Apparently West Kilbride likes to leave prank pay phones lying around...

I'm writing from Carlton Bed and Breakfast in Seamill, Scotland! Man, I still feel like none of this is real. Georgia and I have been up for almost 25 hours at this point, and are desperately trying to stay awake until it's the Scottish people's bed time. We did have a small falling asleep incident when we both decided to lay down on the comfy grass in the backyard and "rest our eyes", but it was barely mentionable.

On the flight we sat by a very chatty old man and watched the movie "Valentine's Day", it makes a lot of sense to play that on airplanes because you know what they say: "That movie is timeless anytime of the year." We arrived  in Glasgow first thing in the morning (watching the sun rise over the ocean from the plane was spectacular by the way) and jumped on a train to West Kilbride. Upon arriving there we tried to call a taxi from a pay phone. This pay phone had no phone book, a jammed coin slot, and no place to swipe the credit cards it claimed to take. When we finally reached an operator, she informed us that "I'm not a directory!"....so...I'm not really sure what her job is. Luckily an elderly couple informed us that cabs don't run in West Kilbride, and our best bet would be to walk to Seamill, as it's only about a mile away. A mile is no big deal. However, a mile pretty much uphill all the way with a brief downhill drop carrying 110 pounds of luggage between the two of us was nearly impossible, and I'm pretty sure everyone in both towns will now remember us as those girls they saw passed out on the side of the road.

We're here now though. And despite a rocky start I already see myself forced to grow up a little, which is a small part of what I want from this trip. There were so many times when we didn't know where to go/what to do, and my first instinct was to reach for my phone and call someone to help us. I would remind myself that not only do I not have a phone, but even if I did none of the people I normally call would be any help. So instead of giving up, we were forced to sit down, think things through and proceed. Before we left our dear friend Reagan kept asking us if we were excited...and really I was too sad and scared to be excited. There's still alot of those emotions as well but now I'm starting to realize that I have six months away from home to grow and get to know God better and I can't be more excited. I still miss everyone though, and I love you all dearly.

2 things....
1: Scotland is 7 hours ahead of calgary. I get that question quite often.
2: Georgia, my lovely travel companion, has a blog as well. http://www.georgiasywam.blogspot.com/. We share many of the same experiences, but have different styles of writing and different perspectives so hopefully you can enjoy both!

Seamill: It's a real place, I swear!

Tomorrow I will be sitting in an airport waiting to fly to Scotland! Many people have supported me, and encouraged me, and asked to be kept up to date, so I thought that this would be a prime time to embark into the world of blogging. I am unsure as to how often I will have anything worth reporting, and unsure as to whether anyone cares...but Danielle assured me that at least she will be reading. So..Hey Danielle! I have been told by multiple people that if I am to do this I need to shoot for the quality of Jeff Seaman's blog...so that is a lot of pressure.

After three months I'll be leaving Scotland and heading...to some currently unknown mystery country. Wednesday afternoon Georgia and I will by flying out on Crusty Bob's no-name airline (also known as Canadian Affair Airline). The tickets were only three hundred dollars direct to Scotland! Some of the other people on our DTS were paying just under a thousand dollars for their flight! So instead of being grateful that it was so cheap...I'm just mildly suspicious as to why they are practically handing out tickets for free. However...I suppose where they get you is luggage. Once you go over the luggage limit of 20 KG it costs 20 dollars per extra KG. So as Georgia pointed out, it would just be cheaper to buy a second seat on the plane rather then try to bring a second 20 KG bag.

While I'm away, please stay in touch! I will not have my phone until I get back.
Email: vickyhirsche@hotmail.com
Skype: victoria.l.h

Letters/Packages/People:

The Seamill Centre

9 Glenbryde Road

Seamill, West Kilbride

KA23 9NJ

SCOTLAND