Rugby

My first week with the Holmes family has been fantastic. The week was filled with getting to know my way around Edinburgh and becoming familiar with the streets and sidewalks of this beautiful city. On Friday, Jane and Malcolm were hosting a dinner party- and I spent the day preparing the food with Jane. Their friends were fantastic and we had great food, wine, dessert and conversation. It was refreshing to meet more people from the area, and I had a good time. Earlier in the day while Jane and I were cooking, her cousin Mark stopped by. He was in town for the weekend for the Rugby match on Saturday, and had some extra tickets. Jane took him up on his offer... for me! I didn't know a thing about Rugby, but was eager to learn and excited to be going to the match. So Saturday morning, I rummaged through the house to find some warm clothes and headed out to Murrayfield Stadium for the Scotland-Ireland Rugby match. It was so interesting. Everyone was dressed up too- There was a clear distinction between the Scottish and the Irish. Scottish of course were flying their flag, wearing kilts (not kidding), with a pint of beer in their hands. The Irish were dressed Leprechauns, flying their flag, sporting faces painted with shamrocks, wearing plaid flannel and clutching a pint of Guinness in their hands. At the start of the match, they play the national anthem for both teams, and EVERYBODY (from the respective nation) sings along- its just the music in the background, and the fans supply the vocals. The Irish song was a lot easier to catch on to- (but I wouldn't dare sing 'Ireland, Ireland' in front of Jane's very Scottish family!). I met up with Mark and his friends in the beer tent before we got settled into our seats. Jane's father also attended the game, so he and Mark fielded many questions from me about the sport. It is a lot more violent than American football is... or rather maybe it seems that way because they don't wear any pads or a helmet. Nonetheless... I had a great time. The atmosphere was amazing, and by the end of the match I was starting to understand what was going on. Unfortunately Scotland couldn't pull through, and lost 18-19. Thankfully this didn't stop anyone from the stadium from drinking a few pints afterwards. I don't think that the fans after Packer-Bear games join in unison (literally arm in arm) at the pub after the game... but that wasn't the case here. Scottish and Irish fans alike all headed to the beer tent following the game- and no one cared who supported who- they just wanted to drink! To say the least, I had a great time.

Today, Jane and Malcolm headed to England with little Ben for some medical consultations, so I am home with Jack and Michael until Tuesday. During my interview, Jane asked if I had a driver's license, which of course I told her yes, and that I would be happy to drive the children. My first day here last week, I went with her to collect the boys from school and stumbled upon my words when I said, 'Jane- I have to admit that I don't know how to drive a manual car!' She of course laughed and assured me that it would be OK since their other car is automatic (luckily). So- today before they left for the airport, I took the car out for a little drive to get the swing of things. I drove on the wrong side of the road in New Zealand, but thankfully in that case I was driving the second car, which meant we were almost always following our professor who was driving the first van. It is a little trickier when you don't have someone to follow- especially because it was a Sunday morning in Scotland when I was on the roads (which means there is no one to follow!) Anyway- this afternoon I took the boys to the cinema- and Jane laid out the exact roads I should take to get there. The drive there wasn't too bad... I honestly had no clue where I was going, and had never been to that part of town... but after only one (two) wrong turns, we made it only 10 minutes late to the film. The drive home was a different story. It is a lot harder to find your way around a city you don't know at all, in a car you are learning how to drive, with hungry children in the back seat, in the dark. I could feel the grey hair starting to grow on my head. We got a bit more off course on the way home- but thankfully little Michael pointed out the castle (which is one of the big staple sights of Edinburgh and sits atop an enormous hill in the center of town) and I was able to navigate my way back to the house safe and sound. It was at that moment that I thought 'Thank god Edinburgh doesn't have an underground transit system or I would have never been able to find my way back.' As beautiful and as wonderful as London is, I find myself relying solely on the underground system to get around town there. So instead of an above ground view of the city... you tend to take the tube to where you need to be, and then pop above ground for that sight. Thankfully I have relied heavily on the bus system here in Edinburgh- so I am starting to paint a mental map in my head of the town...which is how I knew where to go in a place that I've only been in for a week. Anyway- we made it home in time to feed the little monkeys in the back seat before they wasted away to nothing-- which they assured me they would.