Saturday, September 18, 2010

Second Word: Move

move: late 13c., from Anglo-Fr. movir (O.Fr. moveir), from L. movere "move, set in motion" (pp. motus, freq. motare),


Edinburgh greeted us with blowing wind and whipping rain. We didn't care. If that was the price to pay for fresh air (not the stale kind they provide you with on airplanes), then we paid. We've been here a week, and since then, we've had only light drizzles.

Our apartment is compact but just the right size for us. Two good sized bedrooms, a living/dining/kitchen room, and a bathroom no bigger than the one we had in the US (which was quite small). Alex and I had our first "breakdown" of respecting the local culture and trying to fit in when we went grocery shopping the night we arrived and saw this:


We died laughing right there in the store over the fact that we could buy orange juice with "juicy bits" (aka "pulp"). If you didn't want "juicy bits" you could get "smooth". We felt bad, but what can you do?

The week continued with several business items to attend to. I registered for classes, and just to impress you, here are my courses for the two semesters:

Sem 1
Intros to Phonology, Semantics, Syntax, and Language Research (4 different classes)
Middle English

Sem 2
Diachronic Linguistics
English Word Formation
Medieval Dialectology

The stressors of home apparently followed us to Edinburgh. We can't get internet in our flat until we have a phone number, but we can't get cell phones until we have a bank account. The bank account is going to take five days to process. And, still, my computer is at HP for a third time being "fixed".

Alex and I did have time to be tourists this week though. We climbed up Arthur's Seat, a dormant volcano right in the middle of the city. It's about an hour climb and the scenery is beautiful! For those of you who didn't know, the Pope's only papal visit this year was to Scotland and happened to be the same day we were climbing Arthur's Seat. The Palace of Holyroodhouse, where the Queen stays when she visits, is at the base. Since the Queen is Duchess of Edinburgh, she met the Pope at the Palace. We happened to be about 300 feet up the hill and could see over the Palace walls. We saw the Queen come out on a red carpet with the Pope, and then we saw their motorcade leave the Palace on their way around the city and eventually to Glasgow. Both times I've been to Edinburgh now the Queen has been here too.

I promise pictures as soon as we get our own internet. We like it so far and there are many things to occupy our time. We are getting our bearings and finding the city very walkable.

I start classes on Monday and the adventures will continue. Though the cogs of our adventure (phones, bank account, internet, computer) are a bit rusty, we have set in motion a new life and it's moving along whether we are ready or not.

3 comments:

  1. "Edinburgh greeted us with blowing wind and whipping rain." Is it bad that the first thing I thought about was the cave chapter in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince? This is so well-written; you should turn it into a book when you come home! I miss you and love you so much (and I loved your "juicy bits" anecdote!). Talk to you soon!

    Sarah

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  2. A "juicy bit" of writing! I love hearing about what you are up to. The queen and the pope, even from a distance, is still quite the tale. Hello to Alex.

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  3. I know I am going to enjoy reading about your adventures and reactions to local activities. Your classes sound interesting...I hope you will enlighten us! Can't wait to see the pictures. Aunt Carol

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