First Mass Email from Scotland, 13 Sep 2007

Hey! I am up at the university again. We come up here to use the phone and get stuff in order! The flight was long and I don' t think I want to repeat that more than once a year. The boys were awake for most of the flight to New Jersey. They did pretty good although Caleb did not want to be buckled in. We didn't take their car seats...just had them in the big seats. Thankfully they slept almost the whole flight to Glasgow. Troy got a little sick on that flight and so he was not feeling 100% when we got off and were trying to figure out what we needed to do (a word of advice--don't eat the chicken they serve for dinner at midnight).

Our apartment is small which is not that big of a deal but there is carpet thru out. Well except the kitchen. It is worn and stained so we shouldn't hurt it any more than it already is. Our washer and dryer is the same machine...took us a bit to figure out how it worked. We had to get our neighbor (A Indian woman named Sadhal who is a doctor at the near by hospital) to come and teach us how to light our stove burners. She is very nice. There seem to be quite a few families in the complex but we haven't met them yet.

I blew up my hair dryer this morning...the converter wasn't powerful enough. So I get a new one today...with a british plug! Guess I'll be leaving that here when we come back. The sinks in the bathroom and in the tub have separate taps for hot and cold! I think losing weight will not be a problem as walking will be a necessity in order to get about and not just a exercise I can choose to do if I feel like! Which honestly I didn't feel much like doing in the States. Our mail comes through a slot in our front door and we have a intercom thing to buzz people into the main door. There is a camera so we can see who it is also.

Josh and Caleb are getting back on schedule...I think. They were happy to unpack their toys! We were told it only snowed here once last year but that it gets cold, not freezes. It stays green year around and always blooms. I will have pictures out to everyone next Thursday. We plan on going to the Kelvingrove Art Museum and Gallery tomorow and perhaps taking a bus tour of Glasgow. We have a grocery store that is about an 8 minute walk and they have pretty much everything except grape jelly. :) Most of the name brand stuff I am familiar with just has different packaging so it is hard to recognize. We found a Woolworth's that is kind of like a K-Mart except small. We bought batteries and a laundry basket things like that there.

Anyways that is all for now. I find reason to cry and pity myself occasionally (like when my hairdryer blew out) but all in all I am in good spirits and trying to make a life for myself in this backwards country. (People drive on the wrong side of the road and walk on the wrong side of the sidewalk!) Love ya'll all! Please write, I would love to hear from everyone. It makes it seem like we are not so far away!