Rachel is alive today

hi y'all, greetings from Edinburgh!!!! This is Rachel's friend Jane. On friday we went to Glasgow to see Ben Folds play then on saturday we went to high tea at The Willow Tea rooms, amazing and we also saw a house from 1470. Crazy amazing. We have been discussing how to pronounce SCONE. Its been an enlightening and informative weekend for all and we are much changed by the experience. This is Katy now. I'm Canadian, Jane is Australian. We are fabulous and Rachel is very grateful to have met us as we are sooooo brilliant and wonderful and fabulously beautiful. We are so inccredibly modest and humble. I swear you would not believe how great we are. Rachel is so lucky. :) She agrees. Now about me. I moved rooms today, was really happy. They are happy for me. Rachel and Jane that is. Don't worry we are taking good care of Rachel. She is a fabulous wee lassie, and we will miss her but not too much cause she's going to create world peace all by her wee self. Seriously now, Rachel is being well taken care of and she eats her veggies, gets her 8 hours of sleep, but I'm afraid she does talk to strangers. Cant be helped, we just mobbed her one day and now she's stuck and cant seem to shake us. But we're wonderful so she doesn't try too hard. And now back to Rachel for the final thought....

Funny thought of the day: (seen on a mug I must soon purchase)
"POTATOES CAN'T SWIM"
then on the back of the mug: a picture of a potato at the bottom of the fish bowl
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

P.S. I know this isnt really that funny to you... you just had to be there :)

Bath and Stonehenge

Royal Crescent, apartments for royalty coming to the baths, Georgian architecture typical in Bath

My day out in York

Last night I decided at the last minute to spend my day in York, a medeival town in England. Despite doubts from some (that I stayed up late with the night before), I managed to drag myself out of bed at an ungodly hour to catch the 6:00 train. Apparently, there was a lound banging sound, so maybe it was more like me falling out of bed... :)

I did a very interesting tour of the town and learned tons of history. I had lunch at one of the most charming little tea rooms that I have ever seen. And the minster there was absolutely amazing.

It was a very nice day away... It is so fun to be a tourist!!! (Sometimes I forget). :)

It's Snowing!!!!

Today, I woke up, stretched, and looked out of my window to see one of the most beautiful sights that I have ever seen... Big, white snowflakes were falling in torrents just outside!

We (me and the Australians) have been so excited about the snow that the Scots keep promising us is coming, and it has finally arrived. I put on about five layers of clothes, grabbed my camera, and ran outside to document the first snow in Edinburgh... It was a moment to be excited about. (For me anyways... other people standing around were asking me where I was from because they just didn't understand the excitement of seeing the snow come down :)

Even though it didn't stick, winter has officially arrived, and I am happy :)

Red Eyes

Monday I spent about five more hours on my Peace Corps application... skill addendums, where I had to basically re-arrange all the information that I had already given them. When I finished I decided to go for a swim to burn off some of the caffeine that I find necessary to consume when I am doing anything that requires any degree of concentration. And the swim was amazing... I was totally in the zone. However, when I got out, my eyes were BRIGHT red... I think I looked really crazy! The worst part of this situation was that I was scheduled to work at a homeless shelter that night... I couldn't go to a homeless shelter with bloodshot eyes!!! So, I rinsed and rinsed my eyes, which helped a little. I bought some eyedrops, and that helped a little more. But they were still red. I decided to take a nap and rest them for a while... But still they would not turn white again! Finally, Jane came home from work and gave me some amazing eyedrops from South America that burned like fire at first. I was scared I would never see again, but then then I opened my eyes and they were fixed... I could go to work without being mistaken for one of the homeless at the shelter!

I have worked at this same shelter twice now, and I love it. The other workers are quality people, and very good at what they do. I learn so much every time I go there, and by the end of every shift, I have a list of things in my head that I want to do more research on. It was a really good feeling to recognize a couple of the faces there today, and I think the more I get to know the clients that come in, the more I am going to enjoy working there.

Tonight we are going to break up the monotony of sitting in the lounge and chatting by actually going out for a steak dinner... I know it won't be anything compared to Daddy's, but I guess nothing is :)

Back in Edinburgh

Yes, the rumors are true, I am back in Edinburgh right now. It is amazing how little has changed. I am back at the same hostel from before sitting by the fire with all my old friends as we speak.

My trip is out to an amazing start. When I arrived yesterday, I called the social work temp agency that I am hoping to do more work with, and got a shift starting immediatlely, doing half as much work and getting paid three twice as much. So, I arrived an hour later at a guest house for elderly women. There were only two residents there and they were absolutely wonderful. I just cleaned up after them and ran errands for them and sat around and talked. It was a little scary how right at home I felt sitting in living room, knitting, and talking to 70 year old Scottish women! :) It was an overnight shift, so I got to have one last night of having a room and a bathroom all to myself.

Today I moved into a different room downstairs, and ironically enough, I am back with the same two girls that were previously in my room. I am really happy about being back with Jane, but the other one is a little bit crazy.

I am about to go to the Castle Arms and get some nachos with bean chili... my favorite... yum... :)