i got a flat! YEA! YEA!

after almost 2 months here (woahhh!) I finally found the most beautiful, lovely, practically perfect in every way flat! The flat has been completely gutted by the my new flatmate Linda's brother (more on Linda later) and remodeled with all modern appliances, and a modern Ikea feel. But he's kept the old world charm of this old flat and i love it! It's my dream flat! A bit more money than I was hoping to spend, but when it's all said and done, you only live once (maybe ;) ) in Scotland and I want to go all out! About my flatmate, she's a 33 year old physical therapist from N.Ireland. Really sweet girl (who might be a Christian, haven't figured it out yet) who likes to cook (we have a huge kitchen, so YEAAA!) but obviously isin't an internet junkie like me because the flat doesn't have a internet connection. There's a internet cafe around the corner, so perhaps I'll go there.

Anyways...as you can tell I'm quite excited. Can't wait to move in. This will be the best move ever - all i have are 2 suitcases! I should be moving in a few days so keep checking back as I will definatly post pictures for all to see!

translation?

you would have thought by me coming to an "english speaking" country (quotes are meant loosely) that it would be easier to understand everyone, but at times it gets a bit difficult. Here's a small Scottish to American dictionary....just a few words that mean completely different things!

"tea" - it's not the kind you drink, its what you eat after dinner and before bed. A little, almost midnight snack. I tend to have either an ice cream bar from the shop downstairs or tea (the kind your drink) and toast or bisquits. Also, bisquits over here are small cookies.

"pants" - it's what we'd call underwear. I got confused and slightly embarrassed the other day when i was talking to a girl at work who said she needed to go shopping for new pants, and i said, "oh, i just bought these (pointing to my new jeans) the other day! You should get them!" She looked at me a bit confused, and then made fun of that difference.

"jumper" - it has nothing to do with skydiving, but everything to do with a cozy, warm, sweater.

"skint" - it's a word I'll soon come to know full and well if i continue shopping as much as i do, but it means you're out of money, poor, broke, bust, got no dough, and all those other ways of saying we have NO MONEY!

"cheers" - this one's a bit confusing, because although it is said when you're out with your mates (friends), clinking your pints together with enthusiasm and glee, it also means "thank you". And what's even more confusing is that most of the time people say "Cheers! Thanks!" together, at the same time! We, back in the states, would never say "Thanks! Thanks!" It's just odd...but don't think i haven't caught on and begun to say it. ;)

"fag" - known to us as a derogatory term for someone who's gay, but over here, it's a cigarette. It's soo weird to hear someone say "I'm going outside for a fag." It takes a second to register.

and for fun...or just to make me sound like a real idiot when i say them over here, here's some words that mean the same, but are pronounced completely differently!

herbs - there's no silent "h" here people. Everyone on this side of the pond says HERbs. Why do we say it with a silent "h" anyways?
vanilla - vanilller
tomato - we say "toe-may-toe", you say toe-mah-toe"
caramel - we prounce it Car-mull, they say Car-a-mell. Their way is probally right.

Hope that gives you all something to laugh about. :)

What I'm thankful for...

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone....

