Im back

Well, I made it back to Edinburgh. Back to the land of tartan and cashmere, Sainsburys and Tesco, South Bridge and Cowgate.

The last 5 weeks have been absolutely incredible. I can now say I've backpacked around Europe. I have been planning that trip for a year and a half, and it was even better than I imagined. Honestly. It was so great.

Today went smoothly. I had breakfast with Sif and Tønnes, and we looked at a few slides that Tønnes found of my Mom's visit to Norway when she was younger. Then we all went upstairs to talk with Tante Synnove for a bit before Gunner, Joren and Tante Ingborg picked me up to go back to Kristiansand.

We dropped off Joren and Tante Ingborg in town so they could go shopping, then Gunner and I went on to Elbjorg's house. The other Gunner and his wife were there so we had a nice visit.

Then Elbjorg took me to the bus station where she, Little Gunner, Joren, and Tante Ingborg saw me off. It was sad to leave.

But my visit wasn't quite over. Gunstein picked me up at the bus station in Foksrød, then we went back to his and Marit's house for dinner. I got to see their lovely house and the church where Gunstein is the pastor.

Gunstein dropped me off at the Torp airport a little after 7. The flight and everything went smoothly (there was a fantastic sunset for most of the flight), and I got back to my flat at about 10:45.

Sunset from the plane:

When I got to the airport in Edinburgh, it felt strange to be back. Apparently cities don't stay the same when you leave them for over a month. The first change was that the Airlink shuttle buses to the city have all been replaced with brand new fancy buses, so that was exciting. I was preparing myself for the shock of hearing English spoken on the loudspeaker of public transportation, but when the driver started talking it took me a while to decide if it was English or not. Oh Scottish accents.

I listened to some cheesy pipe music on my iPod on the bus ride to the city, and by the time we turned that corner onto Princes Street and the castle came into view, I was ready to eat haggis and say things like "bin your litter".

It was so nice walking through the city back to my flat. I missed this place! It's warm here too, at least 55 farenheit I think, and that's at night. I had a bit of trouble in my apartment building when I couldn't remember what floor I lived on...

A few more things besides the Airlink shuttles have changed. I noticed that there's a brand new tram car on the tram tracks. The tram system has been under construction for forever, and I really didn't think it would ever be finished. But now there's a real tram car! There are a few new shops around too, and the gates to Kincaid's Court have been painted. I think the biggest change though is the big Tesco (not the new one). I went grocery shopping after I got back tonight and the whole store has been redone. Basically they just flipped it around, so everything is on the opposite side of where it was, and not really in any particular order. It's so annoying; it took me forever to find stuff. But at least I now have cheerios and milk for breakfast tomorrow.

I still have 3 weeks before my exams so the next few days will be spent uploading pictures, unpacking (jk you all know me better than that- that'll be done tonight), catching up on 5 weeks of television shows, and learning how to type on an American keyboard again. I might even leave my room occasionally to eat and shower. Maybe.

I collect magnets from places I go, and here are the magnets I have bought this semester: