Pre-departure non-freakout

Well, it is officially one week before my departure for the beautiful land of historic castles, highland cows, and the infamous Loch Ness monster. How is Rachel feeling one might wonder? Very well, thank you. Due to the many quashing remarks from my beloved sister, I have turned down the stress and am instead taking my time to visit friends and enjoy the many finer aspects of being at home (aka doing absolutely nothing). But no, in all seriousness, I am preparing for my journey in small steps, the monotony of which I won't bore you all with. I just wanted to start out my little travel blog with a pre-departure post where I wasn't too overly eager in anticipation of leaving.

Here's a little logistical info for those of you who have asked me and recieved assurance that all would be revealed in this blog:

Rachel's address in Edinburgh
Rachel Kuck 4/4 R3
Kincaid’s Court
Edinburgh EH1 1JT
Scotland, UK

E-mail
still r-kuck@northwestern.edu

(I will be getting a cell phone over there, and will post that number later)

I will be living with 3 other American girls from my program (a little disappointing at first since I thought I'd be mixed in with Scottish students, but they will be right down the hall so it's all good - plus it will be a little easier to adjust I'm sure and we can all explore together). The place I'm living is a self-catered flat, which means I'll have my own room and then we share a kitchen and living area. All very exciting. I'm happy I chose the self-catered option since I learned so many great cooking skills over the summer from the brilliant Katie Koralesky (and also since my friend Julie who has been in Edinburgh since July has already informed me of the atrocious dining hall food at the University).

Ok, for those of you who I haven't spoken with lately, I hope your summers are ending well - and please keep in touch! I will miss you all very much this year! If anyone's planning an adventure, do plan a stop in Edinburgh (especially those of you who are abroad as well)!

I'll post again before I leave the states, probably with a little more frazzled tone ; )

~R