Scottish Vocab, etc.

Perfect, crisp weather today.

We've been in Edinburgh for two weeks now...yay!  Even though I still have to carefully study each coin in my hand as I pay for a bus ticket, I am already feeling more comfortable with the area. I buy groceries almost every day, and am finally able to walk into the store with confidence instead of wandering the aisles aimlessly and leaving only with more Cadbury chocolate, and nothing on my actual list. Every day I learn new words for things.  Here are a few that I find amusing/confusing:

trash can = rubbish or litter bin
restroom = toilet (I just can't bring myself to ask someone to use the "toilet")
trunk of a car = boot
stroller = buggy or pram
elevator = lift
sweater = jumper
line = queue
lettuce = salad. Also, any type of vegetable that goes on a sandwich (tomato, onion, etc) is considered "salad". I was disappointed when they asked if I wanted salad with my fish and chips to find it was just sitting on one leaf of lettuce.
baby = wee one
doctor's office = surgery
french fries = chips
potato chips = crisps
crib = cot
apartment = flat
ham = gammon
vacuuming = hoovering 
gasoline = petrol (which is about $10/gallon here, by the way!)
cell phone = mobile phone (I know it's not that weird but everybody says "mobe-ayle")
diaper = nappy

For the most part, I can get past the accent and understand people I speak with. But there have been several times where I just nod and smile without a clue of what they said.  A few days ago, Neal and I left our flat early in the morning and were stopped by an elderly man who appeared to still be under the influence of several pints from the night before.  I was carrying Eleanor in the baby bjorn and he kept reaching out to touch her and asked several slurred questions about her in a thick brogue. He went on and on for several minutes and we kept politely nodding and laughing. He ended with "it brings good luck to give a wee one a bit of silver", patted Eleanor on the head for the tenth time, and put a 20 pence piece in her little hand (which of course she shoved directly into her mouth, making me cringe). It was both sweet and creepy. As we parted ways (finally), Neal muttered exactly what I was thinking, "I couldn't understand 99% of what that guy was saying".

Laundry will be the death of me. A small load takes about 2 hours to run in the washer, then we have to hang them all on our clothes horse. I can only do one load at a time, because that's all I have room for on the drying rack. And one load takes almost 48 hours to dry completely (especially cottons). Then I have to iron everything. Even socks, and washcloths! And I do not iron (it's on the long list of domestic things I do not do).  Neal has always been the designated family iron-er, but I know that's not going to fly here. He's been really proud of the only-slightly-wrinkled T-shirts I've been producing. Could someone ship me a dryer please?

Bright side of laundry: Free movie for this lass.

I've also noticed that almost nothing comes "resealable"...shredded or sliced cheese, lunch meat, etc. I'm going through zip lock bags like nobody's business.

I have yet to figure out if this is a cultural thing or what, but...Neal and I have been going on a daily run down by the canal, the result of feeling guilty as we filled out our NHS registration forms at the "surgery". The form asked questions about exercise frequency and I whispered to Neal, "I have to lie. I'm completely sedentary!" The next morning, he woke me up with "let's go on a family run!" Ew. And we've gone every morning since. It won't last long, if I can help it ;). Anyway, he pushes Eleanor in the stroller as he runs (an embarrassing distance ahead of me), and other people on the pavement always stare at him. At first I thought it was an "aw, how nice, a father running with his baby" kind of look, because everyone smiles huge and rubbernecks as he passes. But then I saw people literally pointing after he had passed and two girls were doubled over laughing. There are soo many strollers here, and so many moms walking their babies on the canal, I don't know if it's because he was running with the stroller (now that I've started paying attention I haven't seen any runners with strollers), or because he's a man, or what. I can't figure it out. I'm going to have ask around and get the input of some locals. Neal claims it's his good looks, and I can't deny that as a possibility.

So I realize this post seems like I'm complaining about all the differences between Scotland and the States. It's actually really, really fun and refreshing to adapt to a new way of life. Especially when everyone we meet is so friendly and kind, there's beautiful scenery at every turn, and to know it's only for one year. It's time to let go of what we don't have and miss from home and to appreciate the new and exciting. Even if the new and exciting does cause carpal tunnel and a bad back from hunching over an ironing board. ;)

Edinburgh Castle

Neal has orientation for school next week, where he will enroll for classes, find out his schedule, get a student ID, all that good stuff.  We can't get a bank account here until he has a student ID...and we can't sign up for cell service until we have a bank account. We brought enough cash, we can skype and make phone calls if we are connected to wifi, and we can text as usual. So it's not a huge deal.  But I still feel like we're on vacation, because everything is kind of on hold until school starts. Neal doesn't know his class schedule yet, which makes it hard to apply for a job (his visa allows him to work part-time) without knowing his availability. I, on the other hand, should be searching for a job (I'm permitted to work full-time, and am looking for something I can do from home, part-time, so I won't have to arrange child care for Eleanor (dream on right?)), but it's hard to do when Neal has this free time now and there's so much to see in the city that we're trying to do as much as we can before school starts, while the weather is still nice, and...you get the idea.

