Well, here we are again. I hope this finds everyone doing well, as we are. Here’s a few of the latest happenings from our little island.
We just came out last week from a major freeze. Since before Christmas, it snowed nearly every day for three weeks, and we had temperatures that were well below freezing for most of that. The first week and a half of the new year didn’t see temperatures above freezing at all. We are talking highs in the teens *F, and lows, well, below that. But, warmer weather has come. In fact, I had to turn the boiler down this morning because it was too hot in our flat when we woke up. It seems to be getting up to the upper 30s and maybe even low 40s most days now, which feels comfortably warm compared to earlier. (I’ve included temperatures in Fahrenheit to make it easier, but we read/talk temps in Celsius over here, which we can generally understand and think in over here. It does make things interesting, as one day, I walked to work in –10*C, and another day, the high was only ever –6! This sounds much more severe.)
Speaking of walking to work: I, Matt, have started my new job! It truly is a blessing from God, for many reasons. We have prayed about getting a job since well before we got here, and things have their way of working out. It did take a while to get started, but now I’m in, and several good things have come out of it already. First, I’ll explain what I’m doing: I’m officially a Classroom Assistant. Different from other Classroom Assistants, though, who work with different academic departments, I’m working with Pastoral Care, Guidance, and Senior Management (the Head and Deputy Head teachers). In the mornings, I do all of the registration (daily attendance), right up to sending out automated truancy calls to all the parents. It is a big operation and takes me all morning, but it’s nice that I am basically my own department in this, now that I’ve learned it, and I go right into lunch from it. I help supervise lunch-times which lets me interact with the students (an interesting, and usually pleasant adventure). In the afternoons, I am available for whatever the Senior Management and guidance need me to do. The people I work with are overall great people, and I enjoy my job, which affords me a lot of independent responsibility. I feel respected for my abilities and it is obvious that the senior management are trying to use them.
Now on to some of the blessings. First, I was hired with the understanding that I would be 30 hours a week, but when I started, I was told I would be at 35 hours! That’s a help in itself, but it gets better yet. I am pro-rata, in other words, I’m paid at a percentage of full-time based on my hours, and full-time is 35 hours and 45 minutes! Thus, I am salaried at only 2% below the full-time pay for my scale, which is wonderful! My first salaried job! (I know that was a lot to explain, but if you didn’t follow me, just understand that it’s a good job.)
Second blessing is this: I was hired only as temporary until 31 March. This was because that is the end of the financial year and the Head Teacher couldn’t guarantee funding for a post beyond that. I did not know as I came into the job, whether there was the intention to keep me on after this point. We asked for prayer concerning this. I have now been told that, assuming the budget works out, there is every intention of keeping me on until the end of the school year, which ends 1 July. Yet, even this gets better, because, as a student next year, I will still be able to work 20 hours a week, the Head Teacher would like to keep me on, if possible, and work with my schedule. My tasks may change, but it seems quite likely that my job, which started as a part-time, temporary post, has become an almost-full-time, indefinite job! Still, there are plenty of things that are not confirmed, and we ask for prayer there, but we hope and trust that it will all come together!
On to other news, Bailey started classes this past Thursday, and is continuing at the Scottish Gallery, both of which are going well. She is taking a course on Impressionism, and she’s quite excited about that! Courses continue through the end of March for her, and then it’s on to writing the Thesis. The work at the gallery is quite good, and we are hoping and praying that it will become a job opportunity, or bring us to one somewhere else. She works with plenty of wonderful people, some of whom are (or are related to) famous Scottish artists. She has also had the opportunity to meet some famous Scottish artists (including a Dame), through her work at the gallery.
We have settled onto a home church, called Charlotte Chapel. They are independent, evangelical church in the centre of Edinburgh, with over a thousand members. Their building, seeming so non-descript on the outside, is a beautiful, two-level sanctuary on the inside. The minister and his family, who we got to have lunch with one Sunday, are British, but have lived and preached for the past eight years in Washington State, just returning this summer. It was nice to meet locals who can more fully appreciate the differences we’ve faced here. The church is alive and felt like home from the first time we’ve entered. We also have an American friend, Julie, from Bailey’s classes, who goes there as well, which is an added blessing. Further, I have met with the music director and am likely going to begin singing with a praise team on various Sundays. We have not forgotten our first church, Holyrood Abbey and plan to continue going there every so often. The people there are great, and it feels homely. Perhaps we can even say that we have two churches here in Edinburgh.
Christmas was a quiet affair for us this year, with just a visit to Charlotte Chapel for their Christmas morning service, followed by presents between us (including ones from the States, which was fun), and then a day of watching Christmas episodes from our favourite shows. We talked to our parents and Ashley on Skype, which is always a blessing, and especially that day.
We braved the weather this year to go to several Hogmanay events. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, it merely is an old Scottish term for New Year’s. However, it is not a simple, one night event. Scottish Hogmanay, of which Edinburgh is the biggest, is the world’s longest, oldest, and biggest New Year’s celebration, lasting 5 nights! We started the first night with a torch processional up Calton Hill, followed by a bonfire burning, and then fireworks. These fireworks were better than any I’ve personally witnessed before, the intensity of a finale, lasting the whole several minutes.
The next night, we went to the Royal Mile, where a whole section of the street became part of a fire display, with huge sculptures of firepots, torches, and large fire displays, which we could walk right up to. The wind was severe, and eventually prompted the fire brigade to put out some of the displays, but not before getting some amazing pictures.
Then came the biggest night, the Edinburgh Street Party, on New Year’s Eve. Princes Street and Gardens, which runs right along the north side of the Royal Mile and around the Castle, were blocked off, with ticket-only access. This year, 80,000 people showed up. With various live bands playing for several hours, we came for the best part – midnight. Despite being nearly crushed by the crowds a few times, we (plus Julie), found a good location, looking right up at the castle, and waited. At midnight the fireworks began, and what fireworks they were! This display made the other night’s look pale! Disney can only be envious. For three full minutes, it was the most intense and beautiful display of fireworks we have ever seen, right over top of Edinburgh Castle on its hill! It was a truly amazing sight! Then, in true Scottish fashion. As the fireworks ended, and the booms echoed off in the distance, everyone grasped hands, and with the speakers playing the music, we all joined in a singing of Auld Lang Syne. It was a wonderful experience, and though we may not go down to the Street Party again, in order to avoid the drunk crowds, we will definitely watch the fireworks here again, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves that night.
Hogmanay continued for two more days, but with smaller celebrations that we decided to forego. Still, it was a wonderful way to bring in the New Year.
I believe that covers all the updates. As always, I’ll promise that I intend to update this more often, but I think history has shown that to not always be true. Still, I’ll say it in the hope that I will continue to get better.
Best wishes to all,
Matt and Bailey
