first few days...

(note - this was sent via email BUT i decided to post it for everyone's enjoyment.)

Ahoy hoy,

Hopefully, SOMEBODY got the reference in the title. Otherwise, hi to all.

SO, I've been in Scotland for like, three days or so now. It's been kind of a flurry of events - so I guess I'll start from the beginning. In the beginning... there was a 6 hour flight to Amsterdam airport. I had just finished packing for my flight like a half an hour before the departure, so that was exciting, to say the least. The flight wasn't awful, as they had a bunch of movies on board (including Ratatouille... which tragically cut off a half an hour before the end) and they fed us a bunch of food. I sat between two infants, which freaked the hell out of me because:
a) I hate the high-pitched screams of petulent children AND
b) babies always just weird me out in general
BUT thankfully they just slept the whole time. crisis averted.
Amsterdam airport is quite possibly the most cheerful airport that I have been to. Twinkling lights are everywhere, the lettering of signs is in a happy font, everyone is smiling and a cloud of smoke permeates all of the concourses. just kidding about the last part - but it is a nice place. People were also eating chicken nuggets and drinking heineken, which would be normal save for the fact that it was 7 am. Maybe it's a "cultural" thing.
When I arrived I took a bus to this hotel that we were to stay at for two days with all the other people that were going through Arcadia (the school that handles study abroad stuff). Many superficial introductions and lots of awkward standing around in the lobby ensued. BUT I did manage to meet a few people that are cool - which is all that matters in the long run. After orientation meetings that went on forever we went to go see "Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat" for some reason. Not some sort of cool Scottish cultural event, but a Leonard Bernstein musical with about 700 references to American society. It was alright, I guess, but the play company had an annoying habit of repeating each song that they had played at least 4 times over again at the end (with a techno beat - peculiar).

I moved into my flat a few days ago - it's in the endearing/somewhat concerningly named complex of "Hermit's Croft".It's a bit chilly in the hallways (although it thankfully got to the point that I was too hot it my room last night, so I do have some heat). Showers are interesting in that they are a mad dash into and out of the bathroom as that area is by far the coldest - no heaters or anything. The nice thing however is that it's so cold that my muscles seize up and it looks like I've been working out a lot :D . My flatmates are not particularly outgoing (actually, 2 are cool - one plays Jimi Hendrix on the guitar all the time and likes some of the same music that I do). I've been hanging out with other americans, but hopefully I'll be with scottish people soon enough (when the clubs, or "societies" start).

I haven't gotten internet yet, so I've been around all the coffeeshops that have free wireless. Which is nice, actually, because it's helping me find one I really like. Currently, I'm in one called "Juice Monkey" which is a cheery place with orange and beige minimalist decor - it also has a wall of stuffed monkeys. I LOVE how you can just go to a coffeeshop here, get online, and watch people passing in the street. People-watching in this city is amazing, for those that are interested in that.

Anyway, off to bed.


-CP