I'll start with the most important things. For those of you who haven't shared in my constant worry that we were going to be shipped back to America, consider yourselves lucky. I pretty much operate on a worst-case-scenario basis, where the world is going to end for some reason or another, and even if things are good, there is always something that my brain will worry about and try to plan for. Clay turned in his dissertation back in August and then we knew we would have to wait until October before we found out if he met the requirements for his conditional PhD offer. Lucky for us, we received unofficial word that we are going to be here for the long haul.
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| we were going on an adventure! |
So what does that mean now? Well, for starters, we need to get Clay's marks in October, get that pesky confirmation of acceptance number from the University and then (very quickly) apply for loans and visas because... WE'RE COMING HOME FOR CHRISTMAS! (as I'm typing this, I am envisioning myself as Kermit the Frog and how excited he gets and waves his hands around. You should imagine me like that too).
It's been over a year now since we've been home. A year since we've seen our friends and family. A year since I've driven a car and eaten Chick-fil-A. I am so excited I can barely stand it. I can't wait to hug everybody. You have no idea. I am going to cry for 3 solid weeks hugging every single person I've wanted to hug for the last year.
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| We make the same faces! |
SO - Christmas! The Ardgowan Hotel has graciously given me 3 weeks off, and I could not be more grateful for my amazing reception team for allowing me to do this! We'll be leaving (hopefully) a few days before Christmas and then staying through the 1st week in January. Gotta work out all the flight plans with my lovely grandparents and then start making plans to see EVERYBODY! If you want anything from the UK let us know and we will stuff a suitcase FULL of stuff for you!
Times are good people. Really good. Even if the days are now officially less than 12 hours long. The sun is going down at 6:55pm. I can't tell you how sad this makes me. When I get up in the morning now, it's dark! But on the plus side, there's an owl in our yard and I get to hear him at dawn and dusk. He sounds like a teeny tiny little hooty owl. I wonder if he will bring me letters from Hogwarts?
There also may be an opportunity that I may meet some celebrities this week. There's a golf tournament called the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship happening, and it's basically pros versus amateurs, which turns into celebrities. In previous years, Samuel L Jackson, Michael Phelps, Hugh Grant, and Michael Douglas have competed. The person that Clay and I are hoping shows up, however, is Bill Murray. I've heard too many stories of his shenanigans in St Andrews, and we are going to try to find him this week.
Lastly, I'll tell you something hilarious that I do that my parents absolutely love. So, we live in St Andrews, right? The Birthplace of Golf? The home of the Old Course? Well, on the St Andrews Links website, they have a live camera feed of various places around the Old Course, including the Swilcan Bridge, which is the famous bridge where EVERYBODY gets their picture taken. (You saw the picture of Bill Murray and Michael Phelps up there, right?)
Well, I told my parents about this webcam, and then made the mistake of walking down on the bridge while they were looking at it. I guess it became more real when they realized they could not only FaceTime me, but also simultaneously watch me DANCE (at their command) on the Swilcan Bridge in front of God and everybody while they watched from Florida. I guess it's good proof for their friends that yes, I do indeed live in the Birthplace of Golf.
So if anyone wants to watch me dance on the Swilcan Bridge in front of strangers, please let me know and I'll be happy to oblige.
That's all for now!
Carm
