goodnight! goodmorning?

Greetings from Scotland!!

We arrived safely at the Edinburgh airport today around 1pm Scotland time. I was barely functional because I didn't exactly think through the well known truth that "people need to sleep to function." We left Grand Rapids around 3pm yesterday and flew to Detroit. We boarded the plane to Amsterdam around 5pm and I read Cold Tangerines and watched three movies (like a normal person would when they are free and at your disposal). At this point, I started getting sleepy and was ready for bed or at least to attempt sleep in the more-uncomfortable-than-usual airplane seats. Right as I was closing my eyes (around 11pm my body's time), the cabin lights came on, the flight attendants said "Goodmorning!" to everyone, and passed out Egg McMuffiny things. Crap. I did not anticipate that I would completely skip night. Shortly thereafter we got off the plane, found our gate in the huge/busy Amsterdam Schiphol airport, and were sitting again in uncomfortable plastic seats.

After once again being in the airport in Amsterdam, I have come to the realization that I like Europeans. For one thing, shallow as it sounds, I love the way people look. Every man (and woman for that matter) between the ages of 20 and 35 is attractive, in good shape, and well-dressed. European style is so great. The Schiphol airport is full of scarves, crazy colors, unique shoes, big belts, and classy jeans. I felt like a complete frump wearing comfortable athletic pants and a t-shirt. Women don't flat iron their hair much, which is so natural and pretty! Men have tossled hair instead of clean cut styles. I like it. And the other thing I love so much are the abounding languages! The voices around me were music to my ears. Romanian, Spanish, British accents, German, French, Dutch, and everything in between could be heard everywhere I walked. It was a wonderful noise. One of my favorite things is the overhead-intercom...especially when Spanish is spoken in a Dutch accent. Beautiful :)

Back to the story. The bottom line is...by the time we got to Edinburgh, Scotland's capital, around 1pm (a full '24' hours since we had left Grand Rapids), I had slept about 2 hours. I should have planned that one better and forgone watching New In Town, Last Chance Harvey, and I Love You, Man.

However, despite fatigue that I hope will magically disappear before tomorrow, Scotland warmly greeted us with the familiar accent that makes me so happy. We waited in line two hours for our wheel-on-the-right-side rental car and then drove around round-abouts, on narrow two lane highways on the left side of the road, and through quaint Scottish towns until we arrived in our previos home.

When we got into St. Andrew's, the town my family lived in when I was twelve, we went straight to our friend Jane Hunter-Blaire's home (which is also a Bed and Breakfast where we will stay part of this trip). We were warmly welcomed with hugs, tea, muffins, two greyhounds, and a sunny back garden full of wonderful conversation. Jane's two girls, Gabi and Coco (who some of you met when my family came to visit SMR in 2007), are two and three years younger than me and are so witty and cute. It is so good to see them again.

I took a nap in the afternoon followed by a long, drawn-out European dinner. I absolutely love the leisure and company of meals in this country. I missed that and truly felt at peace around a table overlooking the garden with wine and slow courses of fresh food: homemade mushroom soup, french bread, salad with avocado, rice with curry, and vanilla ice cream with huge rapsberries. Heaven. Food is the best community builder. :)

It is a blessing to be in a home with friends and family feeling comfortably full, relaxed, and ready for bed...in a bed!

Cheers!

P.S. Here is a list of things about Scoland that I forgot about and that made me happy today: Aerosol spray deodarant, Irn Bru (a wierd flavored soda), chips (fries) and mayonaisse, round-abouts, the phrase "that guy/bloke/chap is so fit (refering to someone who is "hot")," european outlets, roads lined with stone walls, fields that look like a Settlers game board, Cadbury Cream Eggs, popped collars, gravel driveways, and stone houses that look like tiny castles.