Braveheart Territory!

Things are busy at the present, but we think of you daily and thank God for each of you. We went to Stirling last week to visit the monument to William Wallace (shown above), defender of Scottish independence, as well as Linlithgow palace, shown here:

Jacqueline will be posting more pictures, I believe, but it may take some time since we are preparing to go to Milan this Friday.

By Popular Request...

At the prompting of a friend, I have decided to say a couple words about my time here thus far.

I suppose getting used to life in another country is difficult no matter what the longitude/latitude. God has been exceedingly faithful, as always, so finding a flat, job and church has proved to be easier than originally anticipated. As Christians, the doctrine of providence assures us that God will continue to "work out all things in accordance with His will" (Eph 1:11). It is difficult to imagine a more comforting concept than that the Maker of all things visible and invisible will weave us into this great plan of His, in spite of ourselves.

Not unlike most cities, Edinburgh (pronounced Ed'-in-brah) is full of economic and social contrasts--people driving Lamborghinis, Bentleys, Porsches juxtaposed against the teenage "Neds" (slang for 'non-educated') who look like they saved money on haircuts in order to splurge on tattoos and knock-off designer labels, worn with the same hubris as the "Posh Toffs" (um, slang for extremely-wealthy-old-money-family) wear their crests and Crombie tweed. Most people are somewhere between the two economic extremes...trying to make sure that people know they are not Neds, and giving in to the the almost-irresistible urge to exaggerate their Poshness.

As far as faith is concerned, the area seems to lean to the conservative side, but is more or less clustered around the moderate center. We have been attending a fairly evangelical Episcopal church here in the city. St. George's & St. Paul's (affectionately referred to as "St. P's & G's" by most) has proven to be a nice balance between liturgy, weekly Eucharist, and quasi-expository preaching.

I am teaching general business and finance/accounting courses at a tutorial college (Basil Paterson) here in the city. All of my students seem to come from rather privileged backgrounds (mostly Saudi Arabian petroleum, real estate, manufacturing and banking). They are a fascinating bunch, and teaching them has been an experience, to say the least. Because none of them will graduate and be a salary monkey on a short leash, I have to keep reminding them (and myself) that they are the next generation of (insert name of largest bank in Saudi, petroleum company, pharmaceutical manufacturer). Of course, the most rewarding thing about the job is our informal discussions about life back home, and about our respective faiths. After a long discussion about the similarities/differences in our mutually (exclusive) Abrahamic, monotheistic faiths, I was able to explain what Christians believe about Jesus (whom they call 'Isa')...more than anything else, I hope this is what they will remember about me when our time together is done. Must head to bed now...thanks for reading. Perhaps I'll write about the state of my work at St. Andrews next time. Grace and peace, family and friends...all my love.

Durham

Not sure how many of you are aware or remember the situation but Dylan's supervisor is originally from Durham, England. That was our original destination until his supervisor took up a post with St. Andrews. Anyway, all that is to explain that Prof. B has yet to move to St. Andrews so Dylan and I made a trip down to Durham about 3 weeks ago so that he can meet with his Prof. (for the first time!). Lovely city. Very quaint indeed! Main attraction in Durham is the cathedral. Boy, what a cathedral!!! It has one of the most beautiful stained glass windows I have ever seen and I have seen quite a lot, if I may say so. It's a shame no one is allowed to take pictures inside the church....well, I guess you'll just have to come for a visit and see it for yourself! :-)


And for you Harry Potter fans, Durham cathedral is where they film the scene where the kids played...where they flew around in their brooms......:-)

Here's some of the pictures I took while at Durham....
Pictures from the (moving) train... (amazing camera!)













Pictures from Durham....

(Dylan pouting because he wished to be in Durham at that point (as oppose to St.Andrews), surrounded by old books and the majestic cathedral....)

(have a wee read of the poster if you can...it'll give you a snippet of the history of the Cathedral)

(this house is next to the cathedral...completely engulfed by ivy - ivy league?)

Here's a few pictures of the inside of the church that I can find online....

Settling in....

We have officially moved into our semi-permanent home in Edinburgh. Semi-permanent because we have signed a 6-month (only) lease. This short-term 6-month lease is rather common around here it seems. It is almost unheard of in the States, I believe? Anyway, we are hoping to purchase an apartment after our current lease is up.... We'll see how feasible that is as we draw closer! Properties are very very very expensive, to say the least! But at the rate property prices are appreciating in Edinburgh (~8-10%, 14-20% in certain areas!) in the past few years, it is definitely silly to sink money into rent.

This current apartment is smaller in terms of square footage (by my VISUAL estimate - what do I know??) but definitely 5 times more storage space! Tall ceiling, real hardwood floors, tall & deep windows, fantastic views from the 2nd floor (or rather 3rd floor in American terms). I am not sure what the occasion is but we are currently being entertained by fireworks in the near distance as I type and gaze out onto the horizon! Offset by all that is the 2-faucet-1-foot-deep sink in the bathroom, low water pressure shower in the bathroom (takes me about 20-30 minutes in the shower when I have to wash my hair!), toilet that takes a half hour to fill up, no tumble dryer, no central heating (yes, we rely purely on space heaters!), and no shelves in the mini refrigerator. Anyhow, we have managed to set up TV and broadband (hooray!) as well as mobile phones for each of us. We are starting to feel a bit more settled and not so displaced after unpacking and have a permanent address to call home (albeit for about 6 months).

Kitchen

Bathroom (note the foot-deep sink and two-faucets)

Washer and mini fridge (that does not have shelves)

Bedroom (and great view from the bed - can only enjoy it when I get to sleep in on the weekends)...

Living room (also with a view from our desk/dining table)

Our heater/dryer/pseudo fire place..