Searching for the Silver Lining

Well, I think things are going a bit better today. I was able to get some things accomplished on campus. I can finally log in to campus computers, and I even have internet on my laptop in my study office. I talked with the accommodations people, and there should be a postgrad flat available for me to look at on Friday. Then I can decide whether to move or not. It may be worse than where I'm at now! Hopefully not though.

As the title says, I have been searching for the silver lining, trying to see the good in everything. I think I've found four blessings in all of this. 1) My prayer life has definitely increased, because I have no one else to talk to and I have no choice but to rely on Him. 2) I am realizing how blessed I am with friends and family in the States. Everyone has been so good about writing, even when all I do is complain. 3) I am seeing how blessed I am in student housing in Ft. Worth. It seems absolutely luxurious compared to where I am now. And 4) I now know that my tear ducts do work. Who knew?

Well, I'm going to leave campus now. It's dark and rainy, and I need to go catch the bus. So bye for now, but hopefully I'll be writing some more cheerful posts with fun pictures soon.

Culture Shock

It is an understatement to say that things are a bit different in Scotland than they are at home! But here are a few of the oddities that I have observed…

1. The obvious – they drive on the wrong side of the street.


2. Traffic lights flash yellow before turning green – kind of a “go ahead and rev your engine, I’m about to change” signal.


3. Stores in town close at 5:00 every night, even weeknights! Even the malls and Starbucks close that early! I guess it's because everyone goes to the pubs at night, so the stores don't need to stay open.


4. You have to flip a switch in order to turn on electrical outlets – all of them! I have plugged things in a few times and wondered why they wouldn’t come on.


5. At some flats, you have to flip a switch to turn on the water heater about 30 minutes before you want a shower.


6. Almost everyone smokes here. I don't know if it's their way of keeping warm, or what, but the smell of smoke is everywhere, at least outside. Thankfully they have a law banning smoking in public buildings.


7. Band-Aids are called “fabric plasters.” What’s that about? And in case you want to know how I had to find that out, on my first 4-mile walk to the University, I wore my socks out and had blisters on the bottom of the heals. Ouch!

These are just a few of the differences I have found. I'm sure I will encounter many more as the days go on. Their words are also quite odd at times. For instance, french fries are called "chips" and chips are called "crisps." Also, pants are called "trousers." If you say "pants," you are referring to underpants! Better watch that one!

Lastly, I'm going to attach a photo of a funny pub I saw the other day. I just liked the name - "The Illicit Still." Hope you all had fun enjoying a bit of culture shock with me.

Update on my crazy life!

Well, this has been an interesting couple of days. On Sunday Jason, Erin, and I stayed after church for the student lunch. We had shepherd’s pie, which consists of mince (ground meat – I’m not sure if it was beef or something else), mashed potatoes, and cheese sprinkled on top. So now I can say I have had a traditional Scottish meal – and I don’t think I want to repeat it, thank you very much!

After lunch we lugged all of my baggage from their flat over to my dorm, on the other side of town. We took two busses and stood waiting for the second one for over half an hour. When we finally arrived and I got my key, I moved into my room – which is in a flat with 5 other girls, all freshers (as they call freshmen), 18-19 years old! What an odd experience! They seem nice enough, and I have tried to carry on conversations with them, but they’re all going out drinking at night, and I’ve already been told that one girl’s boyfriend will stay the night sometimes. God, help! Last night some idiot undergrad was either smoking or cooking at 4:00 am and set off the fire alarm, so I was outside in my pajamas in the freezing cold with a bunch of giggly freshmen girls! Needless to say, I have had a hard time settling in, and I will admit to calling my parents saying 'I want to come home!' After discussing the accommodations issue with the administrative assistant in the Divinity School, I have put in an application to move rooms. Even if it costs a little more, I would rather be in a postgraduate flat with other students who study more and party less. Hopefully this will be worked out in the next couple of weeks, although it doesn't seem very likely. Please pray for this!

