Friday, January 29, 2010

We live so high above the ground satellites surround us

I'm in Scotland. After three planes, one being an enormous beast, we arrived bleary-eyed, but oh so joyful in Aberdeen yesterday morning (or whatever time it is with this 5-hour time change). On my first plane, I got to hear one woman's life story. On my second plane (the seven hour one), I had a window seat and although I didn't sleep a wink, I saw the starry night sky resting on blankets of clouds below me. (No wonder God didn't give us wings, we'd never want to leave the sky!) On my third plane, I sat by another girl traveling to Aberdeen and we had fun leaning to look out the window over the poor sleeping man next to us. It's difficult to explain the feeling of stepping out of the plane and seeing Aberdeen for the first time. I am bound to fail at trying to describe my feelings, but my reaction can be expressed in two words: slaphappy and awestruck.

It's so surreal living here...such an out-of-body sort of thing. We hopped out of the taxi into a magical sunny snow globe and I swear it's one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. Mary's building is a five second walk from mine, and right outside my quaint, homey second story window, a snow-covered tree makes it feel like home. I'm living in a flat with five other girls who all seem wonderful! (From Latvia, Romania, Germany, and the Czech Republic.) Mary and I have already concocted our first meal, taken our first walk through Seaton Park (heaven), had our first funny grocery store experience, registered for classes (Philosophy of Knowledge and Mind, History and Philosophy of Science, and Religion at Ground Zero), walked in circles feeling completely and wonderfully lost, first funny bus ride to city centre, met 1,000,000 new faces...and the best part of it all is that we get to do it together. Taking in this new life just wouldn't be the same if I couldn't run two steps to Mary's room to really think about it all, talking about this funny life.

For the first time, I feel completely free. It's everything beautiful and everything scary, everything exciting and everything terrifying. But at the end of the day, I'm still just me, a girl who (by the grace of God) is now sitting in a foreign country, living out of two suitcases, and learning how to adventure with her best friend, to live simply and fully. And the most reassuring comfort of all is to know that I'm never walking alone. (I've never been more sure of that in my entire life.)

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