I feel intensely less stressed than I did upon my arrival in Edinburgh. I have completed registration, I have fully enrolled in my school, and my loans are being taken care of. I feel like I know now have time to relax and appreciate the fact that I’m in a city that was built 1000 years ago. I mean seriously. Edinburgh is a huge modern city with buses and cars and taxis and trains and restaurants on every corner and internet access standard in every bar/coffee shop and modern fashion everywhere, and yet all these things are in buildings that were built in the 1600s. It’s an amazing mix of good maps and labyrinth streets.

And beer ads on college grounds, some even sponsoring college events. Such blasphemy would never happen in the US. Drinking is taboo there. Here, it’s the preferred afternoon activity. But its not obnoxious or in your face. If you don’t want to drink, there are always people having coffee. But things are just so much more relaxed, and you can tell immediately. But is IT weird being in a college-town again. That’s kind of what big sections of the city are – a big college town. And distinctly European; I’ve decided I love the fashion! Looking forward to getting some money in order to start shopping. Even though I seem to fit in already, with my scarves and red hair. And things just seem to move slower here; not Montana slow, but slower.

Also, looking forward to finding a place to live: my last stress-point for now. We have some viewings tomorrow, and one of the places I really like from the pictures, and the location seems nice, right on the edge of the big city park in the area. Hopefully, putting internet in it will be easy, that way we can just take it and be done. And then we can relax and climb Arthur’s Seat and enjoy the town some more!

We’ve already adopted a local bar as our own, which is where I am right now writing this. Free Wi-Fi, live music every night, cheap beer, and all the live Rugby World Cup games (which we plan to attend some of, because its such a big deal here, and if we’re going to play Scottish, we might as well do it right!). Good food, too, as right now I’m eating Haggis for the first time. For Laura: it tastes exactly like goetta! I’m hooked! And I have a new beer: McEwans 70. A nice amber ale. Medium strong. I feel as if I’m adjusting already!