I ventured down to the University yesterday and today to try to take care of all the necessary tasks, like registration, paying tuition, etc. It took almost all day, and I still have several of matters that are uncertain. I did meet with Professor Watson (who will be supervising my research), and have my first assignment – basically a summary of my work on Exodus typology in Revelation thus far – for our meeting next week. I will have New Testament seminars on Thursday afternoons, and will likely participate in the Greek reading group on Mondays. Other than that, my time is my own to research and write to my heart’s content (or to venture out and explore this city). I will likely have a new topic to research every two to three weeks, so I can’t waste too much time! But I don’t plan to become a hermit and spend all my time in the library. I have been given a study office with about 6-8 other research students in divinity. They all seem very kind, so I think that will work out well. By the way, I did take some pictures of the school yesterday and today. Here are a couple of my favorites of King's College, the part of the University that I will be attending.

So, that’s the latest in my experience as a University of Aberdeen student. I guess it could be summarized as frustration, homesickness, overwhelming, and anticipation. Hopefully the anticipation will bear fruit and the homesickness will wear off quickly as the term gets underway. I’ll keep you all informed!

Photos

Today we started off the day by taking the bus to the North Sea, where we walked along the beach and saw crazy people surfing in the frigid water. The beach was very rocky, but it didn't stop people and dogs alike from enjoying the nice "warm" weather. Well, it was warm compared to what it's normally like, I suppose!

We also went to Asda, the Scottish equivalent of Walmart. It even has the same smiley face and the same slogans - "falling prices". It definitely didn't have the variety that Walmart has, though. And the pickles - I don't think the Scots and I share the same definition of pickles. Let's just say I will be going through withdrawals by the time I get to back to the States!

These last couple of pictures are ones that I took on our walks into city centre and on the beach today. One is His Majesty's Theatre. Right now Cats is showing there. The other building is the Townhouse. I just think the buildings are very pretty, and I like how the photos turned out. The one of the beach might be my favorite so far - I love the way there are so many linear elements in various directions. Even the clouds seem to be someone linear. Well, that's a summary of my day - the beach, "Walmart," and a lot of photography. Maybe one of these days I'll get around to studying...

Cold in Scotland!

I'm sitting here drinking a cup of hot tea, bundled under a blanket, trying to get warm and thinking about how today I saw a taste of typical Scotland weather - rain showers (though not too bad), cold, and lots of wind! Actually, outside is not too bad. My new winter coat is quite warm. I think the coldest I've been is sitting in Jason and Erin's apartment (where I'm staying until I can move into the dorm). It's so expensive to run the heater that they wait until they just can't stand it anymore. Last night I slept under a heavy duvet and 3 blankets - with a hot water bottle at my feet to keep me warm.

We walked up to the University today. Buildings that look so large in photos don't seem quite as big when you're right there. I was kind of surprised. It was still very ancient and beautiful though. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture. But it was kind of rainy anyway - I'll get one on a nicer day. I did get a shot of the Aberdeen skyline.

We walked about 6 miles today, altogether. My legs were dying! And I wore out the heals in my socks already. Oh well. Not only did we go to the school, but we walked back down into city center, where I saw the nicest Starbucks I've ever seen.

Yes, they really do have Starbucks in Scotland! I also saw a McDonald's and Burger King. But they also have a lot of stores and restaurants that I've never heard of. The oddest was a restaurant called "Noose and Monkey." I almost wanted to try it just because of the name. But I won't, because they probably serve haggis as their main entree!

Arrival Day

Well, I finally arrived in Aberdeen today! After more than six months of preparation, I am finally here! It has been a rough journey these last few days, with my Nana's health fading fast, and having to say goodbye to family and friends. But in spite of everything, I am excited to be in this city and embarking on this adventure. The flights over were not very eventful, thankfully. One interesting occurrence - when we disembarked the plane in Aberdeen, we walked down the stairs from the plane directly onto the tarmac. It makes me think of the way travel used to be done, or of AirForce One. You always see the President walk out the door, stop, wave, and then descend. I almost wanted to do that myself!

We walked around the city center today, taking care of a couple of important purchases and trying to keep me awake so I will sleep tonight. When we were walking down the sidewalk toward one of the malls, we heard live bagpipe music, and saw the bagpipers wearing kilts. That's when it really hit me - I'm in Scotland! Of course, I pulled out my camera and took a picture like the tourist and scrapbooker that I am. I know, I'll see a lot of kilts while I'm here, but this was my first day! (By the way, I forgot the cable to my small digital camera, so once I figure out how to get the photos off of that camera, I will post some photos.)

I'm sure there will be many more experiences to record and share. I just wanted to get down my first thoughts in this initial post.