Liza IN Scotland

Ta-Da! An actual post from the land of the Scots! It has been a wild 2 weeks traveling from Germany to France to Belgium and back to Germany and it is exciting to be settled (for the most part) at St. Andrews.

There were several minor glitches in the travels from Germany to St. Andrews including: paying extra for heavy luggage despite several attempts to avoid that, a search through my bags for drugs possibly hidden in my disk drive, a delayed flight to Dublin, only half my luggage arriving in Glasgow, and a death march to a mysterious hostel on the outskirts of Glasgow. However, those are expected bumps along the road for adventurers like myself. And there were so many small miracles along the way that proved that Rachel and I were being watched over. Glasgow is full of angelic people who bent over backwards to help us, make us feel welcome, assure us that everything would be returned to us, point us in the right direction, give us a hand, and flag down a tour bus to get us to the bus station.

I'm in the midst of 'orientation' at St. Andrews. Classes start on Monday and until then, I'm not exactly sure of what the adgenda will be like. It feels good to have my suitcases unpacked and to start to make a home for myself here. I live in a house... with 5 other girls, although I have only met one so far. We each have our own bedroom and there are 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, and a lounge that we all share. I'll be cooking for myself for the most part. Wish me luck... er... it will be an adventure to say the least. I'm famous for burning most things I put in mircowaves.

Tuesday night I went with Rachel and a girl from her house out to a pub where there was a PubQuiz. I love trivia... but Scottish trivia... I had no idea. But it was a cross between Bingo and a quiz game and our team won 2 of the 4 rounds, which meant a round of drinks! Pretty good for my first night here I think.

So far my favorite thing is... the sea. I can hardly believe it is so close to where I live. It is literally my backyard. Before coming I would look at maps and say, "hey, St. Andrews is right on the coast..." but I didn't dare to dream that right on the coast meant... right on the coast. It is beautiful. I went running along it this morning, right to the beginning of the famous St. Andrews Golf Course. It's just so incredible.

The town is delightful... lots of cute shops and cafes. Already yesterday I found my knitting store and have a schedule of when "Knit Ins" are. Heck yes. Socks are going to be my project for the trip... wanna bet on how many pairs I'll make??

Well, I'm expecting a very important phone call soon... so I'll end this for now. Thanks so much for everyones comments and e-mails... they have meant a ton! And I have my mailing address now so if you want it let me know. I like mail!