Do you like my alliteration in the title of this blog post? :)
Sorry I've not updated the blog in a while! I've been too busy enjoying Scotland (as well as some films, naps, food, etc). Basically, I am just being too lazy to write a wee blog post (see what I did there? wee=small). After reading through my last blog post, which was quite exhausting, I'm gonna try and keep these more short, sweet and to the point!
Anyways, where to begin... Brianna visited me a couple weeks ago, or maybe it was more than a couple weeks. It was quite the challenge, as it always is when someone visits "your" city. I wanted to be sure her trip was worthwhile. So here's how I think I'll do this blog post, I'll start off with a play-by-play of things we did each day, followed by pictures from the various things, and then short stories about the pictures!!
Brianna arrived Tuesday Oct. 11th and left Saturday Oct. 15th.(Okay, I guess it has been a bit longer than a couple weeks).
Tuesday:
-Brianna and I meet up at the Bus Station where she caught a bus from Edinburgh
-we eat at Pinto (the closest equivalent is Chipotle), one of few Mexican places here
-drop off bags at my flat
-head to Tesco to buy food and drinks for the night
-pre-drink and then night out in Glasgow!!
Night out!!!
So a little tradition that started at my flat (now hosted elsewhere), is Tuesday night drinks followed by a night out clubbing! This night, we went to Kushion, where I had never been. My opinion that girls here don't get cold was confirmed... pretty much everyone I saw that wasn't in our group had on short dresses and high heels! Nevertheless, good fun was had. :)
Wednesday:
-I go to class in the morning
-meet up with Breeze
-we walk around the University (while Breeze hums Harry Potter)
-visit the Hunterian Museum
-visit the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum
-journey to city centre and visit the Cathedral, and I am disappointed the Necropolis isn't open
-have a nice cup of coffee in a cool little coffee shop
-book tour for the next day, and call it an early night!
Part of the University of Glasgow!!
The main part of the University of Glasgow is gorgeous, and frankly, looks a lot like Hogwarts. Notice, it is wet out, a common occurrence in (especially western) Scotland.
Hunterian Museum
Perhaps this is a little gross, but it is a preserved fetus in the uterus! It is apart of the Hunterian Museum. The Hunterian Museum contains the collections of Dr. William Hunter, and has many interesting medically related things!
Kelvingrove Museum
Kelvingrove Museum is huge. Like I don't think I could see all the exhibitions if I spent all day there. These hanging heads were really cool, all of them had different facial expressions! I told Breeze to make a face, then smiled. So nice of me. :)
Glasgow Cathedral
Glasgow Cathedral is probably my favorite part of all of Glasgow so far. It is gorgeous, and I couldn't help but think of the heavens when walking through it. It is the only medieval cathedral on the Scottish mainland to have survived the Reformation. The University of Glasgow was also founded in this Cathedral in 1452!! (Take a moment to reflect on the fact that the University of Glasgow existed before Columbus sailed the ocean blue.)
Thursday:
-I skip all classes (sorry mom)! Wake up at 630 am
-meet in the City Centre at 8 am for a day tour of the highlands
-stops at:
Loch Lomond
Glen Coe and the Three Sisters
Ben Nevis
Fort Williams
Loch Ness (longest stop, includes cruise of the loch)
Pitlochry
- finally arrive home at 8ish, get ready for a night out#
- head to a club called the Arches for a Ceilidh (cay-lee), aka traditional scottish dance
- dance the night away!!!!
Our tour bus from Timberbush tours!
We spent hours in this bus travelling into the Highlands and back! The tour guide knew plenty of information (which I have since forgotten). Scotland is gorgeous! Looking out the windows, it felt like a dream. Unfortunately, none of those window pictures turned out too well. :(
Loch Lomond
Loch Lomond was the first stop of the trip! I loved how the mist seemed to cling to the mountains... It felt so mysterious and quintessentially Scottish.
Loch Ness
We got to take a cruise on Loch Ness, and we kept our eyes peeled for Nessie, but didn't spot him/her/it. This was the main destination of our tour, and we probably stopped the longest here. One of many gorgeous lochs (lakes) in Scotland!
Ceilidh!
