oh wednesday

Got to sleep in today since I don't have class till the afternoon. Woke up and went up to visit Britta since she isn't feeling good and still isn't and we don't know what it is. So she just laid around all day. I read all my biology pages after lunch. I had lots of articles to read and maybe too many for one day discussion. Than I went to class and it wasn't the most fun. Scottish history isn't the most fun to learn about but I will survive. Tonight I am just looking at Spring Break and trying to finalize things but Britta is still up in the air but we will get it done by hopefully the weekend. Also hopefully buying the Fulham football tickets tonight but Britta has to decide if she is going to go or not.

Hope all is well back home!!

Miss and love everyone!!!

Tuesday Tuesday Tuesday

Woke this morning and defiently wanted to sleep longer but had to go to breakfast and get ready for class. I had my two classes today and they were both very easy. We talked about our poems in the first class and than took notes in my second class and than I was free the rest of the day. After lunch I went downstairs and got a good workout in since I didn't really have anything else to do so I spent a long time down there today. Than I went and took a nap about 2 hours, I guess I needed more sleep and it felt good. Tonight not doing too much because Britta doesn't feel good and I am just watching random shows on Netflix (thanks to jills account). Just getting more excited to come home and see everyone for a quick break and eat some good america food!

Hope all is well back home!

Miss and love you all!!

Just another Monday

Monday's have become just a lay around day and recover from the weekend. Woke up early today to get a lot done but being lazy while doing it! I started my laundry and than tried to Spring Break but ofcourse Britta had to disagree so we have gotten no where again! Than I had to do my house job, which is so boring. I am sick of vacumming the same stairs every week and they are barely ever dirty but I have to do them!! Than went to class and it was a long 3 hours. I am very glad I don't have that ever at Superior because it would be a little tough for me! Than we had dinner and got a workout in today before starting to relax for the night. Writing my poems tonight for my class and reading biology, but other than that nothing much. Trying to figure out what I want to watch on Netflix.

Hope all is well in Minnesota

Miss and love everyone!

So that is rugby?

Slept in a little bit today and woke up around 10am. Had to get ready fast because I didn't know when I was leaving for the Scotland Rugby game. Me, Britta, and Lael left the palace about noon and unfortuantely got on the wrong 49 bus so we had to get on the right bus into Edinbrugh. We got off the bus and walked up to George Street, where there were buses just for bringing people to Murrayfield. So we hoped on that bus and it was packed!! Got to murrayfield about 1:30pm and there were people everywhere and from Scotland and France. We kind of went with the flow because we had no idea where to go but we finally found the turnstiles to get in. We got inside the stadium and just walked around the whole stadium because we wanted to see all the people and we had never been there before. We went and found our seats. Well nobody's seats were by eachother!!! Me and britta only sat two rows from eachother and maybe three seats over so we talked during halftime, otherwise no one even sat by someone they knew. Everyone wasn't really happy with that because we thought we were going to sit by eachother when we signed up but I guess not. The game was really fun and interesting but I had no clue what any of the rules were so I just cheered when everyone else did! With only about ten minutes left. A french man ran on the field and was streaking!!!!!! Security was running after him but they didnt catch him till he was already across the field and started running back. So we had some more entertainment today other than a game. Scotland ended up losing 17-23, they haven't one a match in this tournament they are in. They aren't very good this year according to the locals but defiently worth going to. Than we caught the bus back to the palace and had some pizza for dinner. Now me and Britta are still trying to figure out Spring Break nad we are both getting really frustrated because we don't know what to do!!!!!!

Hope al is well in Minnesota

Miss and love you all and march 17th is almost here!

Ah YEAH...Celtic Football!

