One down…Four to go…

Well I’ve survived one complete week in Scotland. Everything is unpacked and my apartment is slowly coming together. The apartment (‘flat’) came fully furnished with all the main things, however there are still a few small things that need to be purchased…you know cork-screw, serving dishes, stereo... etc. I have nothing to complain about! I’m really lucky to have a place like this. There are two bedrooms (one has a master bath – Kris’s) and the other is just a plain room. There is a second main bath (mine) that has a full tub/shower and more space to put stuff. The one MAJOR problem that I am having with my bathroom is: There is no shower curtain. There is a partial door that covers about 1/3 of the tub, from the shower head end. It’s taking a while, but I am slowly learning to keep the water inside the tub. Good thing I learned how to calculate angles in school... Can’t honestly say that I thought those angles would be measured from my belly button!! We also have a main room that has our kitchen, dining room and living room all together and very open. You'll notice in the pictures that I've added below, that there is a crazy looking dishwasher next to the sink...well that, my friends, is my washer/dryer combo. It takes about an hour to wash a load of laundry and at least two hours to dry...and by dry I mean still quite damp. I put a load in the other day and it had 2 towels, 2 hand towels and maybe 7 pairs of socks. That was the limit. I dried them for 2 hours and when I woke up in the morning I had to put them in for longer. I guess I can't let my laundry pile up over here. Planning ahead...who does that??? gossshhhhhhhhh. Everything is a learning process...

And speaking of a learning process…although we (Canada and Scotland) both speak English, I think I need to go find a phrase book! The accent is one thing, I’ll get used to it, but what is throwing me for a loop is how one word said the exact same way means two VERY different things!! Some of which will create a very embarrassing moment for me. For example:

1. Pants: in Scotland they use the word ‘trousers’ for the things that go over your legs and pants are what men wear under their trousers. So me walking into a room saying “ Do you like my new pants?” May cause a few awkward stares.

2. Utensils: Not as crucial, but when I asked for extra utensils in the restaurant, one of my English co-workers said that it meant I was asking for the spatula or flipper. Cutlery is the only word for fork, knife and spoon.

3. Beer: Unfortunately it is the same as back home, luckily the one difference is that their Alcohol % is lower than Canadian beer…Thank goodness...(Sorry liver...)

3. Bird: Is a term used for a girl, or girlfriend (good word)

4. Tart: Is also a term used for a girl…but one that works the streets...(I think )

5. Stuffed: NOT GOOD TO SAY! I’m not going to explain it, let your mind wonder. Especially not good to use in conjunction with needing to loosen your pants after eating...(see above)

And to think I had a hard time learning Chinese...Sheeeeesh.....

I hope all is well with you and yours and that this website is more convenient as opposed to mass emails. Don’t forget to email me and let me know how things are going in your part of the world! I’d love to hear from ya!

Cheers,
Shay-Anne

Here are some pictures of my ‘flat’












The first 3 are of the kitchen/living room/dining room. The next is of my bathroom...check out the shower. And the last one is my bedroom.