That night, after spending all day on a tour bus, we headed out to a ceilidh. Of course, we had to get a picture with someone in a kilt! It was pretty funny, because neither of us knew what we were doing. My Scottish friend Eleanor enjoyed making fun of our attempts to do the dances correctly (in fact she's still making fun of me to this day). I lucked out and danced with an equally clueless Chinese girl! Poor Breeze danced with a very serious, kilt-wearing Scot. He didn't seem too pleased when she, and the rest of our group, had no idea what we were doing!!!
Friday:
-I wake up absurdly early to revise for a test that I haven't been studying for
-meet up with breeze at 2, who had woken up at 1 (lucky her)
-catch a bus to Edinburgh around 4
-walk around Edinburgh at night
-meet up with friends from the hostel for a couple of pints
Edinburgh Castle at night!
So, this didn't happen until Saturday, but I'm gonna go ahead and put the story here. Our Timberbush tour guide told us that there was a way to get into Edinburgh Castle for free. Of course we wanted to know how (who in the world would spend 14 GBP when you could get in for free?!). He told us that there is War Museum housed in the castle. All the museums, by law, must let you in for free. So we were supposed to go tell them that we were there to see the War Museum and they had to let us in for free. Of course, it took us a good 30 minutes (and when I say us, I mean Brianna) to work up the nerve to ask them. And when they did, they said, "Sorry you still have to buy a ticket!" LAW BREAKERS! Hahahaha. So we didn't end up seeing the castle, as I couldn't justify paying close to 30 quid for both of us to get in.
Hostel companions and us!
We met some friendly guys from France, Ireland, and Germany! We got a couple pints with them, before I complained of exhaustion (Breeze probably slept 10 hours more than I had over the previous 3 days) and called it an early night, so we could get up early the next day to explore Edinburgh!!
Saturday:
-traditional Scottish breakfast (complete with haggis)
-walk around Edinburgh:
Holyrood Park
Royal Mile
Edinburgh Castle
Princess St
Scotts Monument
Parliament
Parliament Building
The parliament building is new and quite an architectural marvel (admittedly not as cool as Copenhagen). It would have been nice to get a free guided tour, but time was not on our side!
Holyrood Park
Holyrood Park is massive with big hills. We got our exercise for the day in by climbing and hiking around the park. It's kinda Scotland in miniature because of the various features including a small loch, beautiful green hills, and gorgeous scenery.
Scotts Monument
We climbed up a couple hundred steps (256 I believe) to reach the top of Scotts Monument. At the very end, almost comically, the winding staircase got extremely narrow with very little head room. A friend from Edinburgh has said that she's afraid she'll get stuck in trying to go up (or down) behind some fat and obnoxious American (love the stereotyping).
Edinburgh Castle
This castle was PACKED with people and tourists everywhere. Unlike Glasgow, Edinburgh has more of an international feel (at least where we were) because all of the tourists walking around. Breezy informed me (multiple times) that she likes Edinburgh a lot more than Glasgow. It's kinda funny, but I almost felt offended that she said that, and felt the need to defend Glasgow. Am I turning into a Glaswegian?!? Just as long as I don't develop the strong and impossible to understand Glesga accent.
THE END!!!
As a final treat, I'll leave you with pictures of Breeze enjoying some treats that Scotland is somewhat renowned for. Fried Mars Bar and Irn Bru!!!
Fried Mars Bar!!!
IRN BRU (Iron Brew)
PS. Quick real time update!! Life is going good, just finished off pretty much the only assignments I have to do all semester. I am more than halfway through the term at Glasgow, sad to say. It's sad to me that in a little over a month I'll be leaving my friends here. Glasgow is as rainy as ever, and it's getting colder. Not gonna lie, I really want some snow. Also, it's dark by 5 and the sun doesn't rise until at least 730. Really long nights... And the days are only going to get shorter from here! :( It's too bad I don't get to experience the opposite in the summer, where the days will be much longer than "normal" (whatever normal is).
Adios from Scotland! I'll try and update with my other trips soon! (Aberdeen and Isle of Skye)
This past weekend, I traveled to the happiest place on earth. I know what you're thinking.... Why in the world did I go to Disneyland from Glasgow?
