Things really do work out in mysterious ways. As you may know, I have been having a very difficult time finding a flat here in Edinburgh. When I arrived in Edinburgh a week ago, my worst fears came to fruition when I discovered 45 St. Mary's St. and the flatmate was a red herring. I very quickly had a taste of international crime when filing a report with the Lothian and Borders Police. After spending about two hours giving recorded testimony, the detective explained to me that Edinburgh is a hot bed for fraud. He also went on to say that the majority of these frauds were coming out of Nigeria and the funds funnelled through London to terrorist cells. He said that because of Western Unions continued unwillingness to work with law enforcement, new and creative measures were being thought of to crack down on these crimes. The police really appreciated all of the evidence I had printed off for them and they also appreciated that I asked detailed questions in the email conversations. I lost some money, but ultimately I hope law enforcement can bring the criminals to justice.Unfortunately because of the fraudulent flat, I had no place to call home when I arrived. My two very close friends, Mark and Louise Whatmough, have been letting me sleep on their living room floor until I find a place. Over the past week I have sent over 50 email inquires and made dozens of phone calls and viewed six different flats, but in each instance I was not selected to be the flatmate. I was looking for students who were looking for flatmates, as there is no way I could ever afford an entire flat.Yesterday was international day at the University of Edinburgh. The University had an official welcome followed by tours, special informative classes and lectures. I attended the lecture on Scottish culture and history, which was very fascinating! It is worth noting in the highlands, there are stone circles which are ever bit as impressive as Stonehenge. Also the early Scots believed words to be so powerful that they could inflict literal damage on their enemies. The Scots defended the Welsh against Roman invasion and used warriors shouting proses and muses against the Romans. This shocked the Romans so much that the Scots were able to achieve a temporary victory. The Scots also were talented at crafting musical interments, and one such trumpet has been unable to be reproduced using modern technology.
As I was listen to this very fascinating history, I flipped through the programme guide and realized that from 3 to 3.30 pm there was a session on finding accommodation in Edinburgh. I became very excited, as this was the session I needed to attend! Then I looked at my pocket watch and realized the time was 3.35 pm. In the Matt Soper tradition of being late, I ran to the session on accommodation and found several groups of people just chatting amongst themselves. I was into the lecture hall and introduced myself to a gentleman sitting near me. I glanced over at a very beautiful lady who wondered over and I asked them where they were from and they said, "Italy." The gentleman asked if I had my flat all squared away and I laughed and said not really. The lady said that they were looking for a flatmate for the school year. I tagged along with them on a campus tour and then we viewed the flat and met the landlord. Ironically the landlord is from Italy too, but the flat had previously been a law office. It was newly remodelled and in a very posh section of Edinburgh. As a matter of fact, we will most likely be the only students in the building.
After viewing the flat the Italian gentleman and lady asked how old I was and I we discovered that the three of us were the same age. They were starting their Ph.D. s in Biology and I am working on my masters in International Law. They said it was between myself and a French girl. As I hung around, I met the French girl and when the Italians said they were still struggling with English, she said the most incredible sentence, "I believe English to be an inferior language." Right then and there I had a gut feeling that I would be the third flatmate. Later in the evening the Italians called and offered me the flat and asked if I could stand living for nine months with two crazy Italians. I said, as long as they could stand living with one eclectic American. Today is a bank holiday and tomorrow we will review the lease and hopefully be moved in this time next week. Until then, I am very grateful doors were closed with the earlier flats, as Sandra and Fabio are to very cool individuals who are mature and friendly. The flat is a 100 times better than any of the others I had previously seen. This is a testament that God has a plan and if we let him led, he will give us something a 100 times better than we had previously thought was excellent. By the way, the rent is about £60 per month cheaper and the location is in-between the law school (Old College) and were my two good friends, Mark and Louise live. If you want to google earth the address, here it is: 4a Brunton Place, Hillside, Edinburgh.