Friday: We had to get up bright and early on Friday morning as we had a housr trip to Glasgow as our Scottish professor Gerry Mooney lead us around. We picked him up at 9:00am and we rode around on the bus and he told us all about Glasgow and the different things that had happened and are happening now. Our first stop was Celtic Park and ofcourse I was excited!! We had a short history video and than she gave us a tour of the stadium. We couldn't get in the locker room because the players were there getting ready for practice but we got to see a lot of them and ofcourse nobody knows who they are but all want pictures of them and it gets kind of frustrating. Got lots of pictures and will hopefully put them up tomorrow. Than we had some time to go in the superstore and shop around. I ended up getting a jersey and scarf since that is the main team over here and it was defiently worth it and I was going to the game the next day. The only part that is frustrating also is when people buy things because they look cool and have know clue what football is or who this team is and evertyhing and it makes me so frustrated. I just had to let you all know that! Ha We got back on the bus and went to the transportation muesum. It was very cool seeing the different kind of cars and things. After we went to an art muesum and walked around that for awhile but that was kind of boring for me! Than the house went back and me, britta, lael, and eryn were on our own the rest of the night. We walked to our hostel and it was far away. It took us about 40 minutes to get there and we walked through some sketchy places but we made it. We checked in and our hostel and it was actually pretty nice and nobody wanted to do anything and everyone was tired. We actually got a tv so we watched that for a bit and than went to bed at 10pm. Yes, we were defiently tired!!

Saturday: I woke up at 8:30am and couldn't fall back to sleep so everyone else got woken up! We went and tried to find a shower that was actually hot! It took us like our fourth shower to try and we finally found one. So we all hurried up and took quick turns because we had to check out by 11am. We called a taxi and he took us to Celtic Park because we didn't know where else to go! We went inside the superstore again becuase it was kind of cold out and we had lots of time to kill because the gates didn't open till 1:30pm. I was so excited to get there and just wanted to get inside. We just hungout outside the stadium until the gates opened. We hurried down to our seats and they were amazing!! Second row behind the 18 yard box line on Celtics home side so we saw them score in the second half which was a perfect spot! Our professor has season tickets and they happened to be about 10 rows behind us! What a small stadium! ha But he came down and chatted with us and we took a picture with him. Than the game started and I was smiling the whole game! It was so cool to be at a game and I wanted to stay there and never leave. The first half was really close and Celtic dominated but nobody scored. The second half started and it was more evenly matched but Celtic broke through and scored in about the 60th minute. And the crowd went crazy, it was so sweet! They hung on for the win! It was so cool being there today, with the people, atomosphere, and people that actually love football!!! I could defiently live there for the rest of my life!! Defiently going to more football games!! We took the bus back to edinburgh and than another bus back to the palace. Just relaxing the rest of the night because we are all tired. Going to the Scotland Rugby game tomorrow. Will be interesting to see a rugby game tomorrow!

Miss you all and love you all!!!

Hope all is well back in Minnesota!!

Another week done

Finished another week of classes this morning. Made it through my two classes and they went by pretty fast. Now its the weekend!! Hurried and finished my house job and made the stairs look all nice and clean for everyone to walk on them again and get them dirty. This afternoon, me and britta just relaxed and watched some tv. Some of the same shows from over in the states, so we actually watched scrubs for awhile. Than I was off with my host family at 3:30pm. We went to a park and walked around with the dog for awhile until going back to there house. They made us tea (which is dinner) we had haggis which is there main dish over here which is lamb parts, not sure what parts though, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and brownie and ice cream for dessert. Than we came back to the palaca as we had a story teller tonight. She told us some old stories from around her. She was a very good story teller but the stories weren't the most interesting to me. Tonight we are just stay in and watching a couple movies probably as we have a big weekend.

Tomorrow we go on a house trip to Glasgow and see many sites there. Than me, britta, lael (from uws), and erin (uw-oshkosh) are staying over night in Glasgow and going to the Celtic football game on Saturday at 3pm. Than we are taking a train back to the palace and will be back later that night so that will be the next time I will leave a blog. Sorry no blog tomorrow night as I wont have my computer.

Hope all is well make in Minnesota!

Miss and love you all!!

Just another Wednesday...