The truth of the matter is that I didn't go to Disneyland... Instead I visited the truly happiest place on earth. Aka, Denmark. I went for the weekend to Copenhagen, Denmark to visit Jeff who is studying there.
Now, I've contemplated how to write this blog post. I enjoyed playing the tourist and seeing the cool sites of Copenhagen. However, part of the experience was the atmosphere and ambiance in Copenhagen that I felt was distinct and unique compared to anywhere else I've been (Scotland, California, Oklahoma, etc). So the question becomes, how do you capture the atmosphere of a city with words?
The flight I was on had a magazine on various destinations they flew to. Of course, inside was Denmark, and more specifically Copenhagen. This magazine was sure to point out that Denmark has been recognized as being the country with the happiest people out of the entire world. Now, I thought this sounded fine and dandy, but didn't expect much of it.
Below you will find descriptions of what I did, but it's harder to capture how all of it felt. Optimism and happiness seemed to saturate the air. I found myself perfectly happy throughout the trip, despite having been exhausted the first day, and exploring alone on the second. Smiles were plentiful, and the people seemed relatively stress free. The calm happiness was practically contagious.
The first I saw of Copenhagen was some massive windmills seemingly floating above the clouds. Jeff has since informed me that this is done on purpose, as if to remind everybody entering that "We are Denmark, we believe in sustainability". It certainly worked for me, because I was immediately impressed.
The airport wasn't too hard to navigate, although it was odd seeing a language other than English as the language displayed first. Underneath most of the headings in Danish, would be another in English.
Jeff met me at the airport, and directed me a short way to the train which was a short ride away from his apartment. The efficiency of the public transportation endeared me to their system. They zone the entire system, and base prices on how many zones you travel. you receive a punch card, and punch the card for however far you travel. It is good on any sort of public transportation, be it metro, train, bus, boat bus, etc.
Initial impressions of Denmark? Lots of blonde hair. Everyone is fit. There are tons of children, everywhere. Girls wear these massive woolen scarves (which Jeff warned me about, but I didn't quite believe it until I saw it). Everyone wears coats, even when it is fairly warm (odd). There is a certain efficiency to how everything is ran in Copenhagen. Everything is seemingly sustainable and practical, but with an undeniable "less-is-more" style.
After we arrived at Jeff's apartment, which was quite nice, he immediately started pointing out the architecture. Copenhagen has this newer neighborhood, known as Orestad (I think.. Jeff, help here?), with some stunning architectural marvels. Mostly, it seemed as though they were apartment type buildings. But they were amazing! There were plenty of them, along the stretch of the metro that was near Jeff.
Pictures:
I am sure I am missing some... I grabbed these off the internet, but they do not quite do the buildings justice. The buildings are quite the pieces of art. Needless to say, I was already impressed.
The first place Jeff took me was to Christianshavn, where we climbed up the spire of a tall church that overlooks Copenhagen. there were many, many stairs in the process. I had just finished telling Jeff how much I was walking in Scotland, and then I proceeded to huff and puff my way up those stairs. It was also understandabley quite windy. I should have taken pictures, but I did try and take video. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, my camera is only capable of taking videos that are like 10 seconds long max. Here's one such video:
After, I desperately had to use the restroom. Jeff asked one of the ladies working at the church, where the nearest restroom was. She had no idea what we were talking about. It was then that I remembered that in Britain they would say toilet instead of restroom or bathroom. So I asked for a toilet, and the lady understood that. My British language knowledge proved to be useful in Denmark! Apparently, the Danes learn British English instead of American English.
Also in the area of Christanhavn, was Christiana. Christiana "is a self-proclaimed autonomous neighbourhood of about 850 residents, covering 85 acres". (source: wikipedia.org) Basically, they consider themselves separate from Denmark. In this area, there are basically no rules. Drugs on the street, etc. No pictures were allowed in the "Green Light District", where pot and mushrooms were plentiful. I didn't partake in any of these recreational activities, but did browse the various goods in the shops. I wish I had a picture, but alas, if I tried to pull out my camera I was informed that "the skinheads" would come after me. We did take some pictures once we left though...
The Christiana Flag
Bevar means preserve. At least that's what the friendly man we asked told us.
