13 Days as Scots

It's hard to believe that 13 days ago we arrived late on Sunday in St Andrews. Famished, we found our way to town and stumbled upon a kabob take away, paid 7 pounds for a 3 minute phone call to my parents, and crashed on the floor of our flat. These 13 days have been challenging, relaxing, frustrating, fulfilling, and most of all, adventurous:

Argos has been a life-saver. Literally. Who knew what bright blue bathroom rugs could do to spruce a place up? The beautiful thing about Argos? It's contemporary and it's cheap. Because we only plan to be here a year, (if Garrick doesn't roll his MLit into a PhD,) we wanted stylish yet inexpensive. And Argos is just that. Ikea-like, you look through a magazine, write down your item number, and they bring it to the front for you. Needless to say, our flat is now "homey." Garrick feels a lot better, too, now that the love seat has throw pillows. ;)

On to older and better things, the town of St Andrews is perfect for young, inexperienced Americans such as ourselves. With only three main streets, we know our way around pretty well. I should be honest and admit that twice we went to dinner, however, and could not find the restaurant after passing it at least a dozen times previously. There's lots of little short-cuts and alley ways that confuse us. Thankfully, I am not shy and have asked locals lots questions. I even asked an elderly man in Starbucks how to punctuate cell phone numbers. (No dashes if you're curious.) We attended a church last Sunday that meets in the middle school up the road and were greeted warmly afterward during the tea and biscuit social. Cliff and Sheila in particular shared their story with us and offered encouragement and a few good laughs. Garrick even got the honor of being entered into Cliff's address book, to which he gave me the private fist pump. All in all, the Scots are friendly, funny, and sarcastic.

Now on to the hundreds of years of history. We've explored the castle ruins, the cathedral, the university and the golf course. Awesome. In the true sense of the word. I am sure we can never fully know the beauty of these structures, since they are mostly demolished, but still beautiful even in their brokenness. I almost feel guilty when I sit home during the day knowing I can walk 5 minutes and be standing next to history. Our favorite view, unquestionably, was St Rules Tower, in the middle of the cathedral. It's the highest tower in St Andrews and we could see the entire town from the top. We climbed the twirling staircase enclosed by a stone wall and made it to the breathtaking views. St Andrews is a place to visit, that's for sure.

Today, I write from our retro chair in front of our fireplace, staring out our rainy window at the windy trees and gray sky. We've been to town already, Garrick checking to see if our bank card is activated yet, and me, working on resumes in my usual green velvet chair at Starbucks. We have a social week next week with university events. The highlights are a bike auction and my personal favorite, a survival group for wives of post graduate students. I am excited to meet other women in my exact position, as it's easy to feel alone. We've settled in well and are just waiting to get one last important innovation: Internet. Soon enough, all depending on when our bank card is activated. Then I can finally Skype with my beautiful friends and family, whom I miss dearly.