I'm writing this from the living room, while Kort is practicing his sleep training--ie, he's crying himself to sleep. Sometimes, it's so quick and easy--other times, he's a little more stubborn. Not sure where he gets that...
So, where do I begin? I can't believe I haven't even been here three weeks. In many ways it's starting to feel so normal. Kort and I spend lots and lots of time with him in the stroller, walking the streets of Inverurie, running random errands. We had some yucky rainy days, and we've figured out how to stay dry when we're out and about--for the most part. Since mom left, we've:
- figured out the town bus
- been to the bank to add my name to the account so I can finally have my own way to get money
- set up my membership at the gym and been to two exercise classes!
- met a couple more really nice neighbors
- "posted" a few letters with the help of the woman at Her Majesty's Royal Mail
- and, I've finally driven-- with success!
That's all been during the week while Andy's working; last weekend we did some fun exploring and barbecued some burgers in the backyard during some great weather!
The bus:So, not many people --especially young people--ride the bus in this town. It's free for retired people, and most of the time, it's me and everyone who rides into the town centre for lunch or errands. They all know each other and know George, the bus driver. I'm the American oddball with the stroller (called a buggy or pram here). To make the full cirlcle around town, it takes about 30 minutes. But, it picks up right in front of both of the big grocery stores and hits a few stops in the town centre--and it's only about a 5 minute walk from our house. It's handy since we have one car.
Here's my problem, though: I can NOT understand the people who ride on it. I swear, I don't think it's just the accent--I think they're speaking Scots. And they're talking to me like I understand. Having a baby always attracts random people to talk to you, which is great, but not so fun when you don't know what they heck they're saying. I've pretty much just started to say "aye" and smile. I've noticed they say "aye" all the time in conversations--they use it for "yeah", "uh-huh", "oh", and "hmmm", so I've adopted it.
I still haven't heard another American accent in this entire town. Andy heard some people at the grocery store a few days ago, but that's been about it. Surely, with all the oil in Aberdeen, we're not the only ones, but it sure feels like it...
The gym:
Well, this is another interesting experience. We have a gym (really the only gym in town) about a 10 minute walk from home. It's super convenient and has a park with swings/paths/etc next door. Andy's supposed to have a discount through his work, though the people at the gym looked at me like I'm crazy when I mentioned it. It's still really expensive and not the newest/fanciest place you've ever seen, but it's fine for me --especially when winter comes around and it's dark and depressing. So far I've tried the toning and Body Pump classes. I have not yet gone to Bums, Tums and Wobbly Bits (I kid you not, it's the name of a class) or Power Pramming. I could understand everything one instructor said, and not so much the other one. I decided I love the word "bum"--they use it all the time. Surprisingly, so much else in the class is exactly as it would be in States--but maybe as it would have been in the states about 10 years ago. I can't put my finger on it, but even in this global economy, some things feel about 5-10 years behind. It might just be the small town, or it might be the laid back nature of the Scots (not too different than New Orleanians)--who knows?
The gym has a creche, a babysitting facility, and Kort tried it out yesterday. I wasn't sure how it would go since he's just been around us and family lately, but he did great. It made me realize how resilient kids are. He doesn't care if the caretakers or other kids have thick Scottish accents--as long as they're playing with him! He even fell asleep for a bit during my one hour class, which is close to unbelievable.
Weekend exploring
I think the coolest part about living here is the exploring we can do--basically in our backyard. After running errands in town on Saturday, we used Sunday to get out and see the sights. We joined the National Trust for Scotland, so we can go to castles and other places of interest for free (and get free parking, which is why I think Andy wanted to do it).
We headed for Castle Fraser--which is closest to Inverurie, about 10 minutes away. We packed a lunch of cheese/bread/beer for us and snacks for Kort. It was pretty chilly and windy, so we ate in a little hut on the castle grounds, then toured the castle and finished the visit with tea in the tearoom . It was amazing and grand--with a great view from the tower. I'm sure we'll soon get sick of castles, but not yet! After, we took a drive along the River Don through the Bennachie (small mountain range)--again, just 20 minutes from our house. Along the way, we saw a handful of other castles --now just private residences! It's completely bizarre to drive down a small road and come upon something straight out of a fairy tale. No sign or anything -- just someone's Range Rover in the driveway. Similarly, old carved stones and stone circles are everywhere. We saw a Pictish stone from the 9th century--just on the side of the road with a small sign in front of it. You can walk right up and touch the stone. And, the best part is that Kort loves these drives for his afternoon nap!
This weekend, we're hoping to go the "Taste of Grampion" festival here in town, then maybe explore the Glen Garioch (Garioch, pronounced Gee-ree, is a region, in which Inverurie is the main town. We're finally getting used to pronouncing it correctly!) distillery in the town next door--and maybe another castle. There's always a castle to see...
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