visits from people in the future! 

Best wishes to everyone,
Matt and Bailey

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