Some random thoughts

Here are a few random thoughts about the last two weeks.

1) Our weather can be so different from one week to the next. Last week it rained everyday. Even locals were complaining about all the rain. On Thurs the sun made an appearence just in time for sunset, and Fri it came out for a couple of hours in the afternoon. Except for a couple of hours on Sun night, though, this week has been beautiful. The sun has shown brightly everyday, which makes the day much more enjoyable. Although temps are still cold, primarily because of the winds, it has been nice enough to eat lunch outside. Spring has almost arrived.

2) The days are getting longer. Some may not think much about the length of sunlight in the winter. When we had less than 6 hours at one point, 11 hours makes for a long day. Erin and I both leave and get home in the sunlight now. I see more people on my walk to and from the university now than even a month ago. The birds are starting to make more noise, which is nice but not at 530 am.

3) With more sunlight it also means that the sun comes up and sets in different places. The sun actually blinded me on my walk home today whenever I looked to the west. Also, the sun lit up our back garden for the first time since October.

4) The yellow school bus is a common sight in the States. It marks the beginning of summer and the start of fall. Here, though, students walk to school or their parents take them. But earlier this week, I saw a school bus. I was shocked, and it reminded me of the States.

Crathes Castle

Well, we finally got out of town again, so we have something to write about. Most of our days are the same routine, so writing about them is boring for both you and us. But after a week of rain, this last Sat we decided to venture out to Crathes Castle, about 45 min by bus. The Castle is a 16th century tower house. The side part was added in 1970s to replace an 18th century three story addition that burned in 1966.

The land was rewarded to the Burnett family in 1323 by Robert the Bruce because of their service in the wars for independence. The castle contained several original pieces of furniture, including a bed dated 1594. Because it is the winter season, we had a guided tour, which gave some good details about the castle. It was too rushed, though, since we are only able to spend about 5 minutes in each room. Plus, we couldn't take any pictures inside. They said it was security reasons, but I think they just wanted more people to buy the guidebooks.

The gardens were not in bloom, but they were still neat. Some of the yew hedges were planted in 1702. The first picture overlooks part of the gardens from the top window of the castle. The second picture shows how tall some of the hedges are.

Scotland Coast

Last Sat. some friends took us about 30 miles north to the coast. On the way up we stopped at Fyvie Castle. We could not go inside because the castle is closed during the winter. The castle dates back to the 13th century. The five towers were built for each of the major families that owned the castle.


How about that for a front door?

From there we traveled up to the coast and stopped at a couple of sea-side towns. These towns, Gardenstown and Pennan, are built right on the North Sea at the base of the cliffs. The roads are very steep and narrow. We met another car on the road and almost exchanged paint colors.

Around the corner from Gardenstown is Crovie. One can only walk between the two when the tide is low. The inhabitants of Crovie have to park their cars at one end of the town and walk to the other end if they live there.

Pennan, which is completely hidden as one drives towards it, is a single row of small houses, probably about 20 houses. We enjoyed lunch at the Pennan Inn, which is the main attraction of the town. The town draws tourists because the British movie Local Hero was filmed there. We even saw someone surfing that day.

From there we drove through the countryside to the east coast. Here we stopped at Bullers of Buchan. The high cliffs were amazing, although slightly scary. No handrails, muddy paths, and a strong wind: all this makes looking over the edge fun. If the pictures look blurry, that tells you how strong the wind was. We couldn't even stand still. Pictures just don't do justice to the beauty and steepness of the cliffs.

Located about 3 miles away is Slains Castle, which Bram Stroker used as inspiration for Dracula. Although the castle lies in ruins now, it was fun wandering around trying to imagine what it looked like in its glory. The castle sits right on the edge of the cliffs overlooking the North Sea. It is an amazing view.

Weather Woes

Our parents informed us of all the bad weather in the US right now. So, we just thought we would share in your misery. Here are the high temps for some cities:
Kansas City: 22
Sedona: 33
Fort Worth: 28
Houston: 60
Aberdeen: 6
Oh, wait, that Aberdeen temp is Celisus, so that is actually about 43F. We have enjoyed nice, mild weather most of the winter. The Christmas break was the coldest so far. The locals say that the worst weather comes between Jan and March, and this week is suppose to get colder. But, for now we enjoy the nice weather while our friends and family suffer.

Happy New Year

Well, the new year is upon us, and here in Scotland the old one is leaving with mighty winds and driving rain. What a year it has been. Last year at this time, Erin and I were fairly certain that we would be heading to Scotland for me to start my PhD. I had been unoffically accepted to one of my schools, so everything was looking good. In January I was accepted to both schools, and had a choice to make. In May Erin left Everman ISD. She taught there for four years, and it was her first teaching position. In July we moved from Texas, leaving behind many good friends. After spending some time with family, we finally left for Aberdeen in September. Now four months later, we have settled in well. Erin has found a new job, which brings with it new challenges. My studies are going better than any could have predicted. And now a new year is here.
God has blessed and cared for us throughout this past year, and I can only imagine what this next year will hold. As this new year begins, don't forget to reflect on what God has done in the past year. The grace of God brought each of us through different challenges and joys. I am certain that he will do the same for us all this coming year.

Christmas Traditions

We have noticed several differences here in Christmas traditions. People here say "Happy Christmas" instead of "Merry Christmas." Many of the Christmas songs are the same: however some have slight word differences. "Away in a Manger" is sung to a different tune and has several wording changes. "Silent Night" starts with a completely different verse. The first verse of the American version is not even included. A popular item over here are Christmas Crackers. Let me explain. One day we were at Asda (Walmart) and we saw people buying boxes of Christmas Crackers. They were these little packages wrapped in Christmas paper. I thought they were edible crackers that people give as gifts or something. Then we went to the Christmas party at my work and were given crackers. You pull a tab on each end of the package and they make a loud popping noise. When you open them there is a paper hat and plastic toy inside. They use them at parties or you might be given one when you go out to eat at a restaurant. People really wear the hats! Here is a picture of a cracker and the lovely hat.



On Christmas Day we will be attending a service at our church. Afterwards, we have been invited for Christmas dinner with some American friends from our church who also attend the University. We are very greatful to be included in their Christmas celebration.

Finally, our church

Picking a church can be a difficult issue, especially with many good ones. After visiting 6 churches, and 2 twice, we decided on Hebron Evangelical. It was the third church we visited in Aberdeen. The people are friendly and the pastor is good. The church has a strong student group, most of them are undergrads, and many foreigners. At lunch on Sunday, we sat with 2 Germans, a Chinese lady, and an Iranian lady. We added the church website to our links page if you want to learn more about the church.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving has a different feel here since I had no break from studies and Erin was at work. This is the first time that we have not had a week to enjoy the break. Oh well, we still had some turkey. We spent Thursday night with another American student and his family. We ate all the traditional food. On Saturday we went to one of Erin's student's house. They are American and invited us over for a Thanksgiving meal with some of their Scottish friends. It was a nice, relaxing evening. So, although we did not get our days off, Thanksgiving was still nice.

The Christmas season has also arrived here in Aberdeen. We had an international market this past weekend and next weekend there will be a German market. The Christmas lights are up over Union St. in City Centre. Most of the scenes have lights that go on and off to show motion. The pictures aren't the best, but they will give you an idea of what it is like.