It was another exciting week here in Scotland. I’m adjusting to the nuances of the Scottish education system and was more comfortable this week than the last. At this point I think that’s all you can ask for. We had a “Meet the Teacher” night this week and I had the opportunity to meet some of the parents. On Friday I was excused from school to attend a meeting in Edinburgh with all the other exchange teachers in the country. These were not just Fulbright exchanges, but other exchange organizations as well. It was nice to be with a group of people who are in the same boat as me and share experiences. Friday night we went to dinner with two other couples that Elizabeth has been spending time with. We had a great time and ... read more

For two and a half years I have been waiting for this week, waiting for the opportunity to teach abroad and experience another education system. I had my opportunity this week and it did not disappoint. Sticking with Elizabeth’s and my mantra for the year, “it’s not better or worse, just different”, I will say it is different. It has been challenging and I foresee that I will gain both personally and professionally from this opportunity. The staff and students at the school have been incredibly helpful and welcoming. I was quite happy when the weekend arrived and we could resume our adventures around Scotland. Friday night we hit up a couple of the locals. Elizabeth agreed to be my designated driver. I thoroughly appreciated her support in my time of need. After I was ... read more

Another beautiful day in Scotland; the morning started off a wee bit cloudy, but cleared by the time we reached the summit of Ben A’ an. From the top you looked over two lochs. The smaller of the two was Loch Achray and the larger was Loch Katrine. Loch Katrine is the source of Glasgow’s drinking water. Which by the way tastes quite good. Derrick, Joanna’s dad, led us up and shared many interesting stories about his climbing adventurers. There are 284 monroes (hills above 3000 feet) in Scotland. He has climbed 281 of them. He only has thirteen more to go and plans to knock off three more in October. Although 3,000 feet doesn’t sound like much, it is when you’re starting at about one foot above seal level. I’ve done a lot of hiking ... read more

We are obviously here and doing well. We had our first outing today to Loch Lomond. Despite the blowing wind, pouring rain and cold we manged to bag our first Scottish mountain/hill. Camille was quite the sport and thoroughly enjoyed the day. Actually the drive home was more exhausting than the hike. Driving these winding roads that have absolutely no shoulder is quite harrowing. Today may have been the first time in years that I was the one being passed and looked at with the "what the hell are you doing?" look. Not something I am used to. Well, it's quite cold, so Elizabeth and I are going to sit and have some tea. Tim... read more

We arrived in Blacksburg, Virginia early Sunday morning. It was very surreal to see Missy and Griffin in their front yard waving to us as we pulled up. Although our visit was brief, we had a wonderful time. On Sunday Elizabeth went out to Missy’s barn to meet her horse. After that we headed into Blacksburg to eat, visit Missy’s workplace and see some of downtown. On Monday morning we went to Virginia Tech and saw the campus. It is an amazing campus filled with unbelievable architecture. We went to the duck pond and then the flower gardens. After that we headed into downtown Roanoke and had lunch and then came back to relax in the backyard and watch the kids swim. I was a little too relaxed though. I got up at one point to ... read more