Christmas at the Riveras-in-Edinburgh

Joe and I finally started getting ready for Christmas yesterday. We got gifts sent off to our nieces (and, thanks to a free trial of Amazon Prime, they will actually get them before Christmas!), made plans for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, bought what we need for the Holiday meals, did a little decorating, enjoyed some Christmas music, and watched a Christmas movie together (we get to watch A White Christmas today!).

I had actually hoped to get a tree set up last week, but since I was a bit late in thinking about Christmas decorations, I was greeted by empty shelves at several stores. No trees were to be had! Fortunately, some friends of ours happened to have two trees this Christmas and were so kind to let us borrow one. We were able to locate some decorations (baubles, not bulbs), garland and such, but no lights. It's an artificial tree and was a hoot to put up. It brought back all the memories of the artificial tree my family used to have pre-1993, when we finally started getting live trees. If you've never set up a fake tree, it's an experience in matching colors and artistically arranging branches. But, the final product is quite nice. The picture doesn't really do it justice, but we are really happy with our little tree. And, it's our first Christmas tree together. So, that makes it extra special.


I found some twiggy stuff (I'm sure there's an actual name) at the grocery yesterday and so we added that to the mantle. Now, if I could just find stockings....That might have to wait until next year, since it's getting so close to Christmas!


The building across the street from us set up a tree in this court-yard type area outside. It's really simple, with just some white lights, but so beautiful, especially at night. The tree is our view out all our front room windows (our bedroom, the dining room, and living room). It's been a nice festive touch to our little neighborhood.

With Christmas suddenly upon us in a few days, we are starting to look forward to our first Christmas in Edinburgh. It even snowed a bit yesterday (though only a dusting, not quite what the East Coast of the US got!). We've been slowly experiencing Edinburgh's Christmas season over the past few weeks and will be posting our Christmas activities each day leading up to Christmas.

Edinburgh's First "Snow"

Yesterday I had a very funny experience.....

I went to the grocery about mid day. I had read a forecast that said snow was likely, but the sky was clear so I thought I had some time. I had a nice walk to the grocery and even took a little detour to the library. Did my shopping and headed home. The groceries were crazy heavy this week (I didn't weigh them this time, but I bet they were close to 100 pounds). So, I decided to take the bus. So, I waited. And, waited. And, waited some more (really, I think the bus system here is great, but I personally believe that the #36 has a conspiracy against me. It is NEVER on time when I am waiting for it). Anyway, just as the bus finally came, so did the snow. Wet, heavy snow. Blowing sideways. And, coming down fast. I was grateful to be on the bus.

After about 2 minutes of this, I started to hear other passengers saying things like, "I've never seen anything like this!" and "Oh, this is going to make for a long day for you (to the bus driver)!" After about 2 more minutes, the bus had to make a turn up a hill when suddenly it stopped. After sitting for a minute or so, I started to look at what the problem was: the car in front was stuck. The driver insisted there was nothing he could do. He would need a tow. The bus could not get around him. Led by one particularly annoyed passenger, three men from the bus got out and pushed this guy's car up the hill about 150 meters, until the bus was able to get around.

The total accumulation: about 1 millimeter. Seriously. The snow just covered the ground.

Tea

Congratulations to those who answered the question in a not-so-recent post correctly. My sister, Victoria, was the first person to post a comment with the correct answer, and she requested that her prize be the privilege of selecting the next (translated: future) post's topic. I thought that seemed reasonable, and so here we are with a post all about tea.

The Brits have this tea thing down. They know how to make a mean cup of tea and they drink it throughout the day. It's all very civilized with people offering you tea (and coffee and water) every time you go someplace for a meeting or visit. In my office, every time someone makes a cup of tea for themselves, they offer around and make tea for anyone else craving a dose.

Based on my experience (limited as it is), there is morning and afternoon tea (with actual breaks allotted for this). Many people also make tea as soon as they get to work and again in the evening at home. I like the morning tea and "just got to work" tea the best. Interestingly, "evening tea" really refers to dinner and is not actually about tea. In addition to tea, I've really gotten into the practice of having my morning tea with toast and butter, or biscuits (cookies), as my British/Irish/Australian coworkers have shown me. It's really quite nice.

Now, I think what my sister was actually wanting was a "how-to" post on making a splendid cup of tea. So, without further ado, I will give you the exact science of tea:

Items/Ingredients Needed:

• "Everyday" tea (Tetley is the preferred brand)
• Milk (NOT cream or half & half)
• Sugar (preferably in cube form)
• A small tea spoon
• A lovely tea cup and saucer or a fun mug
• Water
• An electric kettle (this will truly transform your tea making experience)

The fantastic electric tea kettle

Directions:

1. Boil the water in the electric kettle. You can use a regular kettle, but the electric ones are so much fun. They boil the water so quickly and you use them anywhere. Hello, hot cup of tea without having to move from my office/bedroom/bathroom/conference room/etc.

