Next Chapter: Scotland

The days before my departure, heck, the WEEKS before my departure were seriously maybe the most stressful days of my life. Not only was there the stress of having to slowly and surely say bye to all of the people who have been most important in my life for a whole year, but then there was fiasco after fiasco in dealing with my visa, my accommodation, my flight. It was madness, but I got through it with a lot of prayers and only a few minor breakdowns.

Then. Yesterday came. It was finally here, the day I actually lifted off and said "Goodbye" to my homeland. Honestly, the thing I was scared of most was getting my bags from baggage claim to a taxi, for some reason this haunted me. I had three huge suitcases and two carry ons and could not foresee myself handling this with grace. One pound and a luggage trolley later and I was in the taxi fine.
Long story short, airports are annoying, blah, and THEN I WAS FLYING OVER SQUARES AND POLYGONS IN SHADES OF GREEN AND BROWN, DOTS OF WHITE WOOL LAZY ATOP THE CREEK VEINED GEOMETRY. I was taken to another life, a life where I was sitting in front of the TV watching Babe; I awoke as the crisp greens broke into a wiry brown stutter, waves breaking against. The ocean! MY ocean, thousands of miles away from where I left it-- it followed me, and here it was now on these unknown, craggy shores, rolling in just like home. Warmth crept up inside of me, and the nerves I had built up were dissolving.

I got into my apartment to find it empty, my roommate hadn't moved in yet, I guess. I took my time unpacking and resting, and then went for quite an excursion throughout the city. No instant GPS on my phone without the 3G capabilities presented by Verizon, I set out with no real destination or course in mind, and walked lost for a couple hours. It rained not 10 minutes after I began walking, but in another 10 minutes the rain had completely passed and it was a gorgeous day filled with beautiful, petite, hydrangea-laden gardens and rose beds on the sides of public streets, and street signs that read "Twenty's Plenty" or "Elderly People" or "Give Way," all official but all humorous in their own way.

I found the river (I say "the" river, but I don't know which river it is, or if there are any others, so it becomes the only until my horizons are broadened) and walked along it for a while, then followed the sight of a steeple above the other buildings to guide myself back to City Centre. On the way back home I stopped at an agreeable grocery store and bought some essentials.  It was about this time that I realized I needed to stop walking, after putting on so many steps from terminal to terminal and gate to gate in four different airports carrying a 40 pound carry-on plus a back pack on my back, not only were my shoulders and forearms aching under the not-so-heavy weight of the grocery bags, but the skin on my feet was beginning to yell at the canvas of my shoes, and the blisters did as they always do and got in the middle of that altercation.

I don't know how much I learned about the city on my outing today, but I think I familiarized myself at least a little bit. And I came to the understanding that children with Scottish accents are the cutest and save the fact that its not America, I could imagine it being pretty cool to grow up here. Everyone has been friendly so far, though I haven't spoken to many people at length yet. Which brings me to my next topic! Jenkins!
My roommate (Jenkins) arrived shortly after I got home. He's from NY but his parents are from Ghana and live there so he's kinda repping both places. We ate fish and chips together and got to know each other a little bit. He seems like he'll be a swell guy. I was already chilly, but by the time we had walked back from dinner I was almost freezing. I took a hot bath because I couldn't get the shower to spit out hot water. But it was super relaxing, and the scalding water that I filled the tub with from the faucet relaxed my muscles and raised my body temperature enough. The heat is working nicely in my room though, so I shouldn't freeze tonight. Though I am wearing long johns, wool socks, and a sweatshirt.

Tomorrow I have school-related stuff I have to go to. I'm excited.

My blogging changes a bit when I have a key board doesn't it?

Also, I don't feel jetlagged. I feel like I'm already on Scottish time. Score. We'll see if this continues.

And: Bonus of living in City Centre, I am listening to the jams and conversations/screams from the club/bar/party (?) behind us. They only listen to American music here.........................but duh.