Got to sleep into today since I dont have class till the afternoon. Sleeping in was defiently needed and I still need to catch up on some sleep. Hopefully I can get that tonight since there is nothing going on. I did homework and worked out early in the day. After lunch me and Britta went to Tesco to get some snacks since we were out and we always get hungry at night. But leaving we got on the wrong 49 bus so we had to get off at the next stop, walk all the way back to Tesco and as soon as we made it back, the bus we needed showed up so we got lucky that we didn't miss it. Looked more into Spring Break but Britta talked to her parents and they have to think about it. I am going to go know where for Spring Break if they won't let us decide soon. We have to make our own choices so I am kind of getting frustrated because we are like the only two not knowing what we are doing yet and I want to get it figured out because it is exactly one month away!! Actually watching tv tonight and it is weird but it isnt the same because no sports are on and I miss all my espn and espn 2 sports every night. Good thing I still have the internet to keep updated.

Hope all is good back home in Minnesota

Miss and love everyone!!

Recovery Day

Well nothing really happened after this weekend. Just had two classes this morning that went very fast and didn't do much and thatis how the rest of my day went. Got a short lift in but than just relaxed. Everyone is defiently still feeling it from this weekend. Defiently tired still from the weekend. The legs are still feeling it and probably will for awhile. Stil trying to figure Spring Break out. I better figure it our fast or I will be staying in Scotland for it! Trying to find another football game that I can go to but trying to fit it into the busy schedule isn't the easiest. Nothing much else to say, didn't do a lot today and probably not a lot all week.

Hope everything is goo back home!

Miss and love everyone lots but not the snow!!!

What an Adventure

If you guys didn't know, I went to London this weekend and I have lots to tell you. I will just do a run down of each day so I wont forget anything!

Friday: Off to London we went at 6:30am as we had a coach bus pick us up because they didn't want us trying to all ride the city bus in the morning with all of our stuff and than they could make sure everyone was there with taking a coach bus. We got to Waverly Train Station which is in the heart of Edinburgh and we got on our train and it left at 7:30am and we were on our way to London! The train ride was very nice and a lot to see along the way but didn't really know what much was or where we were since I have never been down that way. We got into King's Cross Train Station about noon and than thats where the fun begin! We hoped on the tube which is an underground rail station and rode it to Russel Square where our Hostal was. We stayed at the Generator which was actually really big and a lot of people were there! We couldn't check into our rooms yet so we dropped our stuff at the luggage holding room and went into the streets of London. Me, Britta, Tyler, and Aarynn went with Patty and her partner Nat to a both called TKTS, which is a ticket both for shows that you can get a really good deal for. We wanted to see STOMP so we asked the guy for the ticket price and he said we could get them for 28.00 pounds but if we went to the theatre where they were showing the show we could get a student discount. So what did we do, we whipped out our map and went to the theatre. We arrived at the theatre and a gentlemen was there and I asked him about tickets for that nights show. He said we could come back about a hour before the show and get cheaper tickets but he didn't know how many would be available. But he said that the front row might be available and they were only 20.00 pounds because you had to sort of look up and couldn't really see the back of the stage but we could sit front row so we took the first four seats! We than travelled down to the National Gallery which is right in Trafalger Square. We went inside and looked around a bit but that isn't my sort of thing and either for Britta so we only took a quick look around and than went outside into Trafalger Square. They have to fountain ponds with fountains and than little like dolphin founatins squirting out water. Also they have a really tall statue of some guy but don't know who it is. Than they have a coutdown till the Olympics which is kind of cool. I can't believe it's almost my time to represent the USA in London. Than we got out the map again and travelled up to Piccadilly Circus which looks like a mini Time Square. They have the big light up billboards and it was pretty cool during the day but we would go back at night later. We ended up eating at The Brewmaster and got mini burgers and chips (frensh fries). They were so good and we defiently all ate them fast because we were starving. We had time to kill till the show so we wandered up and down roads just looking at all the different stores and shops they had which was kind of fun but realized they have a lot of the same things as we do. We went to the theatre and got to our seats and waited for the show to start. It started at 8:00pm and they went for 100 straight minutes with no breaks. There were six guys and two girls. Ofcourse they made fun of the two white guys that were in it but they were the two funniest guys. They did some unbelieveable things and they are very talented people. I am still amazed at some of the things they did and would defiently go back and see it again! We decided to just walk back to our hostal after using our handy map! Ofcourse, me with no patients took the lead this weekend with the map. So I can defiently find my way around London because I read and lead the whole weekend!! I know everyone would be proud of me!