Jeff in Christiana.
The graffiti was so cool, and everywhere!!
Jeff wanted to show me an architecture exhibit in the area. It was really impressive, although I don't think I could truly appreciate it, because I don't have the knowledge of architecture that people studying it, such as Jeff, would have.
Then we headed to Nyhavn. It was across the harbor from where we were, so we hopped on the metro It's the picturesque stretch of colored houses near the harbor that mostly everyone has undoubtedly seen if they have seen anything of Copenhagen. It was really pretty, and we took pictures, but I think they're on Jeff's camera. Here's one from the internet:
I was fairly exhausted (I woke up at 330 am to catch a cab at 4 am), so I recommended that perhaps we should head back to Jeff's apartment, he could work on some of his school work and I could get some much needed sleep so that I was functional for the rest of the weekend. First we went shopping in the mall across from Jeff's apartment. It was quite odd to see everything in the "wrong" language. It was like... you could never be quite sure of what you were buying. Jeff told me he loves to make these mini pizzas, and I thought they sounded good. We grabbed some pesto and green onions and made pesto green onion pizzas! They were delicious.
The next day, Friday, Jeff had studio. That meant that I got to explore Copenhagen on my own. This was quite daunting to me... Being in a foreign city by myself sounded quite scary. Jeff had helped me out by circling places on the map that I could visit, and giving me a brief run down on some things I ought to know. We headed out a little late that morning, so although we had planned to have pastries together for breakfast, we had to forgo those plans. Jeff's studio is just off the main walking street of the city, Stroget. He left and I set out on my own.
First things first, I needed breakfast. There was a pastry place just across the street, so I grabbed a pastry and a coffee. It cost me the equivalent of $8! And so I learned a valuable lesson: coffee in Denmark costs much more than I am used to. I walked briskly down the street in search of a bench to eat my pastry, drink my coffee, and have a look at the map so I could get oriented. I found a nice bench and immediately decided that I would head to the "King's Garden" and perhaps take a nap to kill some time until Jeff was finished.
Of course, I ended up in the botanical gardens instead of the King's Garden, which was just across the street. After finally figuring out where the king's garden was, I slipped inside. The place was quite large and filled with children playing, laughing, and being adorable. In the gardens is the Rosenburg Castle. This area of the gardens was filled with tourists. I stayed away from the castle for a bit and meandered through the walkways.
Pictures:
I don't know who this statue is, but I thought it was neat.
Next, I headed next to Rosenburg Castle. There were lots of tourists snapping pictures of pretty much every aspect of the castle, and I overheard some Americans talking. It was almost nice to hear an American accent, a bit of familiarity. The building was old and pretty neat. I snapped a couple picture, and a nice lady took the only picture of me I got the entire day.
The castle is actually through the gate.
The only picture of me all day!
I wandered around the gardens a bit more before I decided that I ought to head to the Marble Church and Amaliensborg Palace, which Jeff had pointed out to me on the map.
It was a bit of a walk, but it wasn't hard to figure out the map and streets I should be on.
The Marble Church was beautiful, and it contained the largest dome ceiling in all of Scandinavia.
Pics:
In the church, there were many signs asking everyone to be silent (they were also posted in many languages), because the church was intended for prayer and worship. This struck me as funny, because everyone I saw in the church was a tourist, and was thus there to take pictures. Everyone (silently) had their cameras out, and were snapping away.
A few additional pictures:
Right across the street was Amalienborg Palace. This is considered the "winter home" of the Danish royal family. The palace consists of four palaces around a square. One residence belongs to the Queen, the other belongs to the Crown Prince, and if I understand correctly the last two are for official functions and guests. A Danish flag is flown above the residences if the Crown Prince or Queen are currently residing in their palaces. When I visited, the Crown Prince was in residence but not the Queen.
There was a Danish guard that marched around the square in quite a ceremonial procession to check upon each of the palaces. I found it quite amusing, because as they marched, a gaggle of tourists followed them around snapping pictures. They would march, and the tourists would run after them. At one point, I was just such a tourist, for I couldn't resist trying to snap a few shots.
