Topping Up

Hello!

Here we are at the commencement of my blog about studying in Scotland. I would like to credit the title of this blog to Byron, who created my terrible Scottish name years ago. Thanks, Byron.

The past few days I have mostly spent settling in at St. Andrews. I got in on Monday and rode a taxi into town with two other American students, Erin and Eric. We were treated along the way to anecdotes from our Scottish driver, although I regret to say that I was unable to understand and/or hear most of them. I did see lots of sheep along the way, however, and some cute little Scottish children playing outside in sweaters.

When we got in, Eric and I were treated to a tour of town by my sweet flatmate, Sadhbh, and her boyfriend Tariq. The two were really top-notch guides - I don't think there is anything that they missed: The history of the university, special events (including a big foam fight dressed as playboy bunnies), an overview of important buildings, a detailed list of the best restaurants and pubs.

Since then, Eric and I have been exploring the town via our various trips to get groceries, set up cell phones, and attend orientation events. We also met another girl from the states, Elizabeth, and two students from Spain, Ana and Clara who we have been hanging out with. We all went out to a pub last night and to see the Student Union, and tonight everyone is coming over to my flat to play games. (!!) Note: I have no games here, so we will have to make something up. I foresee the slips of paper game in my future.

Here's a few photos of my digs. I haven't taken any of the town yet, but I promise I will soon - it is gorgeous!

One note about the weather - its been really nice! Besides being cold. Somehow we've had no rain yet. I think its an anomaly. I guess we need to help balance out the mass precipitation that everyone seems to be getting in Virginia.

More coming soon,

Ginger

p.s. The post has been labeled "topping up" because it is one of the new phrases I am getting used to:

Topping up - add to, fill up, etc. Example: Top up your cell phone by adding minutes to your plan. Other things that I have found people "top up" include debit cards, fuel tanks, and cell phone batteries. And . . . blog entires?