2. Place one tea bag in the cup/mug and pour boiling water in. Leave a little room at the top. Swirl the tea bag around for a bit, until the water is dark. Take the tea bag out and throw it away. (You do NOT reuse tea bags here and you do not leave the tea bag in the water for a long time).

3. Pour a bit of milk into your tea. This is not exact. Just a wee bit, or whatever suits you. I like to go for a nice light brown colour.

4. Stir in one (or two) cubes of sugar. (In all honestly, I hardly ever see anyone but Americans use sugar, but they do always offer it, so I don't feel too inauthentic using it).

5. Drink and enjoy. Toast a bit of bread and lather with butter. Or, treat yourself to a biscuit (digestive or shortbread) or two for an extra treat.



Now, not to rain on the tea parade, but, truth be told, despite my new-found love of tea, I have had to put a little self-restriction into place for the following reasons:

1. I am worried that too much tea will make my teeth turn brown.

2. I am worried that too much tea could lead to unfortunate health problems due to the fact that I like a lot of sugar in my tea. Yes, I could cut the sugar out. But, really, where's the fun in that?

3. Now that I've reached a certain age, I think caffeine has finally started to affect me. I have become that person who says, "hmmm...it's after 5, I really shouldn't have that or I'll be up all night." Sad. But true.

But, do not fear. I have not let these silly worries stop me from enjoying a nice cuppa on a cold, rainy morning (or even on a warmer, dry one). It really does make the day a wee bit brigher. So, cheers! And, happy tea drinking to you.

Je parle Francais....un peu

As if learning new Scottish words and adjusting to the Scottish accent wasn't enough language education, Joe and I have been taking French classes through the City of Edinburgh Adult Education programme. It's actually been a lot of fun and I think we've learned quite a bit of French for a 10 week beginner's course.

Here's a small sampling of what I've learned to say in French.

Bonjour. Je m'appelle Amanda. J'ai trente ans. Je suis Americaine mais maintenant j'habite en Ecosse a Edimbourgh. Je suis un assistant social; je travaille avec des enfants avec des problemes de comportement. Je suis marie. Mon mari s'appelle Joe. Il est un etudiante de la theologie et philosophie a l'universite d'Edimbourgh. Nous aimons l'Ecosse mais nous n'aimons pas tous les pluie et vent ici.

We can ask questions reasonably well and are getting the hang of putting our own sentences together. As long as the conversation partner speaks slowly, we can generally get the gist of what is being said. Since we're hoping to take a trip to France next summer-ish, my short term goal is to get by in France using French.

In addition to learning some French, we've met some really nice people in the class. Our class was about 15 or so folks. The students range in age from our age and a bit younger to a man in his 70s and also span several nationalities (e.g., Scottish, English, Spainish, Polish, American). We had a great little party on our last night and it seems that the majority of our class is going to continue on in the course together. Joe is not going to continue, so he can devote more time to his own studies, but I am really looking forward to another semester--both to keep learning French and to continue getting to know my classmates. If I do a course a semester, I should be able to complete all the levels offered here before we move back home. With any luck (and a little effort, I suppose), I'll be blogging in French in a few years' time!

Who's On First (Life in This United Kingdom, Part 2)

When we first broke the news of our impending move to Scotland, we got lots of different responses. Some were happy, some sad, and some just couldn't understand it. More than one person asked me, "Do they speak English there?" "Yes," I would tell them. "Of course they do." And they do. But, now, after three months and several weeks of seeing clients, I have learned something very important: British/Scottish/Irish English differs quite a bit more from American English than I might have imagined.

Here's an example, taken from an actual conversation with my coworker, who is Irish:

(background: Eve has been lamenting with me about the usage of words that mean different things here than back home. She's just informed me that "greet" means "cry" in Scotland).

Eve: I know. And, have you heard about "Waynes?" (actually spelled wean)

Amanda: Um....no.

Eve: Yeah, I didn't get that one for awhile. They say, "The wayne was greetin' "

Amanda: What?

Eve: You know, instead of "burn." (actually, bairn)

Amanda: What?

Eve: You know, like "the bairn was greetin'"

Amanda: (thinking in her head), the burn was crying? maybe I don't get what crying means.

Eve: Yeah, I thought everyone named their bairn Wayne when I first got here.

Amanda: (thinking) what? people name their burns?

Eve: (in response to my obvious dumb expression) You know, a bairn. Like, "the bairn is crying, I have to pick him up."

