Fit like? --- Oh good; just had a wee bit o' a walk from the bay. 'Tis such a fine day ta be out and about!
I got my first real taste of Scotland this weekend!
On Saturday, a few friends and I took a bus out to Stonehaven. (I learned that I really do hate the bus; got sick. Can you believe that!! I never get sick, and then I did on a silly little bus ride). Well anyway, it's a beautiful little city on the sea know for an award winning beach, great fish and chips, and Dunnottar Castle about 2 1/2 km from the city. We had a nice walk around the quaint city and bought our fish and chips; then, we sat on the beach and watched the dogs running into the sea and children throwing stones as far as they could. It was a wonderful time. Then we hiked up bluff/hill/whatever it's called and followed a very long winding trail to Dunnottar Castle. On the way we took SO many pictures! It was absolutely wonderful. We also passed a World War II memorial that was very neat to see. It had the names and battles of who and where people died. It was a beautiful time. HOWEVER, we walked so far!!!! As we were walking back to the dorms, we could barely talk because we were so tired and hurt so much. It was worth it though.
That night, I went to my very first Ceilidh (Kayley): a Scottish traditional dance; similar to a barn dance or folk dance but instead of having just a caller, a lot of times you just dance. It was AMAZING!! I was so surprised that I even had the energy to dance at all because of all the walking that I did earlier that day, but I couldn't stand still! I danced with quite a few true Scotsmen and one was even wearing a kilt!!! It was just a great time, and I met so many people.
Everyone is very open and excited to meet new people and know about you. The Ceilidh was at Kings Community church, and I ended up going to their service the next day. I had a great time worshiping and hearing the message. They also had a free lunch after, so me and my friend, Victoria, stayed for that too. We met even more people, and I ended up going to Starbucks afterward. Then we all went back to church because they have a more in depth bible study talk at night. And then... you'll never guess... we went to Starbucks AGAIN! (I got TWO free STARBUCKS coffee in ONE DAY!) Oh it was pretty exciting and very fun. I had just a wonderful time, and I think since I'm here for such a short time, I'll just start getting involved with this church.
So things are still going great! I start my classes TOMORROW!! My first class isn't until 3pm, and it's my only class of the day. So.. I'll have a nice time getting ready for everything. I'm hoping that everything will be settled soon with the bank. They froze my account for some time because of so many people opening new accounts or something silly like that. So I haven't been able to withdraw any money which is a great problem when I haven't gone grocery shopping yet and have no food and am living off of 3pounds and the generosity of my friends. But, it's all good, and I'm sure it won't be long before everything is settled.
I love you all SOOOO much!!!
Facebook me if you want to skype.
<3 Sarah
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
PICTURES
MY DORM
MY WALK TO CAMPUS THROUGH SEATON PARK
(sorry these are blurry!)
CAMPUS
CHRISTIAN UNION FREE LUNCH TALK AND PERFORMANCE
INTO THE CITY
Life at Aberdeen
Hey everybody!
Wow.. things are going great here! I love the beautiful city and the fun, friendly, and interesting people everywhere I go.
Welcome to Freshers Week: the week before classes begin where the new students meet each other and get to know the city and campus. Also the week where almost everyone goes out to parties and clubs every night... well, not me of course lol!
Many of the friends that I've met don't like to go out or drink either though, so I've still had tons of fun. There are so many different events this week like the sports society fair, free bagel lunch at the chapliancy, free movie (The Help)-- very good by the way and you should go see it, the society fair, the Christian Union free lunch with talks about "What would Jesus say to the Holocast", and swing dancing and learning the lindyhop! Oh it's all been so much fun. I feel like I've been here so much longer than I have.
I've joined a few societies like the Christian Union (EXTREMELY similar to CRU--very much the same set up and ideas), the creative writing society (so I can get into writing again--there is so much inspiration all around me; I have no excuses), the internatioal society (where I can go on cheap trips around Scotland), and the DANCE society (so that I can have some fun too!).