Saturday: We started the day by going on a three walking tour through London. We went to all the main places in London with our tour guide telling us about them along the way. We went to mostly alll the places he had showed us but just learned a lot about them during the tour and it was free so it was defiently worth it! After that was over Britta and I made our way down the to Tower Bridge. We were so excited to go see it until it started to rain and that changed our moods for the rest of the day. The walk from the Houses of Parliament to the Tower Bridge was probably a half hour walk and it was in the rain. It wasn't raining to hard so it was an okay walk. Once we made it there we were defiently happy and glad to finally be there. It was the biggest and highest bridge I have ever seen. We were going to walk across the whole thing until we got about a fourth way across and realized the rain was coming straight at us  and we turned around right away. I can still say I walked onto the Tower Bridge. We got to the Tower Hill tube line to realize they closed it down because they were doing repairs or something. So now we didnt know what we were going to do and we had to get back to the hostal because we had to get ready for Wicked. We got on a bus and it took us about half way back and than we had to walk the rest! We stopped to get out of the rain for a bit. We stopped and had dinner at Pizza Express. Britta and I shared a pizza and it was actually pretty good and filled us up. We made it back to the hostal, changed and got ready and left for the show. We rode the tube down to Green Park, which is by the theatre we had to go to. We got there a little early so we took a pit stop and Millie's Cookies and had some. The cookies were so delicious, I wish I would of gotten some more, maybe next time I am there! We went into the theatre and found our seats. We had gotten our tickets before we had left and we got there and realized that we were on opposite sides of the theatre from eachother. We both sat by other people from the program so we got to talk to some other people. The show started at 7:30pm and went for about a hour and a half and than had a fifteen minute break and finished with another hour and a half. Wicked was a very good show, with very good singer and preformers but it just wasn't my kind of show. But a very good show and very interesting. We took the tube back because it was so much faster than walking and it was already around 11pm and everyone was tired.

Sunday:Last full day in London and we made the most of it! We went to Buckingham Palace because they had the changing of the guards at 11:30am. We got there about 10:15 and there were a lot of people already there and more coming quickly! By 11:30am the roads and sidewalks were packed and there wasn't too much room to move! We started watching it but half way through we were all kind of sick of watching it and we wanted to get the rest of our day going so we moved on. Since I didn't get to go to the Chelsea football game on Saturday, I made sure I got to atleast tour the stadium, so we made our way to the stadium. It is on the far end of town and we decided to walk there to see everything along the way. It took us 45 minutes from Buckingham Palace to Stamford Bridge and we were doing moms walking pace, so we were flying!! Mom we are ready for we to get here, we got our walking pace up to maximum. We got to the stadium tour and muesum two minutes before the 1:00pm tour left so the guy let us on that tour! We got a student discount so it only costed us 13 pounds instead of 18 pounds! Any deal can help us over here. I love European football tours because they bring you everywhere! We sat in all four sides of the stadium, saw the press room, the away locker room, the home locker room, the tunnel they walk down, where the player and manager sit for the games and ended in the megastore and I mean MEGA! The store was two floors of all Chelsea apperal and everything and anything. I was defiently in heaven! Than we went and walked around the muesum and learned the history and saw all the trophies which was probably the coolest part of the place. After we finished we made our way back to the main part of London. We stopped in Harrods which is one of the largest department stores in the world! It is four floors and is huge. Defiently biggere than the palace I am living in now!! Anyone can get lost in there. They have store guides, it is so big and confusing to get around in. We wanted to eat at Hard Rock Cafe London, so we went there. It is defiently smaller than I expected and there is defiently a long wait if you go later in the night. But we sat at like the bar area so we got in right away. We both were very hungery, so britta got mac and cheese with grilled chicken and I got a burger that I couldn't even fit in my mouth and you know it must of been big, becuase I have a big mouth! Up the road a little ways was two streets of the expensive stores I like to call it. It had Burberry, Ralph Lauren, Gucci, Louis Vatton, Rolex, Apple, and many more. Ofcourse we went in Apple because it was the only store I felt I could go into. and it is the biggest Apple store I could ever think of. Ofcourse it was two floors and so much stuff it took forever to look at all of it and it was very packed!! We decided to head back to the hostal because we had walked everywhere that day. We got back to the hostal and saw, Lael, Eryn, Hannah, and Katyln and they wanted us to go to a pub with them since it was only like 8pm. So we went to a place called the Rocket and played cards and hungout, and there was a football game on so I watched that mostly! Than after it was over we went back to the hostal. Britta and I think we walked about a total of 15 miles today!! We didn't use any transportation except our feet the whole day! We were defiently tired and both slept really good that night!!

