Family Update Letter 1

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Just dropping a quick Hello!

I am scheduled to have my phone and internet (and television) installed Tuesday, September 18, 2007 between 8AM and 1PM. I have had this confirmed, even though my address is still a bit screwy, but that's apparently because of thep hone company. They're taking a while to change it. I had a hard time understanding everything and with the minutes on my cell phone dwindling quickly, I didn't want to chit-chat too long. But he said 100% guaranteed that I am having everything installed and hooked up on Tuesday!

I am at school right now. I have been hanging out here every day since Sunday. Keeping myself out of the apartment and low on stress. I've met some people, but they mostly haven't gone past one meeting. Maybe that'll change. I signed up to go on the International Student trip to Loch Lommond on Saturday and some of the girls I met the other day are going. We leave at 9:15AM and come home at 6:00PM. I am excited to get out for a while. The following Saturday is a trip to Glasgow. I'm going to sign up for that too. The more I can keep myself out of the apartment until Ray is here, the better.

I'll be meeting all my department people tomorrow at the Literature, Language, and Cultures introduction and welcome thing from 2PM until like 6PM. I'm supposed to meet my advisors then too. I have a pigeon hole in the LLC lounge, which is exciting. I don't know specifics yet, but I'll relay things as I go. I got my student ID card and was in the library today. It's a nice library and I think I might start bringing my laptop with me, now that the bulk of my running around campus is done and try to start using the campus wireless.

Ray is meeting with Dole's office today to get his passport expedidted. I am gathering paperwork and things to send home to him so that he can travel as a dependant on my student visa. One of the books I was given once I arrived said that my spouse, traveling on my Visa, can work full-time. I was thrilled. My job-hunting has not been too good, since I don't want to be a waitress or work in retail. When I meet with my advisors I should be able to find more answers and I'm hoping to head to the career center next week to see if they can help me.

I think it is funny that everyone thinks my research is really going to take 3 years. I am slightly baffled by this, but like I said, I'll know more about it later. I have such a huge background of information already compiled, so maybe I'm just farther ahead than I thought I was. They keep talking about how I would research for three years and then spend a year writing up my findings. That sounds so silly to me. BUT I'll just have to wait and see. Who knows what they'll require of me. And please, don't anyone be scared to come visit. I know I'm just lonely right now because Ray isn't here, but I'd still love to see anyone who wanted to come visit. I can send you home with stuff I don't need anymore. haha!

Anyways. . . I've been invited to the International Student Pot Luck dinner thing tonight, so I guess I better go try to find somewhere that'll sell me something to take with me. The ex-president said I should bring something to drink, so maybe I'll go buy a bottle of lemonade or something. It'll be fun and hopefully I'll run into a few of the people I've met. Funny thing. . . I haven't met a single American and everyone keeps laughing at me, because they have met bunches of them. I've met 2 Chinese girls, a Russian boy who looks chinese, a girl from Tiawan, a girl from Israel, a boy from Colombia, a girl from Canada, an older woman from Northern Ireland, a girl from Yorkshire whose husband is from Raleigh, NC and whose father-in-law teaches at NCState, and a girl from Singapore. And ex-president of the Internatinoal Student Society is from Poland. and the boy I was talking to this morning. . .I forget where he was from. But no Americans. The Canadian was the closest I got and we had a great talk. Might try to go up to Arthur's Seat on Sunday, since I've missed all the chances to go because of other events and I wasn't real comfortable going with the Muslims. In the descriptoin is mentioned enjoying the company of other Muslims, so I took that to probably mean you should be Muslim.

I also met up with the Film Society People and will probably get my membership Monday night, maybe. It's £15 for the whole year and I get to see tons of free movies and I get discounts at certain theatres and I get to write film reviews if I join the actual commitee and they'll be published int he Edinburgh FilmSoc magazine. So I'm looking forward to learning more about that and definitely joining the committee.

So I love you all very much and I miss you all terribly much. Hopefully I'lll be online soon and everyone can call my new phone line. :-)

<3,
SKB

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