Crab hunting!

North Berwick

We were able to take advantage of one of the trips sponsored by the International Student's Center (it still feels strange to be called an international student). We journeyed to a little fishing village/resort town called North Berwick (pronounced bear-ick). It was only about 1 hour out of Edinburgh. We stopped by come castle ruins before entering the town. Oliver Cromwell tried his best to completely demolish the castle. He did a pretty good job! It was in a beautiful location though. We then went into the city where Josh and I were not too attracted to the restaurants and touristy shops so we spent most of our time on the shore. We were bundled up in coats and gloves but the natives were out there in short and t-shirts. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw mum allowing their kids to be out there in shorts and shirt-less! I saw a dad with a young baby - just shirt and trousers with no hat or blanket. They certainly don't bundle kids up like we are used to.

It was so peaceful by the Sea and the water was so calm. We sat on some rocks and watched the tide come in.

Near the end of our stay we spotted a family hunting crabs. They just turn over rocks in the water pools to look for something moving. We decided we'd give it a try. We couldn't figure out at first what to look for. One of the boys came by to show us his collection. He probably had 10-15 little crabs in his small container. Finally we flipped over a rock to find a tiny crab about the size of my pinky finger.

St. Augustine

I mentioned last week that we visited a church called St. Augustine. We visited again this week to learn more about the church. It does feel rather odd that we are nearly the only "youngsters" there, but we like the idea of going to a local church and we like the effort they make toward unity. I think I mentioned that we talked with a social worker from Australia. We had decided to invite her over for lunch after service. She accepted our invitation (despite having to buy us bread as we were completely out and had forgotten to bring money with us!). It was a lovely visit with Emma and the day actually went too fast. We chatted around a cuppa and before we knew it it was already 5:00. We laughed about the differences we have found here and Scotland and she gave us some insight into some of our queries. I think we have found a friend in Emma.

I really, really would like to get some pictures up soon! They are all on our computer and I am NOT on our computer. Whenever we get this internet situation figured out...I promise!