1 Week In

It has been exactly one week since we arrived in Edinburgh. We are finally starting to get use to how things work around here. Brandlyn is still nervous about crossing the streets just because the vehicles are on the wrong side, and John has been able to cross the technological barriers and add more channels to our tv, as well as figure out what certain switches in our flat our meant for. We are both very impressed with how efficient the city is. In our flat, each electrical outlet has a switch that we can turn on if we are using the outlet, and off when we are not. Our water heater also has a switch we can flip to heat up the water in the house and it will keep it hot long after the switch is turned back off. Considering we have to pay our own electricity, we like these methods!

Although we have spent a lot of time becoming acquainted with our flat, our week has been very eventful. We have opened up a bank account, acquired cell phones for a lot less money then we would have in America, went up Edinburgh Castle, and Saturday we went to the farmers market behind the castle. We have also finally learned how to shop for certain items we need. There is no Walmart here, or any store of its kind (at least that we have found). There is also no Target here, or any store of its kind. After searching for a blowdryer all week, we finally found one on Friday at a drug/beauty store that has the feel of Walgreens and the makeup sections in Dillards all in one. We have also been looking for a printer which we desperately needed, and finally found one Saturday after leaving the Farmer's Market. We were walking home and noticed a store that we thought might cell electronic things like Printers and computers. We walked in and it was a catalog store. All you see are stands with giant catalogs and kiosks where you pay for what you want. Although catalog stores are very mid-1900's, these are very modern day ones. You can text in your order number and have it either shipped to your home or pick it up in the store. We got online, found our printer along with other things, and picked them up in the store which is 2 blocks away. It is such a great deal. We assume that this is as close to Walmart or Target as we will get when it comes to getting most of the things we need in one place. Needless to say, we are happy to have finally found a place where we can get anything we need.

To close, this was a very busy week. We have been making our flat into a home as well as exploring the city little by little. We can't express how beautiful this city is. We will post pictures once our desktop gets here which hopefully will be soon. Until then, you'll just have to take our word for it.