One Whole Month!

I think I need to start keeping a wee notebook handy so I can record the daily idioms I hear. For example, one I hear used a lot is "put the cart before the horse." It's just a more interesting way to say ANYTHING, really. I enjoy listening to people speak! I'm starting to pick up more "Scots," but there are certain regional dialects that I have more difficulty with.

I remember posting a while back about how I've developed this fear of stepping on giant slugs on the way to work...below illustrates why I walk with my head down when it's raining and they all seem to come out in the open. As you can see, they're HUGE! I don't thin this is even the biggest I've seen. There are also snails with spirally shells all over the place when it's damp.

On a more serious note -
Next week it looks like I may get to sit in and observe some individual/group sessions. I'll let you know how that turns out. I also am getting pretty deep into this Dissociation project. It's really interesting so far. Along with scoring and recording the Dissociative Experiences Scale and the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation form of every patient referred to, and accepted the services of the NHS Psychological Therapies team since April, I am also transcribing and analyzing the pre-assessment questionnaire. This is basically a super short version of the intake forms we use in the states.  Except this one is all opened ended, so it's a written description of the presenting problem instead of an endless list of boxes to check. It has been really interesting for me reading the stories and then seeing what the scores on the assessments say. Certain questions on the DES are frequently left unanswered which I also find interesting...I wonder if it is the content of the question, the phrasing, or something else? I only have about 28 participants right now, but I have 3 more file cabinets to go through in the one office, and then other individual people's files to look into as well.

After tea tonight, we went down to a local restaurant/pub that I walk by everyday on the way to work called the Waterside Bistro. I decided to have a local cider from Dunbar which is a few miles up the road - today marks my first full month here! It was pretty good. Local wines, whiskeys, ciders and beers are a big part of the culture here. I think cider is growing on me...it's fruity and light, which I like. It's pretty inexpensive, relatively speaking.

The Waterloo Bistro is rather nice, though it was kind of rowdy at the outside tables. I guess it is Friday night, after all. The loud antics of the young guests was a weird juxtaposition to the tranquil river and the tolling bells of St. Mary's church, which sits on the opposite bank of the Tyne from the restaurant.

I don't really have any plans set in stone for this weekend. I think a lot of it will be dependent on the weather...we may do something outside as a group if it is nice. If not, I'll just take the bus to Edinburgh. I think I want to do the Portrait Gallery and Writer's Museum next.

 I have my plane tickets purchased now to meet Paul in Ireland and then my family in London for August. What is really awesome is that we will hopefully get to see my Aunt, Uncle and cousins in Dublin when we are there. In addition, I think I'm going to get to see two of my other cousins within the next month if they make it up to Scotland from other parts of Europe. It's really funny how so many of us were finally able to travel this summer, and all at the same time! So the next few weeks I'll be really budgeting, so I don't end up on a sticky wicket! (oooh, an idiom!).