“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” Joshua 1:9

May 18, 2015

Dear Diary: Letters from Macmerry

18th May 2015

Dear Diary,

I haven't written here in so long, or perhaps it is that time has slowed down. I have been super busy, always doing something or other. Which is great, because I don't have time to feel home sick or anything. To be honest, it is not just work and looking after kids that takes my time away, but also home-group and meeting with new-found friends. I love it, my life I have made for myself here in Scotland.

So, as an update academically, I have confirmed an offer from Queen Margaret University here in Marketing, Public Relations and Events. I went for a student tour last Monday, so I got a feel for the land. It seems very close-knit, friendly and exciting. I am looking forward to my time at the uni!! I applied and accepted accommodation on campus, and that looks great as well, with your own ensuite bathroom (tiny) and a huge workspace. Looks like my dad's office at Aalto University in Finland, except with a bed and bathroom :D

Two days ago Alisha and I went for a lovely bike ride around Macmerry. I had been a week before, and found a secret garden near a farm. As I had told Alisha, she wanted to discover this secret garden as well. Hence, we set out. It was actually quite a blustery day, not the best for riding. In Scotland, though, I have discovered that as long as it is not raining tooo heavily, it is a great day to go outside ;)

The first step to going outside is to put on a water and wind-proof jacket, then warm shoes. Oh, and a scarf. The scarf is quite important, unless you are preparing for a cold that is. The next step, brave the wind and set out!!

We met some horses along the way, and stopped to say hi :)

After that we continued down the farm lane to our destination. Destination: Secret Garden. There was a swing, patches of white flowers, lots of vines, trees and dead stumps. We called ourselves The Terrific Two, play on Fantastic Five, and began to get a lay of the land, which we called our little adventure. We did find a dead bird carcass, which was quite a wierd thing to find, but we couldn't find any clues as to how it came to be right there. Plus, it was quite scary, so we both decided that mystery was not for us to decipher :D


Carcass we found on our adventure

The flowers smell like chive flowers, so perhaps they are

Nature's picture frame of vines



After we had spent a considerable amount of time in the secret garden, mostly taken up by taking pictures, avoiding the spiky branches of holly, and swinging on the swing, we set off again. We couldn't help but stop again on the way back for a quick chat with the horses.

The ride back was quite tiring, as we had spent so long both getting to the garden, and walking around. So, I had to stop a couple of times along the way to walk for a while. In some parts the wind wa sso strong, and I could see that it was starting to blow Alisha's bike a wee bit. The one good thing about wind is that you always recieve a free wind-swept look, however much my eyes sometimes sting. Nevertheless, it was such a lovely trip!! We had picked some of the chive flowers, and brought them back home.

A nice little reminder of our secret garden. Shhh...

I thought I would just give you an update on the adventure I had most recently.

Have an awesome week,

Laura

xoxo