As all of you are stuffing your faces with turkey, sweet cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie and mash-potatoes, I'm laying in bed, feeling at bit hungry myself, wishing I was at home getting a nice home cooked meal. It was odd going through my day today without a word of the Thanksgiving holiday being spoken - except for when Kevin said Happy Thanksgiving to me! Even though I'm in a country that doesn't celebrate thanksgiving, I found myself wanting to remind my co-workers of the holiday, and went around asking them what they were thankful for. It puts things into perspective though when you have to remind your co-workers what today is -it really makes you realize that it is just a day. It's one day out of a year where everyone is giving the time out of our hectic holiday schedules to sit back and relax with family and friends and reminisce on what we're thankful for. We also get to eat A-LOT!...which is the tradition I'm missing out on. I'm sure we all say this every year, but for me, it rings so true that not just today, but everyday we should be thankful for the blessings God has given us. As i'm over here living and working in Scotland, making it all on my own with much less than was "normal" living in Seattle, I find myself humbled and thankful for the things we so easily take for granted in life. When a clothes dryer, dishwasher, constant hot water, vehicle to drive around in, having your family a 30 minute drive away, your own bed, and more becomes your normal life and your "necessities" and then they are taken away from you, you being to look at life a bit differently. I've seen that many of the things I had before are not needed. I can be much more thankful for the simple things now such as washing my face at night with warm water, or being happy my clothes dry on the line in under 48 hours instead of the normal 3 or 4 days, and getting daily exercise by walking everywhere instead of driving. And I'm also soo thankful for modern technology, without it I would be missing each one of you who call, email, and leave me wonderful comments through this blog so much more. I'm so thankful for each one of you in my life. Being far from home has made me value your friendships and the impact each of you have made on my life. I'm thankful that I have been given the chance to move to a different country and change my outlook on life and be even more thankful than I was before. As some material things have gone, love, friendship and gratitude has filled my days and I thank God and each one of you for that.

Now, back to talking about food! :P As I mentioned before, I had to work today, and Kevin also works late on Thursdays, so my big Thanksgiving dinner for him and his friends was canceled. And since I can't just let this holiday go by without some sort of traditional food to remind myself of home, tomorrow after work I'm going to come home and bake a pumpkin pie! I found a shop yesterday that sells all sorts of American food imports such as Hershey's syrup, Skippy peanut butter and Pumpkin Pie mix!! I'll let you all know how it goes.

Enjoy your feasts, family's and friends. May God bless each and every one of you on this day and every other day to come!

Now Eat Up!

i've been a busy bee

whew....i'm so tired after a long, hard days work! Yesterday I was up at 6am to work at the coffee shop from 7 till 3 and then today it was 9 to 5 and fortunately, I switched shifts with someone tomorrow and I get another 9 to 5, instead of 7 till 3. All that being said, I've been a seriously tired girl. I wish I could come home after work, take a cat nap and then be good to go for the rest of the night, but it hasn't been like that! I go to bed around 11 and I'm out like a light all night. Which is why I have been a horrible friend and haven't talked to anyone in AGES! Now maybe everyone see's a glimpse of how crappy long-distance relationships are. ;) I have enjoyed coming home from a long day and NOT having homework though. I'm not one of those people who hate their day job and want to go back to school. OH NO! Not me! I quite enjoy a long hard day and then coming home and putting it all behind you. And I also love my job! Everyone I work with is great and we all get along quite well. I'm not known as the "new girl" anymore and since they've been hiring on a lot of people at once, I actually told someone what to do today! I was quite proud of myself! I've learn the art of the perfect espresso shot and soon I will learn how to pour milk into the cup and make neat shapes like leaves and hearts. Ohhh...the joys of coffee making. :) My boss quite likes me as well, which is NEVER a bad thing. We "wind each other up" (British way of saying they're being sarcastic) quite easily and then he makes me go clean out something meaningless. He's got the upper hand i guess. :)

A little update on my flat situation...I still haven't found a permanent residence but I'm close. I was so close the first week I got here because I met a Canadian girl who was a part of the program I'm in as well and by fate we met and then decided to be flatmates....well, a week or so ago she came down with a bad case of tonsillitis or strep-throat and basically was unable to look for flats or work during that time and i think the stress and money-loss took over and she has decided to go back home to Canada and try this again in the spring or summer. So, unfortunately I am one friend down, and one flatmate down. There are other prospects though and I'm waiting and hoping things will fall into place as they are meant to. I have faith that they will.

So basically besides working at the coffee shop, I spend my days off sipping peppermint tea at the Starbucks (shhhh...don't tell my boss I go to Starbucks) in Borders and read British gossip mags. They're basically the same as the American ones, but I don't know who anyone is, but I'm learning. I've also been shopping a lot, but only bought a pair of Chuck Taylors to wear for work. Shopping is soooo much more fashionable and affordable over here. Top Shop, H&M, and even Urban Outfitters are some of the places I go to religiously and wish I had loads of money to buy all these cute things. But when I think about it, i wear jeans, chuck taylors, and a black t-shirt that says "STAFF" on the back to work 5 days a week, so it doesn't make much sense to buy a whole lot of cute clothes that I'll barely wear.