Monday: Well it was the last day in London and we only had one more thing to do and that was go up in the London Eye. We walked ofcourse to the London Eye and bought our tickets right away and got in line. We got there at 10:15am and they opened at 10am so the line wasn't too bad. We waited about 10 minutes and it was our turn. they put about 10 people in each cart thing and it takes 30 minutes to go around so we get to take lots of pictures and see everything. I didn't really like it because I didn't really like the heights and being in like a glass case cart wasn't the best idea for me but it was defiently worth doing it to see all of London. I never would of thought I would be above Big Ben but I was and it was pretty cool. After we got off we made one more stop at M & M world. It was four floors and I had never seen so many M & M's and so many different things that are M & M's. We made our way back to our hostal to get our bags and get on the tube to go to Kings Cross Train Station to go home. Our train left at 3pm and our four hour train ride home started. It felt like a lot longer because I just wanted to get off the train. Once we got back into Edinburgh we had to find our way home so ofcourse we took the bus back. Everyone is so tired so nothing is going on here tonight!

P.S. Mom got your package today, and it is wonderful so thank you!!!

P.S.S. We got our Celtic Tickets today and I AM VERY EXICTED AND THE GAME IS THIS SATURDAY AND I CANNOT WAIT TO GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hope everything is good in good ol' Minnesota

Miss and love everyone back home!! Almost March 17th!

Two weeks down

Well ended the week with two classes and than I was done for the day! I did my wonderful house job and had a great time vaccuming the grand staircase, I had the ipod in today so that made it more fun! Than I went to my host family tonight! It was so much fun! My host mom picked me up and brought me back home. She took me on a tour of the house and they are a lot smaller than back home. There home was built in 1860 and is still in really good shape. They have only re-done the kitchen but otherwise the house is a very nice small home. Than the dad came home from work and I chatted with him while the mom made dinner or tea to them. She made me; chicken with a really good sauce, mashed potatoes, cooked carrots and brocolli and had a cherry crumble dessert with a warm custard! It was a very good dinner. Dont worry mom, I will try and get some recipes and bring home with me. Than we went out to the pub and watched a football game. It was a really fun time and we are already going back there next Thursday! Gave them the gift I got them and they really liked it and she already put up the piggy bank I got them. Now going to bed since we leave for London at 6:30am! I am there till Monday, so there wont be any posts since I am not bringing my computer. I will talk to you all on Monday night!

Hope all is well in Minnesota!!

Miss and love everyone back home!!

One long day...

Didn't have class till 4:30pm today so I had all day long to do things! Started off by getting my biology homework done and writing some poems that I need to do for my English class. Never knew how good of poet I could of been. Maybe Ill become a poet now, I think I would have a bright future. Than I sat down and WE GOT CELTIC TICKETS!!!! Me, Britta, Lael (uws), and Eryn (uw-oshkosh) are going to go the game on Feb. 25!! We are going on a Glasgow house trip on Feb. 24 and are touring Celtic Park and than we are going to stay with Lael's friend Friday night and go to the game on Saturday. No big deal but I got us 2nd row tickets on the end line!! I bet you guys can tell I am pretty excited to go to my first real football game!!!! Than the rest of the day kind of got rough. Me and Britta have just been frustrated with eachother trying to figure out London activities. Chelsea plays a game 12:30pm and she doesn't think we can fit everything else in so its been a tussle all day. But I just ended up giving in and said we wouldn't go but we have to atleast go tour the stadium, so we will try to fit it in our schedule. Ill get to another game sometime while we are here!! Now just still planning the rest of the night and than bedtime!

