Skimming the surface

I should have figured out by now that the more often I update, the less I have to remember to say.  Unfortunately, that learning does not seem to have occurred.  Sorry about the delay.  In case you were worried, I'm still alive.

I should warn you - I've switched my dictionary to British English.  Apparently all the papers I write here are supposed to be written that way, so I want to get used to using words like favourite and centre.  So.  Prepare yourself.  If you see a word that you think is spelled wrong, it probably isn't.

(It would be even better if there was a "Scottish Accent" dictionary.  Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be.  Sorry aboot that.)

So anyway, let me skim over the things that have happened in the past week and then we can get on with more interesting things.

I changed my class timetable (schedule) again!  For the last time, I promise.  I felt really lame not taking any cool Scottish classes while I'm here, so I dropped my psychology classes and took back Intro to Scottish Studies: Conceptualising Scotland.  It was kind of a quick decision that I made Monday, and so far I'm happy with it.  My logic was this: A) it doesn't make sense for me to be here and not learn about the country, B) I can probably easily get an A in Social Psych at home and thereby raise my major GPA, whereas here not only are As impossible to get but it would only count as "Pass" anyway, and C) seeing as how I'd have to take two classes to get credit for our single Social Psychology course, and they both, despite the lesser credit, seem to be as difficult as if not more difficult than our Social Psychology, I would really be putting in twice as much work as I need to.  Anyway.  Scottish Studies it is.  Two classes in, I'm rather pleased - the section we're on is similar to an International Studies class I took freshman year, and it's very interesting, and I've already learned things about Scotland, and it seems like a minimal-work type course.  Brilliant.

To save space, I'll combine all my church-type activities into one paragraph.  Since I last wrote, I've been to Christian Union large group on Friday, church on Sunday, and small group on Monday.  So far my biggest complaint (if you could call it that) would be the music - they simply have a different repertoire of worship music here, and I don't like not knowing the songs.  But to say I'm actually sad about it would be a lie.  Some of the songs are the same, and Sunday they did two of my absolute favourites (ha ha, typed that the wrong way first, thanks dictionary), which was a blessing - plus I'm already learning the new ones.  And just being with other Christians has made me feel so at home.

I finally made it up Arthur's Seat!  Arthur's Seat is this awesome mountain in the middle of the city, and from the top are absolutely incredible views of a lot of Edinburgh, as well as the ocean which it's so easy to forget is nearby.  I hiked up with two other American students I've met through Christian Union, and although I love hanging out with non-Americans and I'm consciously trying to keep a diverse friend group, it was really comfortable to be with people with whom I have so much in common.  Anyway, it wasn't a bad hike at all, and the view from the top was completely worth it.  You could just stand up there for hours, I think.  The wind was crazy, though.  Arguably the best part was climbing back down.  The guy in our little group saw this little set of ruins off to one side and was like, let's go see those!  So we did, and then on the way he was talking about how there were blackberry bushes around, and I was like oh my gosh we should pick some to go with our shortbread (we had taken shortbread as a snack).  And he was like oh my gosh we should.  He agreed!  No one ever agrees with my crazy nature girl ideas.  This guy and I are going to be friends.  So the three of us climbed all over the side of the hill and pushed into brambles and picked a handful of blackberries each and they were SO DELICIOUS.  So we continued to the ruins and sat on the least windy side eating blackberries on shortbread and having deep God discussions until we girls were too freezing to sit there any longer.  We decided we should make dinner together, so we went grocery-hunting and then made spaghetti and meat sauce and salad and garlic bread for dinner.  Such a good day.

Argh.  So much for skimming.  That was long.  Sorry.

Outlook on the next couple of weeks: I'm hoping to get over to the west coast to Inveraray (apparently pronounced Inverarah?) Castle, the seat of Clan Campbell, my very own bit of Scottish heritage.  That's a possible trip for this weekend, although obviously that is quickly approaching and I still don't have a bus ticket or anything.  This could end up being another one of those hop-a-bus adventures.  However, I'm especially excited for these little weekend ventures because I can get away with just using my normal-sized backpack and not have to carry 80 bazillion pounds of stuff.  (Side note: British dictionary does not say "bazillion" is not a word.  I like this.)  So, that's supposed to be beautiful and I'm excited.

Another weekend venture I'm working on is PARIS!!  Given my limited time and budget I've had to scale down my travel plans, but Paris, I think, is really a must-see.  I've found really good fares as well, so I should have that worked out quite soon, I hope.  I'll update you as I get things settled.

Also: one of my WashU friends is coming up here!  He's on a program in London for the semester, and they're coming up to Edinburgh for the week next week.  (I originally thought it was this week, making for some confusion yesterday when he was still not here.  Haha oops.)  So we're going to do some of the awesome sightseeing that I haven't had the chance to do yet.  I'm very excited for that, plus for getting to see a more familiar face.  (Also, it's perfect timing because with the onset of October the tourist season officially ends, and thus off-peak pricing of all the tourist attractions begins.  Suh-weet.)

That is all, O friends and loved ones.  Tah-tah for now.