I finally grew tired of the tourist cloud, and headed to the park right next to the harbor, behind the Amalienborg Palace. There was a good view of the opera house behind a fountain, and I snapped some pictures of that. Many like to call the opera house, "The Toaster", because of the metal grill surrounding the bottom. It was intended to be glass, but because of discrepancies between the architect and the man who payed for the building, it ended up with a much less attractive metal grill. Jeff can explain more extensively.
Fountain, and Opera house in the distance:
I walked along the harbor a bit, before finding myself once again right next to Nyhavn. I followed it until I reached some of the main walking streets. I meandered around a bit, used a public restroom (I think I used pretty much every public restroom in Copenhagen during this day), and eventually found myself off a street near Stroget at the Round Tower. I decided that I would pay the 25 kroner, and see what I could (as well as kill some time waiting for Jeff).
The Round Tower is unique because it was made so that one of the Kings (forgot which, oops) could ride his horse all the way up to the top. This was another one of those touristy places, and I was encountered many different accents and languages: Spanish, (American and British) English, German, French, etc. I walked alone to the top, where I removed a bagel sandwich that I had packed, and ate it while looking out over the beautiful view of Copenhagen.
I ate lunch, sat for about 30 minutes taking in the beautiful sight, then decided that I would head out once again.
At this point, I had already walked along the street I was on, and once again found myself near the Botanic Gardens. Despite Jeff telling me that the gardens were not worth my time, I wanted to meander through them and quite enjoyed their beauty as well as the glasshouses, despite the fact that I could not get inside said glasshouses.
I sat for a bit, people watching and enjoying the serenity. I dozed off for a bit, before deciding that I should keep moving.
I was running out of "things to do" and decided that I would find a cup of coffee and read the philosophy book I had brought . I knew of a cafe within the King's Garden, so once again I found myself walking through the King's Garden. I bought the coffee, which was quite small, and was pretty annoyed when I realized I had payed about $5 for a coffee that was pretty tiny. This just reinforced my understanding that coffee should not be bought, because it was too expensive and not worth the price.
My coffee and book in the King's Garden
I finished the coffee, read a couple chapters of Descartes' Meditations, and once again moved on.
I stopped taking pictures at this point, but after wandering through the gardens, I found myself in front of what appeared to be a free museum. I went inside to use the public toilet (another one! hooray for public toilets!) and then perused the main lobby. At this point I realized that I had missed a call and text from Jeff. Apparently he finished early! Woot! It was 4 instead of 5:15.
I called Jeff briefly (Ack! International call charges). He told me he would meet me at the fountain that he had marked upon my map.
In the process of trying to reach this point, I got a bit lost and disoriented for I ended up kitty-corner to the spot I intended to be. I finally figured out where I needed to be headed, and found myself in a park where I thought Jeff had marked the fountain.
Unfortunately, this fountain drawing Jeff had made, was intended not as the location of the fountain, but more as a reminder that I ought to meet him at the fountain. I was quite confused when I was sure I had reached the location, but was no fountain.
Finally, we figured everything out, and I met Jeff at the bakery where I had gotten breakfast, which was across the street from where his studio was.
At this point, I was quite exhausted and we decided the best bet was to head back to Jeff's apartment. We would both eat, then I could nap and he could work on school work before heading out for the night.
We had some pizzas (delicious!) once again, and I took a wonderfully fulfilling nap. Jeff was planning on meeting up with some of his friends from his "buddy system". This system pairs up American DIS students with Danish students to encourage the mixing and mingling between the groups.
The group we were to meet up with was a metro and bus ride away. Unfortunately for us, we did not realize that the same bus numbers (6A) travel in BOTH directions. We got on the bus heading in the wrong direction, before talking to the bus driver, realizing our mistake, taking the metro once again, and finally finding the correct bus.
Copenhagen allows people to consume alcohol in public, and I never realized quite how nice and useful such a law/rule would be. We bought some beers beforehand and could comfortably drink them while walking to our destination.
The "buddy group" we met up with was incredibly nice, and surprisingly mostly Americans. There was also a girl from Iceland, a guy from Portugal, and I think one or two Danes. We then headed out to a bar.
