Turmoil and Restoration

Imagine coming home and not even recognizing where you are. That was the experience I had the moment we drove into St. Andrews. After a fairly easy travel day, we arrived in the evening, but it was already so dark, that upon stepping out of the van, I found myself turning around in circles wondering where in the world I was. I did not recognize the street, the buildings...I hadn't even seen the steeple driving into the town. To add onto the confusion, I had to find Kate's hall (in the dark with a suitcase) to give her the rest of her things, and upon finally finding it, the security guard did not believe me when he said I was her sister and I just wanted to drop something off. I finally was allowed to leave it at reception and made my way back to Uni Hall, where I had been greeted and told that there would be a meet and chat followed by a pub crawl.

I arrived late and had no idea where anyone was, so I skyped Kate and told her where I left her stuff and told her to come to my room. (That is a whole other story that she can tell you) Finally after nearly forty minutes wondering where she was, I was waiting in the foyer when several already very drunk students were ready to go pub crawling. I found myself starting to get turned off the the idea, and when Kate arrived looking very dismal, we mutually decided it was a stay in night. We skyped with Mom, watched and uplifting romantic comedy (Sydney White) and since my roommate had not yet arrived, she slept in my room for the night.

I woke up this morning having forgotten how painful being homesick can be. It brought me back to my first week as a freshman at Gordon, when I wondered what on earth I had been thinking deciding to leave home and go so far away. The upside to thinking this was knowing how it turned out, and that once I got busy, it was going to get much better. With the sun shining and a new day before me, I was ready to get out and explore the town. We had a couple of errands to run, and after that, the day was ours.

Kate and I met after lunch at West Sands, and both of us agreed that a huge smile lit our faces the moment we saw that beach. We spent the entire afternoon walking the beach and around town, getting ourselves reacquainted with the town we remembered and loved. It was so refreshing to point out places and the things we recalled happening there. We walked the pier, past the castle, the buildings where we had classes during the summer, countless stores and cafes we remembered, and after a wonderful walk, we stopped into our favorite joint, BeanScene for a warm drink, as it was freezing outside. A long night sleep and walk around town had done the trick. I have just finished dinner at Uni Hall and am about to head out again with Kate for our own pub experience, without a bunch of wasted students. Orientation starts tomorrow, and we are ready to dive into what awaits us in the next few months. Be back soon...