settling into St. Andrews

Today is my second full day at St. Andrews and I am loving it. The weather was perfect on Wednesday when we drove in - sunny, blue skies, chilly but not too cold. It hasn't been like that since (lots of drizzle and overcast skies, which is typical in Scotland), but it has still been beautiful!

Wednesday, I moved into my new dorm room. I have a single with a double bed and my own bathroom (sink, toilet, shower). I have never had so much to my own before! I know a few other girls in my building so we meet up for meals and it makes the single less lonely.

I have met many new people through the IFSA-Butler program during the past few days. Last night some of us had a girls' movie night, which was a nice break from the constant busyness of settling in and orientation. I'm going to a traditional Scottish dance, called a ceilidh (pronounced "kay-lee"), complete with a buffet and live band tomorrow night. It should be really fun and I'm going with a girl that I met in the Butler program. You don't need to know the dances to attend and there's no dress code, so I'm good! I'll definitely try the dances and see how it goes. If I like it enough, I could join the Scottish Dance society next weekend.

Thursday (yesterday), I attended three orientation sessions put on by St. Andrews. A lot of it was a repeat of what I learned in Edinburgh but it was still good to go. I also had lunch and dinner at my new dorm and the food wasn't bad. I prepared myself for the worst after talking to other people and hearing their stories, but so far so good! I'm always happy with a good salad, fruit, and yogurt anyway.

Today was advising and registration. I went to the library at 9am but didn't get to see the Philosophy honours advisor until 10am because there were so many philosophy students waiting to talk to him. My talk with him, his name is Berys Gaut (a famous philosopher in aesthetics), was very quick because I knew exactly what I wanted to take and I got into both classes!

I am SO excited. The first is Political Philosophy with a lecture on Tuesdays from 2-4pm in the Philosophy Building (right on the North Sea) and a seminar or two which will be arranged later. The second is my favorite: Philosophy and Public Affairs with a lecture on Fridays from 11-1, in the same building, and with seminars TBA. If the second one is as good as the course description, it'll be fantastic. It's all about global affairs, social justice, incorporating politics, philosophy, ethics, international affairs, culture, and more. Unfortunately, John Haldane will not be teaching this class this semester because he is on sabbatical, even though this is pretty much HIS class. I have heard, however, that Elizabeth Ashford is quite wonderful as well. I went to the philosophy building today to see my classroom and knocked on Professor Haldane's door to introduce myself (I had emailed him sometime last summer to ask about classes). He was out but the office manager said I could come by anytime in the afternoons to speak with him. She said he is very personable and happy to talk with students. I can't wait!

The Philosophy Building, as I mentioned before, is right on the North Sea. The street is called "The Scores" and it has several other academic buildings along it as well. The view is absolutely lovely! Something out of Wuthering Heights for sure, or any other image that you might have of the Scottish coast. We went down to the beach and took lots of pictures which I hope to have up on this blog very soon. I'm excited also to walk along the beach and take the coastal path at some point.

This afternoon, I am returning to the town to look around some more, explore the library, and finish setting up my bank account. It is cheaper to wire money in bulk amounts into a Scottish bank account rather than pay fees for every withdrawal from a US account. I'm looking for every possible way to cut down on costs so this sounds like a good plan.

Well, this is getting quite long so I had better stop for now. Thank you for all your messages, prayers, calls, and emails over the past few days. I really appreciate them, so keep them coming! I miss you all tremendously and think of you often. There will be more to come from me, I promise. Cheers!