Elections, Ticket and Job hunting

Poor Alyson didn't stand much of a chance of forming her own opinion on Scottish politics after her internship and the family she married into. Having said that, it has done her well so far with a job, and hopefully will continue to do so in the future. Next month marks the next election for the Scottish Parliament. My dad is standing once again, and at the moment looks fairly likely of being re-elected. It is early days to say how the rest of the election will turn out, but safe to say which side we want to win. At the last election I was just coming to the end of my mission, and I remember my branch president in France telling me that "les independentistes ont gagne en Ecosse!" - How's that for a mouthful? It took me almost 10 minutes to try and translate 'independentistes' in my head. (It's a lot more obvious when it's written out, and not said in a thick French accent I might add! Let's not be too quick to pull out the dunce cap for me please...)

Alyson has taken up a volunteer position with the party (SNP - Scottish National Party) in the hope of becoming better known with candidates and the central office in the hope of securing a permanent paid position after the election in May. Fingers crossed that it pays off, it is certainly taking up a lot of her time and energy. Essentially she organises which candidates attend which hustings (public debates held by specific groups usually on specific issues) - and there are A LOT of them. I, in the meantime, continue to work for my dad and am in the middle of exams. My last exam will be Wednesday, after which point I will head to Aberdeen to work more full-time on the campaign trail. Vive l'Ecosse, Vive l'independence!

I have been less than thrilled with some of my classes this last semester, but am very excited to be heading into my final year of the degree. It gives me great satisfaction to think that by this time next year I can start writing LLB (Hons) after my name and thinking about getting back to a full-time salary! If there is anything that has been tough about working, and then going back to school after my mission - it was giving up the salary that came with full-time. The hope, of course, is that my future potential salary will be considerably greater. Let's hope it works out that way!

(For a brief explanation of the elections - to be taken with a pinch of salt - here is the wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_Parliament_general_election,_2011)

We are still in search of when will be the best time to visit the states in the summer. Ticket prices seem to have soared this year, and with Alyson still looking for a permanent position after May - it makes timing an issue. As soon as we know, we'll let you know.

PARIS

Last month we were lucky enough to have found a really really good deal on flights to Paris. [Internal European flights on low-cost airlines make travel so much easier, though you do sacrifice a little on comfort.] Given that I have a fair amount of inside knowledge on Paris, and how to get around,

we were able to find a hotel out

in the suburbs for much cheaper than downtown, but still close to transport links. It was actually quite fun for me to be back on the RER and the metros. I think it's a novelty for Alyson too, reminding her of her days interning in DC. (Though you would have to say that Paris public transport really wipes the floor with almost any other city in the world).

We were really going for Alyson's birthday, although I'll take any excuse to get back to France. Still - it's not every year that you get taken to one of the most famous cities in the world for your birthday right?!

We arrived on the Saturday night, went straight to the hotel and then went to find a beloved Kebab! We have them in Scotland, but there's just something about the French sauces and bread that they use that just make it much better.

On Sunday we attended one of the units of the church where I had served on my mission. I was really pleased that people still remembered me. Funnily enough there were still a handful that addressed me as Elder. We spent much of the rest of the day on nice walks around the sites. I took Alyson to another area where I served called La Defense, which the French like to think of as little Manhatten. We also got a nice picture by the Arc de Triomphe.

On Monday we went to DISNEYLAND! It was really fun, and surprisingly hot. Whilst the weather has been improving in Scotland, we were surprised to see that in Paris it was already in the high 60's to low 70's. (18-20C). We had a great time, got some pictures with the characters for nieces nephews, and went on many rides. I'll admit that Space Mountain 2 was one rollercoaster too many for me (mainly due to the smell of something quite horrid in the ride itself...).

Late Monday night we were invited for dinner by a family from the ward we attended on Sunday. They were nice enough to take us on a night drive by tour of the sites to see them all lit up. You can see our picture by the Eiffel Tower - it was really magnificent.

On Tuesday we had a fairly leisurely day before catching our flight later that night. We started with a trip to my favourite Tie store (Yves Dorsey), and then went on a boat tour of Paris on the Seine. That was really nice, and again the weather was fantastic. By the time we got done with that it was time to get our things, and head back to Charles De Gaulle for our flight.

Overall we had a fantastic time, got to take some great pictures, and really just de-stress a bit. This essentially was our belated honeymoon with things having gotten so chaotic after the wedding with visa issues etc... It was also our first holiday alone together, and one I'm sure we'll remember for years to come. Now to plan the next adventure...!