Almost Natives

We have been living in Scotland for 2 months now.  During these 2 months, we have been learning new things about the culture here and adapting to the weather as best we can.  One of our favorite things we have mentioned has been the farmers market.  We go every Saturday to get our beef.  Today Brandlyn went with her friend Gabriella because John, for those who don't know was at work.  He got a job as a Sandwich Artist at Subway. Anyway, Brandlyn took pictures today of the Farmers Market so that you can see what it is like.  It doesn't matter what time we seem to go, they are always busy, but it is a great atmosphere!  We haven't really been doing much else the past 2 weeks.  John has started work and Brandlyn has continued to work on her school work. In the midst of all this though, we have realized that we no longer act like tourists.  As we walk down the street we comment on things that have changed, Brandlyn no longer wears big jackets when it is nearly 50 degrees, and she doesn't breathe that hard when we walk up hills.  It is almost like we have become Natives of Edinburgh.  Besides our accent and the occasional weird looks we may give when we can't understand Scottish accents, we are growing into our new home and it is feeling a little bit more like home.  We still haven't tried Haggis though.  One day, one day.

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This is where we get our steak pies.  We didn't get any this run though.

Is there a better place to have a Farmers Market.  I think not!

Brandlyn bought some fresh chili-lemon crisps here.  They are delicious!

Why We're Here

John and I are so happy to be living in Scotland.  We are very thankful and feel very blessed that we have this opportunity.  I have to say that my desire to come here probably wouldn't exist if I didn't get the opportunity to hear about the world when I was a little girl.  My grandparents traveled all over the world when they retired, and whenever they would come to visit, my grandma would bring her box of pictures and postcards from the many places they visited.  I loved the time I had with her hearing about all of these different places and seeing the cultures of these foreign places coming alive in the pictures.  I like to think that she sparked my desire to one day be able to travel and maybe even live overseas for a little while.  My grandma passed away on Saturday, but her independent, adventurous spirit still lives on.  I believe she passed it on to her 3 daughters and through my mom it was passed on to my sister and me.  Her memorial party (yes party because that's how we roll in this family) is today, so I felt that I shouldn't wait a moment longer to tell everyone the about impact she has made in my life,and how without her, I probably would not be living in Scotland today.  Thank you Nanny Pat, we will miss you! 

Arthur's Seat

The sun came out today!  We haven't seen it in a few days.  It didn't stay all day, but it was very nice while it was here.  It came and went as we walked to the Farmer's Market to pick up some more meat, of course another steak pie because our last one was delicious, and some rasberry dressing.  The hi temp for today was 51 Degrees.  It has been cool like this all week, but nice still.  In fact, because we saw the sun today we disregarded the cold temperature and spent the day outside.

We decided to hike up Arthur's Seat.  For those who don't know what Arthur's Seat is, it is the tallest hill in Edinburgh at a whopping 823ft.  For us, it is quite tough, especially if you are Brandlyn.  We made it up together though and it was well worth it.  The jagged rocks, steep hills, and muddy crevices don't matter much once your at the top.  Besides, isn't that what is supposed to be half the fun?  Here are a few pictures of our journey.

As we were walking in Holyrood Park toward Authors seat, there were military men and of course, the band!

Across from where the military and band were there is a lovely pond area that is home to doves, geese, ducks, and ....

Swans!  They are so much bigger than the other birds

After the pond, we started are trek up Arthur's Seat.  This was about 1/8 of the way up at one of our many breaks.

Finally! We have reached the top and can now look out on Edinburgh.

It really is a gorgeous place to stand.  You can't tell, but he is facing the North Sea.

After our hike, we enjoyed some twin cones at the bottome of the hill!

More to come next week!

Differences

It has been over a month since we have been in Edinburgh, and we are learning new things all the time.  Many of these things are some differences between Britian and America that we weren't expecting.  One of which in Brandlyn's case is school organization.  Her school has yet to figure out a permanent room for one of her classes.  Hopefully this will change come Wednesday and a final room will be assigned.  The funny thing is that both the professors and the students are confused about this.  Organization issues were happening with many of her classes, but thankfully it is now only one.  After asking people both Scottish and English about it, the reply was that this kind of thing is typical in British Universities.  Apparently organization in certain areas, such as schedules, is a little bit off.  Other than not knowing exactly where a certain class is going to be held each week (but having a rough idea), classes are going great.  Brandlyn has been really busy and has tons of homework, but she is enjoying her classes a lot. 

Another difference we have found is in the career fair aspect.  In America, we have experienced career fairs as something where you take your resume, and get dressed up as if it is a job interview.  There you talk to employers who are looking at hiring potential employees.  In Scotland, at least at the one put on by the Career Services earlier this week, it is a bit different.  When John went, he was the only potential employee dressed up, and after introducing himself to an HR rep from a company at the fair, she said nothing.  When he asked if he could give her his CV (Resume) she replied with a very shocked reply (hands raised up in defense and everything) we don't take CVs here.  Apparently none of the businesses accepted cvs, and any questions you have for them are answered by telling you to look online.  It's just a bit different.

On the "non-different" side of things, we attended the farmers market behind the castle again on Saturday and bought some delicious hamburger patties from a pure grass fed angus beef company called, Well Hung and Tender.  Isn't it a great name? We bought a canvas bag!  We also bought (from a different seller) a steak pie.  It will be our first meat pie which is a traditional Scottish meal.   We haven't eaten it yet, but it will be coming. 

In the meantime it is school and job searching as well as the beginning of another adventerous week!