I was feeling slightly inebriated, but the alcohol was flowing and drinks were being bought for the group continuously. I wish I knew who bought the drinks, because I never properly thanked them. I had some enjoyable conversation and pointed out some things to the Danes that I didn't quite understand (aka, what the heck, why do you wear huge scarves even when it's warm). Jeff and I called it an "early" night. It felt quite late to me, around 230 am. But apparently, the average night out was until 430 or 5 am. I was quite grateful that we headed back "early" because I thought I might fall asleep standing up if we had stayed too much longer.
The next morning, we slept in until around 11. I was insistent on having another pastry for breakfast, so we bought a couple, along with a carton of orange juice, from a grocery store nearby Jeff's flat.
Jeff knew of some Cal Poly engineers, studying abroad in Stockholm, who would be visiting Copenhagen, and thought it would a good idea if we met up with them.
We meandered around Stroget, before meeting up with the group near a neat little skate park. This skate park was located near a pond/lake. Apparently these "lakes" used to enclose and encircle Copenhagen, and a few have been left in their original positions, to be found throughout the city.
We then headed, with the help of directionally gifted Justin, to Vesterbro. This is the western part of the city, and is more "ethnic" (aka asian/middle eastern). This part of the city had a bit of a different feel or atmosphere.
It was much more similar to Glasgow. The building were older, and didn't appear as touristy. The people walking the streets appeared to be locals rather than a sea of visitors. This part of the city almost felt more authentic.
It still maintained some of it's "Danish charm" however. The children were still plentiful. People still seemed to have a unwaveringly sunny disposition.
We found a couple of cool murals, before we found ourselves in an amazing children's playground. I think I must have missed out as a child, because I have never encountered a playground quite like this.
Just walking city streets
Cool mural
mural on the opposite side of the street
Notice Jeff and Justin climbing amongst the children... They're still children at hearrt!!! Also, how awesome it this playground?!?!
More of just walking around Copenhagen
We stumbled upon a small bike fair... tons and tons of people ride bikes, figures that they would have a bike fair!
After meandering around the city, we decided to head back to the flat so Jeff could work on more school, and I could take another nap. (Woot!!) That night, we had planned to head to Tivoli, an old amusement park in the middle of Copenhagen that had been open for probably a century. It was described to me as "a much cooler Disneyland".
We got to Tivoli around 8 or so (I think). We met up with some folk from Cal Poly SLO. At this point, it was night out, and the lights were really impressive. Gorgeous.
We didn't get a great picture of the front because there was some construction going on, but once inside the lights were just as pretty, if not prettier.
Out front
There were also rides, but each ride cost about the equivalent of $10, so we decided that our money was better spent in other ways.
We ended up in a beer garden, where Jeff joined his friends in drinking 1 liter of beer. I decided against this, because I wasn't sure if I had enough room in my stomach for a liter of beer. Haha.
After watching a light show, we walked to a bar. I was tired once again, and we called it an "early night". We ended up home around 230 or 3.
The final day I was in Copenhagen, Jeff and I took a canal tour that wove in and out of the canals and around the harbor. It was very informative, although of course I don't remember much of what was said. It was a beautifully sunny day out, so we decided afterwards to grab some cider and sit on the harbor. What a relaxing and great way to end my time in Copenhagen!!!
Sorry that the end of this blog post was so abrupt, but I am about to head off to Edinburgh the weekend and I wanted to get this finished!! It's taken me a good while to finally write it all, and I apologize. Expect a post about Edinburgh next! Love and miss you all!
Classes are about to begin, and I've already been in Scotland for two weeks! I guess it's true what they say... time flies when you're having fun!
The first week was "International Orientation". This consisted of, as previously stated, some boring meetings, but also a few bit more fun things. For instance, I had the opportunity to take a trip to Sterling Castle and Glengoyne Distillery!!!
Below are two pictures from Sterling Castle.
The castle was pretty neat, and as far as the history goes, in short it was in a vital position in Scotland and changed hands frequently between the English and Scottish.
I would say more, but I had a hard time hearing anything because our tour group was so large.
