Welcome to the Whirlwind

Since arriving on Thursday we have been doing things pretty fast and furious. In brief it has gone pretty much like this:

• Thursday after check in we had INTS 365 (Contemporary Europe) followed by a wee wander into Dalkeith, dinner, and an effort to keep the students going until about 9pm if possible.
• Friday started with three hours of the Social Problems class followed by a trip to Edinburgh Castle (where it was seriously blowing goats), a trip to MacBackpackers to settle up details of our three day trip to Skye on Monday, dinner at the Malt Shovel, and a stop in to see Gavin at Maysons.
• Saturday entailed hearing Marian and Henry talk about drinking culture and responsibility in the morning, nicely linked to my Social Problems class. In the afternoon we cancelled the walking tour because of an impending chance of serious rain (which unsurpisingly came upon us heavily). I got into Edinburgh in time to secure Hibernian FC tickets for next Saturday for the whole group and to see a bit of sun up on Calton Hill. Then upon going down onto Rose Street to visit the outdoors stores the weather finally gave in and came down in buckets. I still managed to get train tickets to London as well before coming home somewhere close to soaked.
• Today, the students and I got off too a slower start, but the excitement was right off the bat. One group managed to lock themselves out in a way that necessitated breaking the door lock to get them back into their room. After that things were pretty enjoyable with the students all doing Patty's version of the Amazing Race in Edinburgh having to find locations and information all throughout the Old Town and the New Town. That kept the students busy from 10.30a to 5.30p. Leah, the assistant group leader, and I took a more leisurely approach into Edinburgh, stopping at Black Magic Coffee to talk about the schedule for the rest of Edinburgh. After that we wandered about and I showed her a few of the major areas around the Old Town and a bit up into the New Town. I have to remember that there is an outdoor lighted art exhibit in St. Andrew's Square which starts on Tuesday (it was set up today).
• Tomorrow through Wednesday we head through the Highlands and onto the Isle of Skye, giving the students a very different view of just how historic and diverse the society and landscape are.

All of that leads me to a few observations. First, this group has the makings of a good group to be along with for the trip. They have been energetic and have been working well together. Don't get me wrong, there will definitely be speed humps as we go along, but it seems to be coming together pretty well. Second, from all I have seen and done, it is the little things rather than the big ones that change in Edinburgh and Dalkeith. I have found my way around easily and most everything is where I expect it, but there are those few surprises of things torn down, changing ownership, and changing what exists in a given location. All in all though, it is the same place I love and remember. Third, it is definitely time to buckle up because while it is as much as 40 degrees warmer here, the damp is definitely a bone chiller. I have been sleeping with two down comforters to keep warm enough at night and during the day the continuous bouts of rain and drizzle keep it plenty moist, but hey the wet and humidity are fantastic for eliminating dry skin.