We arrived in Aberdeen, Scotland on Tuesday, June 30 at around 11:00 in the morning. It was a fairly easy trek over the pond since we were flying first class (thanks to Ian and his accumulated frequent flyer points). We did have some tight connections however, so our luggage did not make it with us . . . . and we had a lot of luggage. Worked out for the best because the airport delivered it to us later that evening at our flat so we didn’t have to worry with getting it home ourselves!

I was very anxious about seeing our new home for the first time, and Ian was nervous about if I would like it since he was the one who picked it out. Of course, he did a fabulous job! I love it!!! I feel very comfortable here and love the location. There are few pictures posted of the place, it is a typical Aberdeen home. It is a row house, which we live on the ground floor with a family that lives in the two floors above us. Our back garden needed some help because no one had taken care of it lately, so it was a little overgrown . . . but nothing that some weed killer couldn’t take care of. Within two days we had our house cleaned, the garden in acceptable condition and it was beginning to feel like home.

Ian had to go straight to work the day after we got here, so I have spent my days getting a feel for the area and walking A LOT! We have all of the necessities within walking distance of our flat, which is wonderful. Each day I have found a different coffee shop or café to sit in for wireless access and I am definitely enjoying sampling them all!

Everything sounds good so far right . . . well here is what has been the worst of the move. It is not easy to get internet or phone lines established in Aberdeen if you haven’t lived here for at least 3 years. Ian spent some time researching phone and internet options for us and we made decisions about what we were going to get for each (I am getting an iPhone and I am super pumped). Anyhow, we called to get the connections set up and found out it is not as simple as in the US. We were told that we needed a bank account in Scotland to set up the services. So it took three different meetings with the bank on three different days to get all of our banking lined up (another story for another day). We were then able to set up appointments for the phone line to be connected, but they aren’t able to do it until the 20th of July. And we cannot get the internet set up until we have an established phone line in the house because all broadband runs thru the phone line here as well! There is a serious monopoly here with the phone and internet companies! Meanwhile I currently have no communication with anyone during the day unless I walk to a café and use WiFi. If Ian needs me he has to come home to work to talk to me.

It doesn’t end there . . . we decided that if I went ahead and got the iPhone I would at least be able to get online and make phone calls from the house. So of course I am eager to get it. Again we ran into the issue of needing an established bank account to get a phone. Once we had the bank information Ian called to get my iPhone at which time they told him that we had to live in the UK for at least 3 years before we could get any sort of mobile phone contract!!!! Ridiculous!!!! We called again the next day and were told to go to a store and they might be able to make it work. Yesterday I went to the store to get my phone and was approved, thank goodness! However, I don’t have a pin number for my debit card yet and they couldn’t process the order without it!!! ARGGHHHHH!!! I just want to be able to talk to people . . . So at this point I am anxiously awaiting my pin number for my debit card to the new bank account so that I can get a phone and for the phone company to come set up my phone line in the house so I can get internet. It feels like an episode of Seinfeld, really! It will all work out, just a funny progression of events.

Enough about that! On to better things, like our adventure to Stonehaven this weekend. Stonehaven is a small town about 13 miles south of Aberdeen on the coast. It has a beautiful Harbor area with some spectacular views. Check out the pictures Ian took. We walked around the town with a coworker of Ian’s named Caroline who lives in Stonehaven. She was a wonderful tour guide, taking us to a great little restaurant on the harbor to have lunch at and then showing us some sites of the town. They were having a small Scottish market that day in the town square so we walked through. While there, we got pooped on by a seagull, which are like monster sized seagulls, so you can imagine the amount of poop that came out of that thing! It hit about 5 different people in the market and it was quite funny! We ended the day with a stop at their famous Ice Cream Shop and it was amazing ice cream! Ian had a little trouble keeping his from melting!

On the way home from Stonehaven, Ian gave me my first driving lesson. Things are going well there, but I am extremely nervous while driving. I can’t grasp the concept of the car’s space since I am sitting on the wrong side of the car while driving on the wrong side of the road! To date I have only barely nicked my side mirror on another car’s side mirror! Oooppppsss . . . I am going to stick with walking as much as I can.

Ian’s mom and sister are coming to visit in a couple of days, which we are really excited about. I am going to be the “unofficial” tour guide. “Unofficial” being the key term there since I have never been to any of the places that we are going to visit. This weekend we are off to Edinburgh . . . should be good stories from the trip!

Keep checking back for more updates. I will try to get to it as much as I can but without internet at home it is tough!