Where to begin...

So, where to begin...

The first moment I knew things were going to be different was in the airport, when I was already hearing many different accents. Mostly they were English, as my flight was to London. Immediately, I also observed how many people looked "European" or perhaps "British" is a better way to put it. I don't quite know how to describe it, but suffice to say that it is fairly easy to pick out Americans. The flight was relatively uneventful. I took half a sleeping pill and fell asleep as soon as I finished the meal. I think it freaked out the guy next to me a bit, how solidly I fell asleep. Anyways, I didn't use the bathroom the entire flight... that's right I can hold it for 9 hours. No problem.

When I got to London, I was surprised at how easy it was to get "Permission to Stay as a Student Visitor". I talked to an official about what I was doing in the UK, I didn't even have to show any documents, and he stamped my passport and let me through!

When I reached the gate for the connection to Glasgow, I was listening to two men talking behind me. I thought it might be English with an incredibly strong Scottish accent, but now I think perhaps it was Scots? (read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scots_language) Regardless, I enjoyed trying to discover what they were saying, but I pretty much understood none of it, which means it can't count as eavesdropping. :)

The flight was relatively uneventful, although it was a struggle to find the University shuttle that was supposed to take me to my flat. After a bit of a ride, we arrived at "Murano Street Student Village". My room is wonderful, but the hallway and the doors connecting the rooms are very prison-like. They're old and cinder blocks, painted plain white and the doors do not stay open... In addition, there is no common living area, or common room. Just a kitchen. And a bit of a sorry excuse for a kitchen.

Almost as soon as I got to my room, I heard my flatmate leaving his room. I immediately poked my head out, and met Carlos, who is from Madrid. Carlos wanted to shopping so we headed to the main office and asked where we should go. Conveniently, there is a Tesco (think Wal-Mart) just around the corner. After buying some food and realizing that I forgot to buy plenty of other important things, such as toilet paper, we walked the 15 or so minutes back to our flat. I was fairly exhausted from the plane flight and went to bed at 9 pm, only to wake up at 5 am and be unable to fall back asleep.

The next day was the first day of orientation and most of the people from my flat, including a guy from Boston, and a girl from Japan, headed to orientation. Carlos, as an Erasmus student, has his own orientation. In our orientation, it was mostly US folk, followed by Chinese, then Australians, New Zealanders, and various other Asian students.

We learned plenty of boring things, like how to register and enroll. That night, we went in search of a pub and ended up on Ashton Lane. The pubs were nice, but noticeably it was an older crowd. Nevertheless, we ordered a couple pints, and the guys from Boston insisted on ordering a couple shots. The people in the pub were quite friendly. One guy was telling us that we were in the nice part of town so drinks were perhaps the most expensive there than in all of Glasgow. Fantastic. Apparently the city center is most inexpensive, and more of a student hang out...

The few girls my age that I did see were dressed to the nines. They had on high heels, which I have no idea how they wear them on cobblestone, short skirts, tights and no jacket. The girls must have blood made of ice because I don't think I would be able to do it. I have come to be comfortable with the idea that I will most likely stand out when I go out... That doesn't bother me too much. A few German girls I have met are in agreement with me, so I believe it's more a British thing than a European one.

Anyhoo, today I have a tour of Stirling Castle and Glengoyne Distillery, and I have to run to get ready!

I haven't taken any pictures yet, but I will on this trip for sure, and try to post them. I must say, I love the international atmosphere and find myself avoiding other Americans because there are so many interesting people from other places to talk to... Already I feel like I will not be here as long as I desire, and the semester will go to fast.