Things that are better than I expected here:-Candies. My favorites thus far are the Curly Wurly for 30P, Vanilla Filled Fizzy Pencils, Crunch bars (milk chocolate covered honey komb), Kinder Bueno.
-Walking about the city
-Our lovely wee flat
-The Edinburgh Ward
Things that have not been ideal:
-The smell of the city. At first I thought it was stewed meat but then when I smelled it early Saturday morning, I talked to a friend and realized it was the smell of breweries. Not sure if the meat smell is a worse thought than beer or not...
-Washer/Drier combo units really don't work in practice as well as you would think, especially the latter part of that combination.
-The Uni is not so welcoming as others Matt and I have encountered (ie library has gates keeping out the "riff raff" which happens to be Matt until he gets his matriculation card)
Things I didn't expect:
-Never knowing which way to look when crossing the street
-Wireless internet is nearly IMPOSSIBLE to find (unless you are at an American establishment like the McDonalds where I am right now)
-Scottish people are the most matter of fact folk you will meet. This is a good thing when you want the straight story but not so much when you are needing some empathy about something not working out for you in a new place.
-Our flat's boiler to break the 2nd day (thanks to the fiddling by our landlord) we were in our place and to be freezing in September
-To have a tele here, you have to pay 140 pounds tax to the BBC. Seriously guyz?
Things we've accomplished thus far:
-Found a terrific flat in City Centre
-Found a terrific flat in City Centre
-Got a public library card
-Found some friends
-Walked lots (and discovered a few bits of the city)
-Visited the CarPhone Warehouse and got a "mobile handset"
-Signed up for internet
Things that have yet to be done:
-Site see (anything)
-Set up Scottish bank account
-Get internet set up
-Learn how to cook Indian food and put my Mexican recipes on hold (Indian is about all there is to work with at the grocery stores)
-Find a reasonably close and priced swimming pool to keep me in a happy state
In the meantime, we are having a great adventure here...
A library card already, of course. Love your photos!
ReplyDeleteI saw your blog off your FB account, and I just have to say, I can sooo totally relate to some of these things. Especially the non-drying washer/dryer combos. Yay for drying racks, especially in teeny tiny spaces. Good times in the UK!
ReplyDeleteWhy set up a Scottish bank account? Why not just bank online?
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ReplyDelete3-4% conversion fee whenever we use our debit card + 5 pound fee each month for not having direct withdrawl from our internet company + lots of other things etc etc.
ReplyDeleteNice update. Love the Carphone Warehouse bit. The accents are intriguing. We now have google account if you ever get internet....could do a voice call. Till then...this works. Got Matt's new glasses. Will send them. Suggest that if Iphone is not being used that you use the box for Matt's glasses to send it back to us. Stay Happy! That's an order.
ReplyDeleteYikes. We bank online and don't pay any of those fees but we use USAA. Oh well. It will just make your experience that much more authentic. You're definitely a resident and not a tourist when you have a local bank account and library card!
ReplyDeleteHaha, I forgot that people ALWAYS say "well you brought the warm weather with you" if you happen to tell someone you're from America on a sunny day.
ReplyDeleteCate I like how instead of dividing the lists into "Things that are better than I expected" and "Thing that are worse than expected" you chose the latter list to be "Things that have not been ideal."
ReplyDeleteSmall thing, really. But it shows your optimism. By the way I heard you met a friend of mine. I am excited to come see you for myself!
i am so excited for you and your new adventure!
ReplyDeleteI would sell my soul for some Kinder Bueno. That is all I wanted to say.
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