I love seeing how God works, and it's great to wait and see who I'll meet each day. example: today I was feeling a little low and out because of some stupid problem with the bank here where I'm not able to withdrawl money for a time (hopefully it will be fixed by early next week!!!). well, anyway, I was a little sad and decided that I should take some more pictures so that I could load them on the blog for everyone to see. While I was in the King's college, there happened to be a guy who walked into the courtyard where I was, and we started up a conversation. It just so happened that he was a Christian, and we were able to talk a lot about our faith. We ended up hanging out for the afternoon, walking around and getting hot chocolate where we bumped into my really good friend Victoria. It made my day; God works in so many mysterious and exciting ways. I love waiting to see what he'll do next.
Tomorrow I'm going to take my first trip outside of Aberdeen to a small fishing village where I hear they have the best fish and chips. I guess that there is also a beautiful castle on the hill over looking the village. I'm excited to go. I'm going with my good friend Ivana who lives in the small dorm and hallway as I do. I'll also be going to my first and hopefully not my last Ceilidh (Kayley) tomorrow night. Its the traditional scottish dance that is absolute fun I hear. I'm very excited!
I love you all!! please Facebook me so that I can tell you all about everything in even more detail. I also want to be hearing about everything that is going on in the states as well.
<3
Wow.. things are going great here! I love the beautiful city and the fun, friendly, and interesting people everywhere I go.
Welcome to Freshers Week: the week before classes begin where the new students meet each other and get to know the city and campus. Also the week where almost everyone goes out to parties and clubs every night... well, not me of course lol!
Many of the friends that I've met don't like to go out or drink either though, so I've still had tons of fun. There are so many different events this week like the sports society fair, free bagel lunch at the chapliancy, free movie (The Help)-- very good by the way and you should go see it, the society fair, the Christian Union free lunch with talks about "What would Jesus say to the Holocast", and swing dancing and learning the lindyhop! Oh it's all been so much fun. I feel like I've been here so much longer than I have.
I've joined a few societies like the Christian Union (EXTREMELY similar to CRU--very much the same set up and ideas), the creative writing society (so I can get into writing again--there is so much inspiration all around me; I have no excuses), the internatioal society (where I can go on cheap trips around Scotland), and the DANCE society (so that I can have some fun too!).
I love seeing how God works, and it's great to wait and see who I'll meet each day. example: today I was feeling a little low and out because of some stupid problem with the bank here where I'm not able to withdrawl money for a time (hopefully it will be fixed by early next week!!!). well, anyway, I was a little sad and decided that I should take some more pictures so that I could load them on the blog for everyone to see. While I was in the King's college, there happened to be a guy who walked into the courtyard where I was, and we started up a conversation. It just so happened that he was a Christian, and we were able to talk a lot about our faith. We ended up hanging out for the afternoon, walking around and getting hot chocolate where we bumped into my really good friend Victoria. It made my day; God works in so many mysterious and exciting ways. I love waiting to see what he'll do next.
Tomorrow I'm going to take my first trip outside of Aberdeen to a small fishing village where I hear they have the best fish and chips. I guess that there is also a beautiful castle on the hill over looking the village. I'm excited to go. I'm going with my good friend Ivana who lives in the small dorm and hallway as I do. I'll also be going to my first and hopefully not my last Ceilidh (Kayley) tomorrow night. Its the traditional scottish dance that is absolute fun I hear. I'm very excited!
I love you all!! please Facebook me so that I can tell you all about everything in even more detail. I also want to be hearing about everything that is going on in the states as well.
<3
Monday, September 19, 2011
Travel
Well...
I can say that I'm still alive.
Wow; those were such long flights!
