One thing I would definitely recommend to anyone moving
abroad is to look into joining the American Women’s Association wherever you
are. Aberdeen has an especially great group of women who have gone out of their
way to make me feel welcome and to get me involved. I haven’t had this sort of
explosion of facebook friends since back in my sorority days, and the AWA dues are about
1/10 of the price of the DZ ones, so I’m definitely getting more friends for my
money hereJ.
Once you’re in the AWA, you have about 20 social groups to choose from
depending on where your interests lie. Since I love to hike, eat, and read, I’ve
gotten involved in three different groups pertaining to those interests.
Last
Thursday was my first hike with the ‘Explorers’ who generally go on 7-10 mile
hikes twice a month. Apparently, the Explorers is a more intense version of ‘The
Walkabouts’ who take more leisurely walks that usually include a lunch
afterward. I plan on joining both.
I was a bit intimidated to join the
Explorers and worried that my amateur hiking skills would slow the group down.
Fortunately, last week’s hike of the Circuit of Iverbervie, Beholm, and Gourdon
was a good one to get started on, since it was only about 5-6 miles and
involved a pit stop at the Mill of Beholm along the way. We had about a half
mile initial climb and then the rest of the walk was pretty flat.
We had some
great vantage points of both the countryside and the ocean, but our views were
somewhat diminished by the thick fog that was out that morning. Though the fog
was obstructive in some regards, it added an air of mystique to the scenery.
Our pitstop was at the Mill of Beholm which is a restored Mill secretly tucked along the route. The mill includes clean restroom facilities, a gift shop, and a cafe that doubles as a
program for teaching culinary and hospitality skills to adults with special
needs. I’ve noticed a few of these programs around Aberdeen and think it is
such a wonderful social service to help these adults become integrated into the
workforce.
All in all, I think I held my
weight on the hike and had a good time with great company. Of course, the best
part for me was photographing cows.
Eventually I want to have a gallery wall
filled just with pictures of Scottish farm animals. Honestly, I can’t get
enough.
And I haven’t even had the chance to photograph any of the famously
adorable highland coos yet. I hope I’m not driving the first time I spot one
because I will surely run off the road in my excitement.
That last pic is great! So glad the AWA is working out for you. Seems like Scotland may be just the right place for y'all! I'm so happy for you :)
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