P.S. Dont worry mom, ann, and nikki, I will be scoping out the good and bad places to go and where your apartment is so we will have a great time when you guys get here!

Missing Minnesota!!

Miss and love all of you back home!!

Happy Valentines Day!

Started the day off with two classes that went very well. Im pretty sure I got 100% on my biology map quiz! I still know my geography pretty well. Ate lunch and than the Lothian police came in and talked to us about safety and different laws around here. It was kind of interesting but a lot we already knew. Than Patty gave us our London packet which included; A map so we know where we are going, our train tickets, a bus pass with 20# on it, and our ticket to the play "Wicked" on Saturday night. Now everyone is rushing to figure out what they want to do when we are there! Chelsea is playing that Saturday at 12:30pm so I am trying to convince Britta to go but I don't know if it will work!! But we will defiently see a lot while we are there. Hopefully we can fit it all in!

Missing Minnesota!!!!

P.S. Mom I got the card, thank you so much dad and mom!!!

Love and miss everyone!!

A Boring Monday

Nothing exciting will probably every happen on a Monday so sorry if you read this everyday! Ha I got up and did my house job right away which is vaccum the conference room and the wonderful and hard to vaccum grand staircase. Than I laid around and tried to find something to do for us for spring break since it will be here in no time. I am currently still looking because I cant find anything that works out!! I had my one class of the day at 1:30pm which is Scottish globalisation (dont use Z's here). We recieved our intinery for our house Glasgow trip and we are going to tour Celtic Park!!!!!! IM EXCITED!!!! Than we are still trying to go to the Celtic game the next day! so hopefully that works out. Than tonight me and Britta are just studying for our Biology map quiz tomorrow and looking at ideas for Spring Break!

Hope everything is well back home!

Miss and love everyone!!

Day in Edinburgh

Today we went into Edinburgh and did two events. We started at a car boot sale which is like a garge sale but all the stuff is in the back of peoples cars and they sale it out of their car. It was a little sketchy and some people were kind of scary but I walked through the whole thing and got out quickly. Than we went to a comedy show which was actually very funny! Shed a few tears laughing so hard but it was very entertaining. Came back to the palace and made pasta once again with the couples and than looked at spring break trips. We are leaning towards going on a cruise to italy, tunisia (something like that) and ending in barcelona so we are pretty excited if that works out! Got to skype the WHOLE family tonight and it was very nice to see all of them and am only a month away from coming home! Back to classes tomorrow! Good thing I only have one! ha

Miss and love everyone back home!!

Met the new family

We had tea this morning with our host family! Well atleast my host mom. My host dad grew up in Sunderland and we went back there for a football match today as they played Arsenal. So we chatted with our host mom for about 30 minutes about our lifes and theres. We already set up to go over there. We are going there on Thursday at 5:30. It should be a fun time and interesting to see what there home looks like. They love to ski and her sister lives in the U.S. so they are actually going to over there for two weeks to visit and go skiing. Than the rest of the day I have gotten a lot of homework done and loaded some more pictures. Skyping Brittas family tonight and thats about it. Tomorrow we are going to go to a comedy show in Edinburgh and thats all I have planned. Nice to relax and have some down time over the weekend.

Missing everyone in Minnesota!

Could get use to this!

Today I started my weekend as we dont have class on Friday! I love Scotland! We went to Arthurs seat this morning, which is like a really big hill but I think its more like a mountain! (pictures on facebook soon) We made it all the way to the top! Took about 25 mintues to get to the top and it was defiently a good workout for the day!! Was a bit fogging when we got to the top so we are defiently going to hike it again on a more clear day so we can see even farther into the city and sea! Than we went and walked around the city and went through a lot of the stores to see what there prices were and clothing. Some clothes are cheaper but some are more expensive too, depends what store you are in! tonight we are just taking it easy and doing some studying and hopefully going to bed early!! Tomorrow we meet our host families and have tea and lunch with them which will be very exciting and really excited to meet who mine host parents are! Than probably just relax the rest of the night and get some trips planned since we havent yet!! Oh and we get to skype Britta's parents and sister tomorrow so we will se them for the first time since we have been here!

Hope all is well in good ol' Minnesota!!

