Safely in Edinburgh…and starting to explore!

I’ll admit I’m starting to hit severe sleep deprivation, but there is too much to tell to take a nap now!

After a warm send off from my mom with scrambled eggs and toast, we somehow managed to part our ways without tears at the airport. Perhaps some of the best news of the day was realized when I checked my bags and each was under the weight limit by a significant amount! Security was a breeze on a Wednesday, so I had over an hour to do some airport wandering. After I came to the realization that American dollars would do me no good in Scotland, my brain was exceedingly successful at coming up with a multitude of ways to slim down my wallet. I bought a MN tshirt to give to someone as a gift and picked up a few snacks before boarding the plane.

I had a really peculiar feeling about one girl who had got on to the plane with me, and the plane probably only had 20 people on it, so I moved to sit closer to her and asked where she was headed. Believe it or not, she too was headed to Edinburgh with IFSA! Emily, who goes to school at Gustavus, had not flown since 2007 and I could feel her nervousness on the whole trip. Imagine not flying for that long and then flying internationally! I was more than happy to lead her to the next terminal and to our IFSA group room.

It turns out that our group is much larger than I expected. I’m sure there are some who traveled independently, so it will be interesting to see the size of the full group during the official orientation starting tomorrow. The group room honestly felt like freshman orientation all over again with questions like “Where are you from?” and “What are you studying?” asked a million times over. More than anything, though, it felt like EuroTour all over again because we were in the exact same group room as the one that started my last European adventure. Too bad I didn’t find three great friends who happened to want to write a blog together…

The hours dragged on, but finally it was time to start our next flight. I was all the way in the back of the plane; however that managed to score me the earliest serving of dinnerJ I was very hopeful of sleep, but alas, it turned out to be a long trip of solving Sudoku puzzles…

Eyes drooping and legs wobbling, we managed to look presentable enough to pass through customs and immigration. Two cheerful IFSA staff members greeted us at the baggage claim and escorted us to our hotel via two coach buses. It was a pretty smooth transition. Mom, remember when I was worried that I had over packed? Well it’s still possible that I over packed, but I did not nearly over pack as much as everyone else did. I believe that I was the only girl to not need a cart to carry luggage, you’d be proud, DadJ

After driving by the castle, I miraculously got a burst of energy and decided it was time for some exploring. I dropped off my stuff in my hotel room and had three incredible hours of exploration of the city on my own. I started by trekking to George’s Square, which is the hub of the academic buildings on campus. Somewhat on a whim, I decided to find the Visiting Student’s Office and see if anyone would be able to talk with me about my schedule. Not only did Calum talk with me, but he easily changed my schedule for me. As of right now, I’m signed up to take Marketing, Self and Society, and the Philosophy of Logic. More importantly, I’m no longer signed up to take Greek and Roman EpicJ

Pretty pumped about the result of my decision to visit the VSO, I continued on to visit the library and other academic buildings. Feeling pretty confident in my directional skills at this point, I ventured on and found my dorm (though I couldn’t get in) and the surrounding stores. Right next door to my dorm is a school supply store and right down the street I found my new favorite lunch spot, the Baguette Express. I spoke for a while with the woman inside, explaining that I would be coming there often and that I loved her accent. She made me a grilled chicken “toastie”, which is a toasted sandwich. I was feeling a little like a local eating my toastie while walking down the cobblestone streets in my pea coat.

My last stop before determining that I was much overdue for a shower was to the Edinburgh Castle, which was absolutely stunning with the morning sun. After climbing what seemed like an endless set of stairs, I could look out and see the castle in front of me and the entire city looking the other direction.

The best part of my whole excursion came when I offered to take a picture of two women in front of the castle. They seemed to be about my age and we began talking about the city and where we were studying. One of the girls was from Georgia and was studying in London for the semester. The other was named Meagen and mentioned that she was from Alabama but was now working in Edinburgh. Before leaving, Meagen tentatively asked me if I happened to be in search of a local church. Very excited with my response, she explained to me that she worked at Central Church and thought that I would enjoy the 6 Gathering on Sundays. She gave me her phone number and email and told me that she would love to get me connected if I so wished. I couldn’t believe my luck and enjoyed checking out the church’s website. (http://www.jesusattheheart.org/ )

God is good! Thank you for all of the prayers!