Oh...another thing that's been on my mind - Thanksgiving!! Obviously they don't celebrate that over here, so most likely I will be working on that day and even Kevin has to work late that day, so it looks like my big, thanksgiving feast that I was going to cook for everyone over here will not be happening. I could defiantly go for some pumpkin pie and mash potatoes right now! No one understands!!

Well... I need to go and cook some dinner and enjoy my night in....or maybe it will be a night out? Who knows.

capturing priceless moments is key!

i'm soo sad. I've just realized that I have hardly taken any photos the last couple weeks i've been in Scotland!! I know it's to do with my crappy camera where the screen is all messed up and you can't even tell what you're taken a picture of! I can't let that stop me from capturing all these unfortable moments while I'm living abroad...bums talking on their mobile phones, fireworks displays everynight, speedy crammed subways, fluorescent skies at dusk and dawn, and so many others. Once I start earning a fair share of money, I will save up and buy myself a brand, spanking, new camera! I deserve it...if only to document this trip!

she works hard for the money

well folks! No need to worry..I have found a job. I'd say I've been pretty lucky here so far. I've been in Glasgow only 12 days, it was the first place I gave my CV (resume) to 2 days ago and they called me back that night and I started work today. I'm working at a coffee shop/cafe called Tinderbox. It's a very modern, trendy coffee shop that almost has a bar feel to it. My very first trip out to Glasgow a year and a half ago I discovered this great spot and fell in love with their milkshakes and vanilla steamers. YUMMM!!




So i started today and first off I got my black t-shirt that says "STAFF" in big bold letters on the back. Cool huh? Then they put me to work, doing exactly what I thought I would do as my first day as a "newbie" (that's what they called me) which was bussing tables and sorting dishes! I am proud to say that I have earned a college degree and now I am bussing tables! haha! But seriously, I should explain why I've gone for this job and not a straight 9 to 5'er in an office.... Yesterday I went into the city centre to track down a hospitality and events planning firm for a job. I was told they hired a lot of people from my work abroad program, so i thought I was a shoe-in. Well, i walked into the office (if that's what you could call it) and it was just one guy sitting at a desk with about 5 chairs in front of him and he handed me a thick application to fill out. I sat down and flipped through the application and the first page was puzzling. It had about 30 questions on it about how to set a table, clear a table, which side do you serve from, take-away from, and so on. I sat there thinking, "I shouldn't need to know this for an office job, should I?" I went up and asked the man if they offered office jobs and he looked at me, rolled his eyes and pointed for me to go across the hall. Across the hall was just a temp agency, and the more I thought about these "office" jobs I was applying for, the more it sounded like a bad idea. I didn't move 7,000 miles away to sit in an office and make photocopes all day, and I also didn't want to hop from one job to the next, so the coffee job was starting to sound a lot better to me. Working in a coffee shop, especially the Tinderbox which is on the main road in the coolest part of town would put me right in with the culture and the Glaswegians. :)

So i started work today (I swear being from Seattle got me the job because everyone was asking me about the coffee from over there, like i'm an expert or something) and after an hour or so of bussing tables, I moved on to working the till and that was really exciting. Took me a while to get the hang of it and press all the right buttons. There's a slight problem with their system though. In cafes here, we're supposed to ask if you're "sitting in" or "taking out". That's the first button you need to press before you can enter any drinks or food, but it's the last question you ask them after they've ordered. So I'll have to become really good at memorizing and re-calling their whole order after they've said it. Lots of nice customers though, all of which were really kind to me, seeing that it was my first day and i was asking them to repeat their order a few times. My favorite customer of all asked if I was German or French. He was very surprised when i said American. My fake Scottish accent must be worse than I thought.