First day of work

Hi Yaso!

It's Monday evening and I've completed my first day of work. It was great. Even though I spent most of the time reading materials. The kinds of tasks I'll be doing look fun; hard work but fun. We've got great events lined up. I'm so excited. And I met the staff today. The project staff with whom I work directly are amazing. It was the first day and I've gotten such great advice about 1) the price we pay for our flat and other options in the area and 2) getting a second master's/choices to be made. Ugh, I MISSED people! lol Then, I just noticed that we received an email from one of my co-workers about yoga. Apparently, they all do yoga on Tuesdays. What?! Awesome! .dresses comfortably tmrw. And oh yeah, it's a very casual environment.

That same co-worker is about to finish her post with us so now she is doing this project on her own: Operation Seed-Bomb Britain by Bicycle. I love the concept. Looks like so much fun. I'd love to do that! :)

So today I was reading through some material about students not being incentivized to study abroad here in Scotland. Would you believe that less than 1% of university students in Scotland take up such an opportunity?!? You'd think because they're so close to Europe they'd do it in a heartbeat--I know I would!! I feel like studying abroad is something Americans look forward to way more than Scots (if we're going by that statistic). One of the barriers is the lack of language skills. It got me thinking about Finland and how their kids are taught a number of languages since primary school. My coworker told me that most Scandinavian countries are really good about teaching their children various languages. In Scotland, they're just trying to bring that back. What universities tried to do is widen the accessibility for people and therefore stopped requiring a foreign language skill. I see why that would be good for some. However, it had a negative side effect.

I think that's something that should be done in America as well. Really invest in language skills from primary school. That would really build up a strong workforce and do loads of good for the economy, don't you think? We gotta be competitive as individuals, to be competitive as a country. We have to be on par with the rest of the world AT LEAST.

On another note, adjusting back to life in Edinburgh has been a bit tough on both of us. We're thinking about moving flats because the rent has increased once again. And so now we're gonna start looking at options. We hope to get a bigger place for the same or less, which is totally possible. We're only really paying for the great location. It really is such a great location. It's a shame.

Anyway. I'm so glad you had a great time in NOLA. I hope to visit there. It must be nice to be in the Birthplace of Jazz. How crazy. I love that. I love cities with culture. Like DC. Unlike Weston. haha.

Some photos:

It snowed for 5 minutes this weekend!

Here is my first waffle on the waffle maker you gave me :)

Happened to get a nice shot. This one is a keeper.

Miss you amiga
xxxxxxxxxx
Kris