caighli

Tonight I learned the traditional scottish dance- a Caighli- pronounced Kay-lee. It was a blast. its basically a huge square dance but all celtic and stuff. great music. lots of sweating. lots of running into eachother. sooooo fun.We got formal dance lessons for free here at the castle and next weekend we are going to a real one in a pub in downtown edinburgh- or at least we are thinking about it!
Also fun today was the Amazing Race,around edinburgh. We had a whole list of destinations and things to accomplish all of the neighborhoods and streets, which are beautiful and quaint- all the shops are very small, lots of cafes, i got a hot chocolate in the Elephant- the cafe that JK Rowlings wrote harry potter in. Yummy and magical. After roaming the streets with my clan (we were broken up into groups for the whole program, called clans, mine is called Stewart)we stoped at a bistro for lunch and then gave up on the race and went shopping instead (girls outnumbered boys 5 to 1).

Orrientation is officially over. Essentially every minute for the last four days has been spent in informational sessions full of lessons and structure but tomorrow ends this and begins my classes. It has been exhausting. I am so excited to just have my classes and the rest of my time to myself. It is my goal this week to take some serious pictures of the following: my town of dalkeith, the huge castle i live in,the amazing park i live with, our pets (they are furry cows and horses) and edinburgh. this weekend i am going on a class trip to a few more castles so that will be great. also, i am going to work on figuring out how to upload, but for now just check my facebook. i think all of you readers have access to that i hope.

well, its been another long and great day!
love and cheers (goodbye),
Amy