St. Andrews!

Wow! Okay, so I am completely amazed at what is going on in my life here in St. Andrews! First, lets start with the fact that this was the view from my hotel room in Edinburgh...

After being there for a few days of orientation the handful of us that are with Arcadia that are attending St. Andrews were given a coach to bring us up north. The ride through Scotland was beautiful. We also got the chance to see the RAF air show taking place in Leuchars as we drove by.
Last night was my first night here and it was all a bit of a whirlwind. I moved into Uni Hall, was given a quick tour and met my roommate. We have a pretty large room with a great location, and below is the view from the window behind my bed.

Im already in love with all of the green here and supposedly it is dry season. Lets not mention that it's definitely late fall weather here...well Kentucky's equivalent to it. It has been highs of around 58 F; one day in Edinburgh it was even so cold and damp that I already had to break out my Barbour, and its only September!
Now on to my roomie, Rebecca! I am not sure if St. Andrews actually took into consideration my residence application, but my Rebecca is really sweet and she seems a lot like me. She is a Christian really wanting to get involved in the CU (Christian Union) here, she played soccer in high school, and we seem to be on the same page with quite a few things. I feel happy to get to spend the year with her!
After getting somewhat unpacked yesterday a friend I met through Arcadia, Rachel, and I headed into town to go to Argos and a few other stores to pick up some last minute dorm necessities- I forgot how much goes into living in a dorm!
We had our first hall meal, then a bit later went on a pub crawl which I must say was a blast, although I didn't stay out very late. This morning Rebecca and I headed to breakfast (you cannot wear pajamas or sweats to the dining hall, which Im completely okay with, its just the complete opposite of the States!) After breakfast we met up with other Uni Hallers and the CU to go to church. We went to a baptist church and I felt right at home when they were singing a song I knew very well from fellowship in Lexington. Afterward, we were invited by a really sweet fifth year to head to a friend's house with herself and other CU people for a homemade meal. It was absolutely delicious and the company was great. We also got to talk to people about the possibility of joining some different Christian groups and a bible study...clearly God has plans for me here!
Another girl I met doing a Junior Semester Abroad (JSA, and Junior Year Abroad is JYA), Mollie, and I went on a walking tour of St. Andrews to better orient ourselves to town. Once the tour was over we headed back to Uni Hall for the first time the whole day! We met up with Rachel and another new friend, Isabelle, for dinner. We went to a small deli type place called Cherries. We had some time to kill before we had a Wardens Welcome at our hall so we wandered down The Scores which is the road along the sea and golf course; pictures are below. After the Warden's Welcome we headed over the the Union for After Dark which is a small event the CU put on which was really great because everyone was so welcoming and we got to sit and chat with other students who are already involved in or would like to get involved in the CU.

During the walka and throughout the short amount of time that I have been here I am realizing how lucky I am to be experiencing all of this. St. Andrews is a gorgeous little town with so much going on yet it is all at a pace that makes me feel like it's always Sunday. Its not sleepy, but it has a very warm, friendly, relaxed yet playful atmosphere. Im already in love. Not to mention that fact that living so close to the sea in such a remote little area of the world is simply gorgeous. The sights I have shown, the sounds of seagulls outside my window, the smells of local fare as I walk the town streets, and the warm welcome I have received from everyone in this town make it very clear that I am incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to live here for nine months.
Finally, I am starting to feel more calm and at ease, but I think it will take a few weeks for me to feel completely settled here. All summer long I have been wondering why it is that it's in the plans for me to be here. I know that there must be something God can use me for based on the interactions I had today; I cannot wait to find out what it is. I am excited to continue meeting people and I am looking forward to the end of this week when we get to start looking into societies to join. Also, in all honesty I'm fairly excited for classes to start too so that I can meet some students closer to my age and who have more insight into how things work here and what places to go and all of that jazz! Along with this I would love to figure out what a normal day is going to look like for me. Until then I will just keep feeling blessed to be here!