Getting up to speed aka "Scotland or Bust"

Hello everyone! Before I get into all of the current happenings here in Scotland, I thought I should pass along some updates and news to get you up to speed since my last post:

August--

I finished up my chemo treatments in the middle of August and no longer had to spend 6 hours per day in the vinyl armchair I had come to call my own at the Massey Cancer Center in Richmond, VA. No more of that odd, sickening smell of cold plastic, the prick of the needle entering my port-a-cath, the nauseating feeling of cool poison entering my body through my chest cavity and dutifully being pumped directly from my heart into the rest of my body. Of course, I had the opportunity to have some great chats with the hospital staff and on occasion fellow patients, but the main positives in my treatment were all things I was looking forward to no longer experiencing.

Within a week of completing my treatments, I could properly taste food and smell it without feeling sick, my nausea subsided, my strength and energy began to return. I could make it up a flight of stairs without stopping. I could hold my boys and carry them around instead of just sitting near them and having them on my lap. One of the last reminders of my illness was my port, which remained embedded in my chest. Thankfully, just 1 week before our move, it too was removed during a brief, but truly appalling surgery that I had the misfortune of being entirely awake for. That said though, life got much more pleasant in a hurry.

It was a good thing too, because we had packing to do, and lots of it. With our move to Scotland just days away, Elizabeth and I spent many a late night sorting, re-sorting, and re-re-sorting through our things to whittle away our entire stock of earthly possessions into a collection that would fit into 8 suitcases. Passports arrived, student visas were paid for and approved, and packing was completed. As August came to a close, we couldn't help but be constantly aware that the Lord was opening a new chapter in our lives, which brings us to...

September

September 2nd dawned early, but we were up even earlier. At the stroke of 4 we dragged our weary bodies from bed and began shuttling our luggage from my parents' beautiful house to their Honda Odyssey Minivan. It didn't strike me at the time, but how fitting that we begin our trek in an Odyssey. Here's the definition from www.dictionary.com:

od·ys·sey n. pl. od·ys·seys
An extended adventurous voyage or trip.
An intellectual or spiritual quest: an odyssey of discovery.

Can you think of a more perfect mode of transport for us to use on our way to live in a new country, a new home, a new career?? Moving to Scotland was not only "an extended adventurous" undertaking, but it was certainly also an "intellectual and spiritual quest." After a roughly seven hour drive, with my dad kindly playing the role of chauffeur, we reached New York City, and like so many people entering the United States, we saw the Statue of Liberty as we prepared to leave it.

Arriving at JFK Airport we said goodbye to my parents, my mom cried, and we tried hard not to. Then before I knew it we were immersed in a game of hurry up and wait. Our porter brought our enormous mound of luggage to the counter for us, we got our bags checked, got through security, and then tried to figure out what on earth we should do with two toddlers in an airport waiting lounge for seven hours. To make a long story short, the boys were terrific. Elizabeth and I played with them, took turns strolling them around, and eventually managed to get properly settled for our flight across the Atlantic. They slept and we ate a very nice (seriously) dinner and watched Herbie- Fully Loaded. We arrived late in London, missed our connection as a result and had to walk 30 minutes through one terminal, wait 15 minutes for a bus, ride 10 minutes on that, and walk another 20 minutes in the next terminal to confirm seats on a later flight to Edinburgh. I'm sure the walk wasn't really that bad, but somehow with no sleep, 8 carry-ons, and 2 little ones in strollers, it seemed torturous. A 45-minute flight in a little puddle jumper and we were officially in Scotland. A 45-minute drive from the airport in Edinburgh and we were officially at our new home in St. Andrews. (Here it is.)



We spent most of the rest of the month adjusting to life in our new home at 50 Doocot Road. Within a couple days we had most of the major appliances figured out and had found our way into town on the Lade Braes. The Lade Braes is a truly gorgeous walking path that winds its way along a clear stream (or lade) and through some small hills (or braes). We managed to see some of the tourist type highlights in town like the 800 year-old ruined castle and the equally old and beautiful cathedral ruins. Gabriel and Noah had the chance to meet some of their heroes from the Thomas the Tank Engine series at "A Day Out with Thomas" in Bo'ness. That little outing required us to rent a car to make the 90-minute drive to the Bo'ness and Kinnell Railway. I fared quite well all things considered. I've never driven in a foreign country, especially not in one where people all drive on the left-hand side of the road while sitting on the right-hand side of the car and shifting left-handed (no wimpy automatics transmissions here). What really made it interesting (as if the other factors weren't enough) was that there are virtually no traffic lights and no stop signs in Scotland. Instead they have round-a-bouts, which are large circles at which several roads all intersect. You yield to the right and then jump into the circle and try to remember which off-shoot is the road you need. If you miss it, you can keep going in circles forever, which is better than choosing the wrong one, because there is often no way of turning around for several miles. Anyway, our little Peugot got us there no problem, the boys met Thomas, Percy, and rode on Douglas. They really loved the train ride itself the most. It was great having our own dining table to sit around and just enjoy the scenery passing by while we had some snacks.

After that adventure I began classes and had one week to ease into my new school routine. My course in International Political Thought only has 7 people, so I knew right away there would be a high level of personal attention and accountability. Thankfully, the workload was light enough that first week that we were able to use the car for one more great outing to Stirling Castle.

Stirling is where William Wallace defeated the English and where monarchs like King James and Mary Queen of Scots lived. The castle is perched atop a hill overlooking the Scottish lowlands to the south and the Highlands to the north, with the William Wallace Monument just across the valley. It is truly stunning and I would say it's a must-see if you ever make it to Scotland. Here are some pictures of William Wallace's sword, his monument, and Stirling Castle... and some links if you're interested in seeing and finding out more about them:

http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/stirling/stirlingcastle/
http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/index/properties_sites_detail?propertyID=PL_275
http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/stirling/wallace/


Of course, this is really just a subtle trick to get you to want to come visit Scotland.
Elizabeth and I also made some friends during September (not to mention that we already had dear friends Chris, Lisa, and Ellie Chandler living here) and found a good church home called Eden.

All in all it was an eventful, wonderful beginning to our time here in Scotland. I'll update you on more recent events in my next post, but this will have to do for now. Until then, God Bless!! Numbers 6:24-26