Missing everyone and skype sessions soon with whom ever wants to!!

Made it through the week!

Finished my first week of classes over here and they all went very well!! Im thinking I will like all my classes and will be a lot of fun! I also had to do my house duties today as they have to be done on Mondays and Thursdays so that took up most of my afternoon. Than tonight we went into Edinburgh and went to a few different pubs to see what they were like and talk to some of the locals! I felt so proud because I told a guy from Inverness which is in the northern part of Scotland, directions to where he was meeting some people. I guess I know the town a lot better than I thought. Going to climb Arthur's seat tomorrow with most of the house mates so it should be a fun day, hopefully the weather is in our favor!

One week down and many more to go!!

Missing Minnesota!!!

Just another day...

Didn't have class till 4:30pm today but I thought I would be a productive student, so I decided to get up and go to breakfast at 7:30am and start my day! Took a very long shower since I had a lot of time to kill and than decided to be productive. I finished all my homework, which really wasn't a lot but I finished it. Got a nice workout in with Britta. Lastly took a look at a couple of hotels and places to go so I can finishing planning some trips while I am over here. Went to my one class today which is Scottish history, and I believe it will be an interesting class and I have a female Scottish professor which will be nice. Now just finishing up some homework and getting ready for my final day of class for my first week in Scotland.

Hope all is well at home and miss everyone!!

Still settling in...

Had to get up extra early today and get my own breakfast since I had class at 8am! But it's all good because my bed and class are in the same palace! Got to love Scotland! I had a creative writing class where I will be mostly writing poems and than have to write one short story. My other class in environmental biology which sounds like a really fun class and will be doing a lot of outdoor things across the estate! Learned how to do my house job today which is vacum the biggest staircase and stairs, ive ever seen in a house and clean a conference room, which shouldnt be too hard because no one ever uses it!! Than got a nice workout in, in are small but useful workout facility in the basement. it has hook-ups for an ipod so was working hard but defienetly can't sweat becuase it is like 30 degrees if that so i defientely have to stay warm and keep moving. Henry keeps making amazing food for us and I think I am going to need to hire him or teach mom how to cook like him!! I guess he is a chef so he should be able too! HA Going to actually do some homework tonight and start looking at hostels and locations to take some trips!!

Defienetly missing all at home but not missing the snow if there is any!! Probably not!

First day of class!

Well it was a good thing I didn't have class till 1:30pm because the Super Bowl went a little late here. I only made it to halftime and i had to go to bed. Well halftime here was like 1:30-2am so it was pretty late. Laid around all day till my class at 1:30pm. It is the class everyone is required to take, it is Scotland: Sociology and globalisation I believe is the title of the course. Our professor is a great guy and really likes football so I will have to talk to him about some football. For dinner tonight we had some biscuits with gravy and meat sauce, cooked carrots and pound cake with a custard. It was all very good and our chef Henry does a really good job and makes everything from scratch. Just hanging out tonight since I have class at 8:00am tomorrow so going to bed a little earlier tonight!

Hope all is well back home!

Last day of orientation!

Well is it the last day of orientation before starts tomorrow!! Had about 5 hours of orientation today with a bag lunch inbetween that was a sandwich and chips! Ha Than we had about three hours of free time before the dance/dinner. So Britta and I walked around the land and took pictures of the house and different things and it was a nice day out for here! Than we had clan duty to help set-up for the dinner/dance and than had our dance party. A senior citizen lady came and taught us 4 Scotish dances that the use during dances in the pub. I got really into them and started having fun but got a little to hot in there but defiantly worth it! Tonight, I will try and make it throug has much as the super bowl as possible since it doesnt start until around midnight so we will see how that goes! Good thing I dont start class till 1:30pm tomorrow but we will see!

Hope the party was fun and wish I was there!

