Sunday and Monday

Yesterday and Today were my two baptism days. and by that I mean I was plunged into Scottish culture.

I was woken very early on Sunday to get ready for church. I had to be at the church at 9:00am so I had to catch a bus at 8:20am. The meeting is held in a cinema. I'm sorry I don't have any pictures of that. I spent most of the morning setting up lights and meeting new people. I even got to go upstairs in the cinema where they play all of the films.

Afterwards, I went to a Russian shop with Yuli, Natasha, and Agnieska. I didn't understand anything in there, but I was along for the ride. It was Natasha's birthday so we were hunting for some kind of cake for her. We arrived home and had a homemade mushroom and barley soup. It was much better than I thought that it would be. I'm enjoying Yuli's cooking because it is so different than anything I've ever had before. She made spaghetti that night , but it was much different than spaghetti at home.

After lunch I took the bus out to The Meadows to play some rugby, but by the time I had gotten out there, there as no one left. So I took some pictures and decided just to walk around for a while and explore. I've been doing a lot of that over the past few days. I probably spend maybe 2 hours a day walking around the city. You can see in the last picture that there is a very pretty church. The only thing is is that there are so many of these churches and they are all beautiful. The architecture here is very amazing. It's almost too great to think that simple man made it.

I spent the rest of the evening spending time with the Headley's (David and Yuli) and watching the telly. I will mention that the weather has been marvelous over the past few days.

Now onto today, Monday. I woke up much later than I wanted to. I set the alarm for 8:00 but didn't wake until 10:00. I first order of business is to get a job. So in order to do that I had to claim my citizenship. I couldn't make any calls at my house since David runs a business out of it and he is on the phone all the time so I made my way to the office where I met Perry and Tom. They gave me a whole list of things to do. I did figure out that I will be able to get a passport, but it will take up to 6-weeks. So I'll have it for my return trip (don't worry Dad, I won't show it at US immigration). This list might not mean anything to you but here's my TODO list for what it's worth:
▪ google "culture shock" (unspoken value systems)
▪ GET JOB
▪ Assesments
▪ Sunday 4:30 at Bathgate Congregation
▪ Balloon Animal supplies
▪ Learn Polish!
▪ Spiritual assesment
▪ Scotland resource book

It seems that I am going to make balloon animals for the kids at the new church that is opening up. I'm excited about that. Also I think I am going to be at the forefront of a new outreach to the Polish and Chinese communities by holding sessions on how to speak English. I have a lot to do and study for the next few days.

After my time in the office I was sent down Princes Street (pictured) to get a cell phone. I was successful and now you can reach me at 07818 615 071. I would prefer texts though since they are cheaper and I'm on a pay-as-you-go. I then strolled lazily down the Royal Mile to enquire about a job at Starbucks (go figure). I was told to hold on for that.

So I went to lunch at "The Standing Order." It was a good hike from the Royal Mile , but it was well worth it. I was not used to how restaurants worked here. (Dad, I'm looking at you) Apparently, you have to get a table first so they know where to bring your order. I had to sort this out with the bartender. I ordered a traditional Scottish meal with a Scotch Pie and chips (fries) and baked beans. It was an extraordinary meal. There was something about eating Scottish cuisine in Scottish company that was just brilliant. I left more elated than I should have felt because of what I had eaten. I did meet this bloke named Callum. He was super friendly and helped me with the ordering process and spoke to me the whole time I had lunch. He was a well traveled man who had once moved the Paris to make records. He was VERY talkative and very interesting. I enjoyed my lunch with him

The sun was on it's way down at this point and when it went down it got REALLY cold. I walked from Princes Street to West of the University of Edinburgh for the student connection group. They made FairTrade vegetable curry for dinner and we talked and laughed and had a great time. I have met so many new great people. I'm excited about being a part of their life for this little time I'm here.

Now I am home and dreadfully tired from typing for the last half hour. I want to say hello again to all of my friends and family at home. I really miss all of you and can't wait to see you. A special thanks to my small group for all of the encouraging emails. They are worth more than you know. Enjoy the rest of your Monday, America. It's Tuesday here.