Wandering through St. Andrews

I am finally in St. Andrews and have spent the last couple of days exploring the town.  It is such a beautiful little place, and I think I will really like living here.  It has been pretty cold and gray, but it can be nice if the sun comes out.  Right now, however, it is raining.

St. Andrews only has three main streets, so it is pretty easy to get around.  These three streets all converge at the St. Andrews Cathedral which was mostly torn down in the 16th century and now remains as ruins.  Apparently, many of the nearby buildings were built from the stones of the cathedral.

The town sits right up against the shore of the North Sea, and walking along the coast is quite cold and windy, but it is still quite a view.  I am hoping for a sunny day to get better pictures of the beach.

The St. Andrews Castle also sits on the beach, and the stretch of of the coast that you can see in the background of the top right picture was the filming location for the famous opening scene of Chariots of Fire.

The University itself is intermixed with the rest of the town, and it is pretty cool to think that I get to study in some of these old buildings that look like they come straight out of a fairytale.  There is so much history here, and it's nice to think that I am now a part of that.

I am very excited for classes to begin!  I think they are going to be pretty challenging and very different from what I am used to in the U.S.  It will be really great to meet other students and see the university in full action.  There aren't many other students here yet, and I am looking forward to meeting people who go here full time rather than just other study abroad students.  One of the things that has surprised me was the amount of American students that attend this university.  There is such a huge proportion of students from outside of Scotland which is pretty cool.  I think it is going to be really fun to study here and can't wait to officially start this semester!