Freshers at St. Andrew's

I finally arrived in St. Andrew's. Although I am a junior at Bethel, here I am considered a first year fresher. There is a whole week of activities to get one acquainted with campus and to meet and friend other freshers that one might meet. Every night there is some kind of social event in which to meet people.

I am living in the David Russell Apartments, which is a complex of buildings with up to several flats in residence (1500 students live here). DRA (David Russell Apartments) is located more than a mile from town. There is a lot of walking to do to get to and from town. To get to the center of town, it might take 15-25 minutes depending on how fast you walk. When I walked to town for the first time, it was to get some food for my room and emergencies, and get other necessities. Lots of people went to buy bedding for their dorm, girls bought straighteners and blow dryers, and guys bought soap and tooth past. I found Kleenex that had man-sized tissues. They are as a large as a half sheet of paper. Then they had super man-size. So I could blow my nose with a sheet of paper essentially. I carried a few bags of stuff back to DRA and began to unpack somewhat (it would take me till Monday night to finish).  Before buying all of this stuff, a group of us had lunch at a cafe called Bibi's. It was really good food and they had awesome cupcakes. I had a haggis, bacon and cheddar panini. It was unusual but good.

I live in a ground floor flat in Haldane. There are 5 bedrooms and one common room. However, the set up is kind of weird. You enter through your flat door and enter into a hall with all of the bedrooms which uses a card to unlock your door. The common room is at the end of the hall.  Not really the best set up for being social. The common room has a counter with chairs, a kitchen (fridge, micro, kettle, sink, dishwasher) and two couches. Each bedroom comes with a combo shelf/closet space, a double bed, a small desk and two side tables. During the summer, families can rent these rooms, or golfers use them when they come to play golf. I actually have my own bathroom, which are in each room. It's a really compact bathroom, where the shower water gets all over the floor. It's interesting but it works. I was really tired, so I went to bed early that night.

St. Andrew's has many odd and cool traditions. The initials in the picture below are for a Protestant martyr called Patrick Hamilton. It is said that if you step on these initials, you will fail your semester and your degree. The only way to wash away the curse is to take the may dip in the ocean (happens in May), so I better not step on it, otherwise I can't be saved. Also, his face is said to have appeared above the initials. Look towards the middle of the picture and you will see a face.

My Haggis Panini