Glengoyne distillery was a whisky (people in the states would probably call it "Scotch") distillery that is apparently known for their fruitiness, and lack of smoke or peat. The older the whisky is, the more expensive it is. The whole concept reminds me a bit of wine... As in, I doubt I would be able to taste too much of a difference between 10 year old whisky and 40 year old whisky, but I most definitely would feel it in my pocketbook. I had the opportunity to taste a "wee dram" of Glengoyne's 10 year old whisky, and found that it tastes like... alcohol. It would be similar to me to having a glass of vodka... Don't quite see the point. But nevertheless, whisky is what the Scots are known for.
That brings up another thing... In addition to being known for whisky, Scotland also has it's very own soda that outsells all Coke and Pepsi products. Its called Irn Bru (pronounced iron brew), and tastes remarkably like bubble gum. Why it is orange, I have no idea. I have had Irn Bru twice now, and no diet Dr Pepper amazingly enough.
The other thing that happened during the "Orientation Week" that deserves mentioning was a city tour. We hopped on a charter bus for a 2 hour whirlwind tour of the city. Now, I will have to go visit all of these places on my own because a bus tour just does not suffice.
Now, moving on... the week after the Orientation Week was Freshers' week. Basically, think a freshman (here they are known as freshers) orientation, with parties put on by the student unions at night.
Another side note: the US Universities have student unions, but they are just buildings with various student services and places to eat. The student unions in the UK are a student body and a place. They have a voice on campus, they have different committees, throw themed parties, as well as host other events. Glasgow Uni is unique, because where most unis have one union, Glasgow has two. They are awfully competitive with one another, it reminds me a bit of fraternity rivalry. Technically you are only supposed to join one, but I am told there are ways around this. The two unions are:
-Queen Margaret Union, traditionally the girl's union, but now it has a bit more of a quirky reputation from what I gather. They also have a lot of cool gigs at their venue.
-Glasgow University Union, traditionally the male union. They remind me of the "popular kids"
Needless to say, people from both unions are very nice. Perhaps this is only because they want me to join theirs??
Anyhoo, so each day is filled with various events and each night, each union has a different party. Some highlights include: headphone disco at the QMU where you have a pair of headphones and get to choose between which two DJ's you want to listen to, jungle themed party at the GUU where some friends and I dressed up like lions with onesies, a T-shirt party where you sign everybody else's T-shirt (I ended up with a number written on my shirt among other things... but it was signed Amy) and various other nights. It was tons of fun.
Classes started today, so perhaps it is time I gave my liver a break... I'll save things about class for another post.
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.
A couple of years ago I went skydiving. I went solo, not tandem. I sat through about 4 hours of training, before I eased myself out of that airplane... and let go!
I learned that perhaps the most important part of all the equipment was the parachute, and insuring that it was packed correctly. With this mentality, I tackled the grave situation of packing for Glasgow.
Perhaps leaving for study abroad is less of a life-or-death issue, but I spent a good deal of time contemplating what I should pack, and finally, packing it. So I am officially packed! Amazingly enough, when I first packed everything, the weight of the luggage was only 40 lbs. The limit for British Airways, which I am flying on, is 50 lbs. So why not go for a bigger parachute to ease the descent after you jump out of the plane? Logically I packed more.
I have gone through the training, that I am sure, as I discovered when sky diving, does not adequately prepare you for the experience you are about to have. The OU study abroad office has supplied me with information regarding what to expect, including culture shock, money matters, and medical information. The University of Glasgow has sent me packets for the International Student Orientation, as well as the International Student Handbook. Nevertheless, the experience cannot be truly prepared for.
I had nervous thoughts and excitement in anticipation of jumping out of a plane, and I am feeling them now as I wait the last couple of hours before I head to the airport. I have great expectations for this semester, but also some fears, including: what if I didn't pack adequately (I don't want a parachute failure!), what if I have issues navigating the largest city in Scotland, and what if I have immense home sickness. I don't want to crash land!!! I am excited at the thought of experiencing "Fresher's Week" (more on this later), meeting new people, and learning about Scotland and the Scottish people.
As I discovered when sky diving, there is no way to describe the experience of flying through the air. The entire time I came down from that plane, I was laughing for joy with a huge smile of elation on my face.
The hardest part of the entire thing was getting out of that plane.
My parachutes packed, my training is completed. I am ready for the experience of a lifetime! All I've gotta do now, is jump!!!