Anyway, today we went to the #1 tourist attraction in Edinburgh...the castle. It is HUGE! It sits on top of an extinct volcano and is just magnificent to look up at. Like the museum, it's way too big to experience in one afternoon, but we spent a few hours there today and had a blast. We purchased a family membership to Historic Scotland, which gives us unlimited access to various castles and exhibits around the country, so we didn't feel rushed to see it all as we will no doubt return several times.  Even though Eleanor is free, we bought a pass that includes 2 adults + up to 6 children, just in case we have any visitors with kids (hint hint!)...we would happily loan it to you! We can't wait to come back--we mostly walked around outside so will have to save some of the inside exhibits for a rainy day.

  

This is an alter in the oldest building in Edinburgh--a small chapel built in 1100AD!

One of the chambers of the Castle Prison--which at one time held more than 1,000 POWs.

This is the face of a baby who was rescued from her stroller after hours on cobblestone walkways.

 Passed these in a shop window and nudged Neal. He gave me a knowing look and said, "go get some". I happily obliged.

National Museum of Scotland

Today we decided to hike over to the National Museum of Scotland. We knew we wouldn't be able to see everything in one day, but admission is free, so we plan to return for subsequent visits.  It's in a huge, magnificent building with five different levels full of artifacts and history.  I felt a little sad that Eleanor isn't old enough to learn anything from our visit--the museum had such a great, interactive way to teach kids about the world. Anyway, it was a fun way to spend the afternoon. And of course I have more pictures of our walk to the museum than the place itself :)

 

Fell asleep in my arms as we stopped for a break--that face!

We were tempted by this gourmet ice cream on the walk back to Downfield Place-- Crusty Bread & Nutella?? Yes please! But we decided to skip out and came home to our less luxurious store brand Neapolitan. :(

No. 3 Caledonian Crescent

One of the reasons we chose Scotland for grad school is that both Neal and I have ancestry throughout the country, and we wanted to research and explore our roots. Neal's grandmother, Mary Ferguson Harris, was born here in Edinburgh--just a few blocks away from where we live now!--and immigrated to the US with her parents when she was three years old.  She was born in a flat on a street named Caledonian Crescent in 1903. She died at age 54 of cancer, when Neal's mom was only 19, and he never had the chance to meet her.

So it's pretty crazy that Gregor, our letting agent, happened to find us a flat around the corner from the very building where she was born! It's on the way to both our bank and doctor's office. It's soo close, we are ridiculing ourselves for visiting today for the first time.

This gorgeous church is right next to the flat where Mary was born. We plan to return and check into it a little further; we have no records thus far on her christening. Maybe it was done here!

We have big plans to invite ourselves in someday soon--and  take a little tour of No. 3!

small town girl

I'm from Newton, Kansas. The largest city I've lived in is Wichita, and really, does that count as a city? Not when we're talking about city living. Using public transit, buying groceries daily, a small apartment with a large price tag, etc. Edinburgh is actually just a bit larger than Wichita, it's just much more compact.  At this point, I've had as much culture shock living in a city as I have living on a different continent.  But I'm slowly learning. We have had so much fun just walking around. The buildings are so old and beautiful and rich with history. We haven't had a chance to visit any museums or castles yet, but we have an entire year for that. I'm content just walking around with Elle in the Bjorn, soaking it all in. We had to take two buses home from church the other day, when we should have walked, because my feet couldn't take it in the heels (the shoes I convinced my husband that I needed and insisted I would be fine to walk across town in them),but I didn't mind because we drove through gorgeous neighborhoods we hadn't seen yet. I can't wait to get to know this place. We love it already.

Ordering our first Scottish meal (fish and chips. so good!)

hard to find, but it's here.

Watching the end-of-festival-season fireworks downtown.

Eleanor loved them.

daytrip to england

On our last day with the rental car, we took a road trip to Preston, England to attend the temple.We still hadn't unpacked at this point, but that's okay. The countryside was gorgeous. The fields were endlessly green and full of sheep.  It reminded me of the cinematography in Pride and Prejudice.  When we arrived at the temple, it was almost empty (Wednesday afternoon isn't a very busy time) and we left feeling even more uplifted than when we arrived.  Such a pretty day.