Bon Accord Scotland

"Happy to meet, sad to part, happy to meet again"

On March 30, 2012 we expatriated to Aberdeen, Scotland.  In the short 9 months we've been here, we've conquered many things.  I've had the time of my life.  Here's a snapshot of our time in and around Scotland: 

Click here to view this video

To my expat family- even though we fell in love with Aberdeen, your friendships have made it an unbelievably great experience. Thank you for making our first assignment a treasured one. I know we will all end up back in Houston someday, but we hope to see you sooner than that:) 

Bon Accord Bonnie Scotland, you will always hold a special place in our hearts. 

Christmas 2012

We did not have a white Christmas this year (and I cannot believe Dallas did), but the past few days still felt like Christmas with the icy roads and low temperatures.  On Christmas Eve, Jill & Ryan, invited us over for dinner.  Jill set up a photo booth, however, we kept having issues with the lighting and it ended up not working out. But they were pretty serious about making this work:

Debbie is drawing the curtains in and Ryan is about to remove the light

Prom pose! 

After several failed attempts to get perfect lighting, we engaged in a famous Scottish holiday tradition, Christmas Crackers! This tradition began in the 1800's.  A cracker is a colored tube tied at both ends. It usually contains a paper crown, a joke, and a small gift.  The best way to open a cracker is to gather around the table and have each person hold one end of the cracker and both people pull in opposite directions and the contents will pop out. I even brought the tradition to good ole US:

(Skype screenshot)

The ones I bought for this dinner were special because they all contained bingo cards.  So after we ate ate brisket, spicy baked beans, cheese, christmas bark, and much much more, a round of bingo was in order!

This is definitely a tradition that I want to continue no matter where we are in the world. To learn more about crackers, click here.  After an exciting game of bingo (which Laine won of course and Ram ended up being last lol), we played a not-so-friendly game of UNO. Funny how everyone's competitive spirit comes out instantly when you play a game that involves any sort of strategery (Jon won and I was second, Ram didn't even get points on the board, embarrassing).

On Christmas Day, we went to Falene's house for another night of great food and games.  We played taboo (girls won, woohoo), and the noun and verb game which was reenacted to the crowd in the form of charades.  These pictures don't do it justice but needless to say I'm still laughing...

All in all, we had a fun Christmas experience away from home.  Though we missed our families, we were in good company in the 'Deen:)

Seven Bridges

Thursday was meant to be the last official hike for the year with my explorers group.  But under the threat of snow/ice, it was cancelled.  The girls and I were pretty bummed out, so we decided to wait out the weather and by 10am, the roads were in decent shape, so off we went! We drove down to Ballater, a cute town about 30-45 minutes away from Aberdeen. The hike was along the River Dee and Glen Muick.  We came across sun-kissed views of the mountains, the country, bridges and the river. Just another day in Scotland.

Halfway through the hike, we took a small detour to see Knock Castle. A 16th century Castle sitting in the middle of the country. Just another day in Scotland.

Onions and radishes in a patch near the Castle

The hike would not be complete without coo sightings. I've never seen so many coos hanging out together, I even saw a baby coo just chilling in the country. Just another day in Scotland. 

After a 7.5 mile hike  we decided to reward ourselves with a cup of hot chocolate.  The infamous Chocolate Shop in Banchory gives new meaning to hot chocolate.  They coat the glass with chocolate, pour hot milk into the glass, and then top it off with a disc of chocolate that melts in seconds. Just another day in Scotland. 

Giving Thanks

I'm one day late on this post but I have a good reason. Yesterday, I helped organize the AWA's annual Thanksgiving Potluck Dinner.  I was expecting over 100 people, so I was a bit overwhelmed. It was weird how a major holiday is not celebrated here. School was in session, everyone had to go to work, and there was no fall decor to be found! I definitely had my work cut out for me since all the Christmas stuff has been out since October. But we managed to pull stuff together and here's a snapshot of our Thanksgiving in Scotland: 

I made Pilgrim Cookies:) 

I was so happy to be part of bringing the Americans together to celebrate Thanksgiving. The International School was nice enough to let us use their gym to accommodate all the families. We had a feast! Too bad I didn't get any pictures of the food but it was yummy! A

This year I'm thankful for so many things, it's hard to select just a few, but here goes: 

1. I'm thankful for the opportunity to travel and learn about different cultures over the 8 months we've lived in the UK;

2. I'm thankful for my husband, who still asks me about my day and encourages my new found hobbies, even if they get in the way of my housewife duties;

3. I'm thankful for the wonderful friends we made in Aberdeen that have made this experience even better that I ever imagined and I know that they will always be part of our lives; and

4. I'm thankful for the continued support from family and friends as we venture into our next assignment.

What are you thankful for? 

Loch Muick

Yesterday we hiked Loch Muick (pronounced "Mick") which is near the Balmoral Estate (the Royal family's summer home).  Unfortunately there were no royal sightings. The circuit was mostly flat and only 7.75 miles.  After Clachna-never-ending, 7.75 miles was a piece of cake! After several days of non-stop rain, we lucked out but it was still cold and windy.  So cold that I was hoping to see snow caps, like this from when Jill went earlier in the year:

I was slightly disappointed since I'm now counting down the number of hikes before I move and I really wanted to see some snow! Ah well, I'll settle for some cute ponies, stag, and girl talk.

New Year, New Beginnings...

Happy Diwali! I felt so removed from Diwali and the traditions this year being in Scotland. I felt like I was just going through the motions as my mom gave me daily reminders to: turn the lights on, light candles, and say a prayer.  And I was a tad homesick when my brother emailed me their Rangoli creations that I missed out on:

Today, the start of the new year, I got another reality check. The moving company came to our house this morning to survey how much "stuff" we are transporting to Dubai. As we showed him each room, closet, nook and cranny, it finally sank in: I'm moving AGAIN. These international moves are quite stressful, especially when you have to set up bank accounts, figure out housing/utilities, residency visas, alcohol licenses (more on that some other time), and driving license requirements.  Didn't I just do this 8 months ago?!?! I know I shouldn't complain, and I'm not, but it's just overwhelming since according to the calendar, we are moving in 6 WEEKS! Between now and then I have 3 more AWA events to plan and a 12 day trip to Texas and Vegas. So 6 weeks just became 4. Stress central, population ME!

Scolty Hill and Falls of Feugh

There are 3 popular mountains hills in Aberdeen.  Bennachie, Clachnaben, and Scolty Hill.  Last week I conquered Clachnaben and today I hiked Scolty.  Not sure I'll be able to hike Bennachie before we move, but 2 out of 3 is not bad in my book.

And today's hike was extra special because I was able to steal Ram away from work for a few hours. It was a pretty winter day and I'm not sure how many of those we have left, so there was no time to waste.  This is definitely the shortest hike of all the Hills, only 2 miles, but it was still a workout since the ascent was pretty much a vertical climb. And the panoramic views were quite rewarding:

Falene and Jillian

Taking a break on the way up to snap a few pics

Approaching the top of the Hill which has a 20m  Tower built in 1840 as a memorial to General Burnett

Hill top with panoramic views. It was SUPER windy

Afterwards, Ram and I stopped off at the Falls of Feugh to see salmon leaping.  What is that you say? Apparently September - November is spawning season so Salmon are often sighted leaping over these natural falls.  Within a few minutes of us being there I saw one leap! It all happened so fast and so I was not prepared with the camera to capture it:( We waited another 10-15 minutes but didn't see any more.  But it was pretty cool to see! Knocked two things off my list today! I'd say it was a good day...