Amanda: What? Is a bairn a baby?

Eve: Like a bairn. Like, "your bairn is playing in the street, you better call him in."

Amanda: So, it's a kid?

Eve: Yea, a bairn.

Amanda: How do you spell that?

Eve: B-A-I-R-N

Amanda: Oh. We just call them kids.

Eve: Oh.

So, in preparation for your trip to visit, I have prepared a list of my new vocabulary words.

• ken: know (often used like Americans say, "you know" at the end of a sentence
• dinny ken: don't know (in response to a question0
• rubbish: trash/garbage
• cheers: thanks
• pudding: dessert (as in, what do you want for pudding tonight?)
• biscuit: cookie
  
• tinned: canned (as in tinned/canned beans)
• claipping: telling stories about someone
• wee: little
  
• tea: can mean tea (like you drink) or the evening meal
• brae: hill
• trousers: pants
• pants: underwear
• jumper: sweater
• tattie: potato
• neep: turnip
• lad: boy
• lassie/lass: girl
• polo-neck: turtle neck (as in sweater)

There are also all sorts of new ways for spelling words--a lesson I have learned by the fact that spell-check now tarnishes my Word documents, emails, and blog posts with dozens of red lines. It's behaviour not behavior; colour not color; centre not center; and so on.

In any case, I'm getting the hang of the words and accents, though it usually takes me a few minutes to get acclimated at the beginning of my sessions with clients. The combination of the accent, the words, and the fact that people talk really fast here (yes, even I think they talk fast) makes for some serious challenges to doing therapy with folks but for some definite entertainment (at least, my coworkers seem very entertained by my questions and tales).

Edinburgh Castle

In honor of St. Andrew's Day, Edinburgh opened it's doors (free of charge) to some of the city's main attractions. On Saturday, Joe and I (accompanied by some sweet friends) braved the cold and wind and toured the Edinburgh Castle.

Edinburgh Castle is a pretty magnificent structure. You can see it from various parts of the city, and it sits high on a hill right in the heart of Edinburgh. It seems large and imposing from any vantage point, but there is no way to appreciat the magnitude of this structure unitl you are actually inside the walls.

There are many "secrets" about the castle, but one more obvious fact is that it is built into the rock formed by volcanic activity millions of years ago.



The locattion of the castle seems pretty ideal, in terms of it's original purpose as a defensive structure. From the walls of the castle (which are lined with canons) you can see far and wide. It was a pretty foggy day, so our view was a bit marred. On a clear day, you would be able to see the Firth of Forth, all the way into Fife.

The original chapel, on the grounds, dates back to the early 12th century when the future King David had it built. It is known as St. Margaret's Chapel, after Margaret the wife of King Malcolm III. Legend has it that she worshipped here, though if the dating of the chapel is correct, that wouldn't be possible. Regardless, it is a small, quiet, charming place of worship.

A stained glass window at the Chapel (of William Wallace)

The castle also houses the canon, Mon's Meg. It was built in 1449 and arrived at the castle in 1457. Apparently, it was fired on the day that Mary, Queen of Scots, was married.

Mon's Meg

Although the castle was built for defensive purposes, there is, on the castle grounds, a Royal Palace (the residence of royals or nobles). It was in the Royal Apartments that Mary, Queen of Scots, gave birth to her son, James, who later became the King of England and Scotland.

The Great Hall

The castle is now home to several museums and memorials, housed in various (original) buildings. This was once a large church (cathedral?) and is now the Scottish National War Memorial.

There were several interesting exhibits where photography was not permitted. Among them, is a room containing the Honours of Scotland, or Crown Jewels, including the crown, sceptre, and sword. It also contains the Stone of Destiny, which is still used in coronations today.

We didn't make it to everything, but it was a great first visit. Here's a picture of our little group, before heading out. The moon rising at the East entrance of the Castle, at the top of the Royal Mile

Christmas Decorations

Thursday evening (Thanksgiving in America) marked the start of "Edinburgh's Christmas." For weeks preparations around the city were underway, with lights being strung, shop windows being decorated, the German market being assembled, and a small fair going up in the middle of City Centre. After all the anticipation, the lights were switched on, the market and fair opened, and the official start of the Christmas season was declared! Edinburgh has been a beautiful city throughout the fall and we are now enjoying the Holiday look and festivities.

The Christmas Tree in front of New College

Christmas Decoration in City Centre

Christmas Tree in Jenners Department Store

Store Window (Next)

Store Window (Swarovski)

Store Window on Princess Street

A Scottish Storefront

Princess Street (a main thoroughfare in the City Centre) is alive with the Holidays. It's a fun, festive place to be and is making the start of a holiday season away from home much more enjoyable!