Another Day in Edinburgh

Good Afternoon/Night,

Today we took another trip into Edinburgh. We did part of a scavenger hunt with some people from the house and eventually went on our own little trip around the city. We went to Waverly Train Station today and that was definitely cool to see since we don't have many train stations in the United States. The train schedule boards seem utterly confusing and I don't plan on ever taking one.  Inside though the train station was very clean to my surprise. The only odd thing is that you have to pay to use the bathroom which I heard is common in the UK and in Europe. I would rather hold it than pay 40 pence to use the toilet which is probably gross and not clean.

To get to Edinburgh from Dalkeith or vice versa we have to use bus tickets/bus passes. The system is actually pretty slick but very time consuming since it takes us 40 minutes to go 10 miles. The buses are usually double deckers so that makes it more fun and the scenery is gorgeous. There are some tricky things about the bus systems though, such as make sure you taking the bus that goes in the right direction or you'll end up no where close to home. We have to take 3, 3A, or 49 to get to Edinburgh or to get back from Edinburgh. We have to make sure that we are on the correct side of the street or we'll go in the wrong direction. And they don't let you know what stop your coming to, they just drive right past it if no one presses the "stop" button. So you basically have to know when your stop is coming up or you'll completely miss it.

Today in Edinburgh I saw my life flash before my eyes. I guess I'm used to the little town feel of Marion and Menomonie, as today I tried to cross the streets. I looked for cars of course but I only looked to the left and of course there weren't any cars.  I forgot that they drive on the opposite side of the road. (Oops) Just as I put my foot out to cross I hear a screaching honk coming from a car that's whipping around the corner and about to plow me over. Jacob quickly jerked me back thank goodness or I could've been a goner. They drive like maniacs here. They drive super fast and whip around corners like no other.

Jacob, Carissa (one of my roommates) and I ate lunch as this restaurant called the Bank Hotel on the Royal Mile. I had a BLT Ciabatta (Carissa did too) and Jacob had a Chicken Cheddar Cheese Jalapeno Ciabatta. They were delicious. The weird thing about some of the restaurants here is that you have to go to the bar to order your meal and you tell them where you are sitting and then they bring your food to you. There aren't any waitresses here or anything. And tipping isn't necessarily required either. Another thing we found out today is that their mayonnaise is NOT....I repeat....NOT.....our mayonnaise. Their's is made out of egg and then has the mayonnaise added so it basically tastes like an egg salad sandwich. And ranch dressing is non-existant here. They use oil and vinegar on their salads which does not in anyway satisfy my pallate when it comes to salad dressing.

Jacob and I made a trip to the grocery store today once we got back to Dalkeith. The store is called Lidl (pronounced Little) and is basically like our Aldi's. You pay for a cart, no bags, and super cheap. Their water here and sodas are so inexpensive it's amazes me. I bought two 2 liters of water today and they were each 25 pence. So that's like 80 cents in American money. In America you can't even by a 16 oz. water for $1.00. All together my bill came to around 1.50 lbs. I was shocked. No wonder these stores are everywhere around in Scotland. We pass like 4 of them when we go to Edinburgh. I have yet to find a store that is even close to a Wal-Mart and I'm not going to lie but I miss Wal-Mart. I never realized how convenient they were until I came here. Jacob's been trying to find a pillow and we have yet to find a place that even sells them.

We start classes tomorrow so that will be a small change. I'm excited to start as it will keep my occupied. Jacob and I have 4 classes; Jazz, Music in Our World, Business Management, and Scotland Globalization. We have 2 teachers here that teach all of the classes offered. They live in the same house as us but in their own wing. It's kind of convenient because if we ever have questions they will only be a door away. They also will be participating in all of our house trips such as London in 2 weekends, so we'll get to know them personally and not as just teachers.

This weekend on Friday we are doing a day trip to St. Andrews. For those of you who don't know the game of Golf was invented in Scotland and St. Andrews is the first golf course in the world. From pictures it seems beautiful and I can't wait to see it. I'm sure my Dad's a little jealous since I will be seeing it before him but he'll see it soon enough. The day trip should be an adventure as we are taking a bus there. The cost is 15 lbs. per person and includes transportation and admission into the Castle there I think. Jacob and I figured we didn't have anything planned for this Friday so we might as well go. The course at St. Andrews (there's many courses, but the main one) hosts some golf championship every once in a while (Dan Brandenburg, I'm sure you know the Championship) so it's a pretty big deal. So we're excited for that and we'll take tons of pictures.

Well it's almost time for us to go to a traditional dance ensemble called the Cailledah (pronouced Kailee), and hopefully that's fun. Maybe we'll dance around in kilts! :) By the way, kilts and bagpipers still exist here. They make me chuckle!

Have a great day in Wisconsin!

Hayley and Jacob