My mom and dad dropped me off at Chicago, O'Hare at around 5:30pm on Sunday. And they literally dropped me off (lol); it was a quick goodbye on the curb and then off on the adventure. When I got inside, the line didn't happen to be that long, but when I got to the front, I had almost forgotten that I needed to pay for my extra bag. Luckily, mom and dad had given me some money to use for dinner at the airport, so I had $59. I remembered from research that an extra bag only cost $50, so I wasn't too worried. Well, it just so happened that they either bumped up the price or that was the price for paying ahead of time on-line. The extra bag ended up being $60. I was a dollar short! Because I had taken all my money out of my checking account for my travelers checks, I didn't have enough money to pay for it through my debit card. AHH!! But a nice man over heard my situation and gave me a dollar. (God bless him)
So I made it through the check in and then through security with no more bumps. I couldn't however get my computer to connect to the airport Internet which was a bother, but that just ended up in a nice phone call to my sister. c: I made it on the flight easily, and once again God blessed me with my seat. In the seats next to me sat two ministry partners who had come to The States to visit with two men on death row. I was blessed to hear the men's stories and the stories of these missionaries. It was great to have someone to talk with; we talked a lot about our faith and were able to learn from each other. It made the flight much more endurable even though it was still extremely difficult to sleep! :(
When I got to London, my friends were able to help me find where I needed to go. Our flight coming in was a little late, so I had to rush to get to where I needed to be. I was probably in London Heathrow for no more than 15 or 20 mins!!! It was a little scary. I was also afraid that my luggage wasn't being transferred; I didn't know if I had to pick it up and then re-check it or not. But I made the flight which was very short compared to my earlier one.
When we landed in Aberdeen, I was met by a representative from the college. I searched for my bags and they were there!! Then the representative helped about seven of us (international students) get a taxi to the right place.
Now, I'm checked into my dorm room and have met a few of my neighbors!
I don't really know anything at the moment though like: how to get around, if the buses are free for students, where to find food, where the bank is, where certain buildings are....
I am meeting with an advisor tomorrow morning though, so hopefully I will find out everything that I need to know.
I love you all SO much!!
<3 Sarah
I can say that I'm still alive.
Wow; those were such long flights!
My mom and dad dropped me off at Chicago, O'Hare at around 5:30pm on Sunday. And they literally dropped me off (lol); it was a quick goodbye on the curb and then off on the adventure. When I got inside, the line didn't happen to be that long, but when I got to the front, I had almost forgotten that I needed to pay for my extra bag. Luckily, mom and dad had given me some money to use for dinner at the airport, so I had $59. I remembered from research that an extra bag only cost $50, so I wasn't too worried. Well, it just so happened that they either bumped up the price or that was the price for paying ahead of time on-line. The extra bag ended up being $60. I was a dollar short! Because I had taken all my money out of my checking account for my travelers checks, I didn't have enough money to pay for it through my debit card. AHH!! But a nice man over heard my situation and gave me a dollar. (God bless him)
So I made it through the check in and then through security with no more bumps. I couldn't however get my computer to connect to the airport Internet which was a bother, but that just ended up in a nice phone call to my sister. c: I made it on the flight easily, and once again God blessed me with my seat. In the seats next to me sat two ministry partners who had come to The States to visit with two men on death row. I was blessed to hear the men's stories and the stories of these missionaries. It was great to have someone to talk with; we talked a lot about our faith and were able to learn from each other. It made the flight much more endurable even though it was still extremely difficult to sleep! :(
When I got to London, my friends were able to help me find where I needed to go. Our flight coming in was a little late, so I had to rush to get to where I needed to be. I was probably in London Heathrow for no more than 15 or 20 mins!!! It was a little scary. I was also afraid that my luggage wasn't being transferred; I didn't know if I had to pick it up and then re-check it or not. But I made the flight which was very short compared to my earlier one.
When we landed in Aberdeen, I was met by a representative from the college. I searched for my bags and they were there!! Then the representative helped about seven of us (international students) get a taxi to the right place.
Now, I'm checked into my dorm room and have met a few of my neighbors!
I don't really know anything at the moment though like: how to get around, if the buses are free for students, where to find food, where the bank is, where certain buildings are....
I am meeting with an advisor tomorrow morning though, so hopefully I will find out everything that I need to know.
I love you all SO much!!
<3 Sarah
Sunday, September 11, 2011
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