Just another day in the neighborhood

Started the day off with the same breakfast and had only two hours of orientation today and than into Edinburgh for the "Amazing Race" with everyone. We were divided into our clans that we were assigned. Somehow Britta and I ended up in the same group which was kind of nice! We had to walk around Edinburgh and find different things and find answers about different things. We all thought it was going to be great but...It was rainy and windy all day and very cold!! We made the best out of the day and got to visit and explore different places in Edinburgh. We rode the wonderful bus back and the couple crew and three other people went to the grocery store. The one we go to is called "Tesco" which was very decent and had good prices. We were on our own for dinner tonight so the couple crew got noodles, sauce, and bread and made some spaghetti, which was really good! The best thing out of all it only costed each one of us 50pence which is like 50cents at home so it was a good idea. We are going to have to find other meals to make next weekend. Now we are just watching British game shows. Mostly all the same as the US just a little different!

Hope all is well back home!!

P.S. We are suppose to get some snow tonight so ill let you all know if we do!!

First day into Edinburgh

Well sleeping in a room with four other guys, 20 foot high ceilings, and in a palace was fun and wasn't too bad and I slept very well but I think I was just over tired! Had to be up for breakfast at 7:30 so had to get the all important shower in. The showers here are a bit different. There is an on and off button and than hot and cold nob that you need to move back and forth. But there are hot showers so that is definitely  a positive. I got all excited for a good breakfast and we had cereal, fruit, yogurt, and toast. I guess I will look forward to lunches and dinners now. Sat through about 3 hours of orientation today and than had a class trip to edinburgh castle. Take the bus everywhere to get anywhere and we have a bus pass so I will be a pro! Once we got there we were on our own there and to get back to the palace. The couple crew is who we hangout with and do all of our stuff with. It's me and Britta and than there is two other couples and the girls and one of the guys went to high school together so it was good that we found other couples but they are really nice people and we run in a pack of six now so know getting in trouble here! A lot of great views, people, and history at the castle. Once we were down at the castle, we wondered the streets to see what was different. A lot of the same food spots and some of the same stores which was interesting. Than it was time to look for a good pub that was nice but kind of cheap. I am on a budget over here!! We ended up at Maggie Dixon's Pub which was very nice and had 5pound meal deal. Had chili, rice, and salad. Definitely a weird combination but it worked and very good!! After we made our way back to the palace on our bus direction skills! It's nice we only have to take one bus there and back! Takes about 20-30 minutes to get into Edinburgh depending on the traffic. When walking back I had to stop at Mayson's Pun which is the local pub and a guy named "Gavin" works there that all the soccer guys love and I met him and talked lots about football and school. He is going to be a great guy to talk to and a great little pub to watch football and talk to everyone. Now just at the palace for the night and playing some pool and ping-pong!

Hope all is well back in good ol' Minnesota

So I am finally here...

Well I arrived in Dalkeith in one piece after a eight and a half hour flight, a three hour layover, a hour and a half flight, and a thirty minute bus ride to the palace. All the flights went smoothly and actually meet 5 people that were going to Amsterdam on our MLPS. flight before we even left so we all stuck together and are all really getting along so getting along with everybody. I am rooming with 4 other guys in one big room! I get a bed, half of dresser, and a closet! I got all my clothes to fit, so don't worry about that! Ha We had a house tour, dinner that was actually pretty decent. It tasted like tator-tot hotdish so it was rather good with a chocolate cake dessert. Henry our chef is starting off very well and Im thinking I will like him!! Now going to bed early since I have barely slept in the last 48 hours and got to be up by 7:30am tomorrow for breakfast and a long day in Edinburgh and visiting different places around the city. I will defiantly start posting some pictures as soon as I get enough and have the time. The next three days are full of orientation activities and other things to get us comfortable in the palace. The weather for the rest of the week is in the 30-40 and partly sunny! Defiantly is warmer when the sun is out but haven't had that chance to much yet!

Miss all you back home and will be home soon!!

Missing Minnesota and the somewhat snow we had!

Here we go!

Just finalizing all my packing and get prepared to go to the airport. Leave Minneapolis at 3:10pm and get into Amsterdam at 6:30am there time and get into Edinburgh at 10:15 there time on Feb. 2. The time difference is six hours, so example, its noon here, it would be 6pm where I am. Just thought I would let you all know that. I will get back on here as soon as I can when I get over there to let you all know that I made it safely. I will miss you all and stay in contact with all of you as much as possible. Time for an adventure of a lifetime.

Miss and love you all!!