So here's the thing: I should be using this blog for my study abroad experience, and thus far, I haven't done a great job of doing so.
So here's a break down of every day since i've been here:
Day 1- Jetlagged and very tired, I went out with Christine and her mother, which was a blast.
We got some dinner, then went to a local bar and got some drinks.
Getting back home was a hike unfortunately, and I have a feeling there
will be no easy way to do it. We found some pubs in this nice back alley called Ashton Lane, a cobble-stoned street with street musicians. I dropped a two-pence coin some guys guitar case, my first coin given to Scotland.The flat was
lonely and kind of scary, and i'm still unsure if someone was actually living here (I keep hearing some creaking and I can't tell if it's
an opening door or not...i'm scared to check). I'm also not sure if i'm
living with freshers (first years) or international students. I'm really
hoping it's international students. I also missed breakfast with
Christine and her mom today because my phone is an hour behind what the
time actually is (I don't know why), and so my alarm didn't go off. I did figure out that the desk chair in my room spins
really fast and can roll across the room....not that i've tried it.
Day 2- Had my first experience on the Glasgow "Underground" today. There's also a subway station in that area to downtown Glasgow, which I
took today. It is so easy to get around, considering the track is a giant loop, which is awesome. Buchanan Street is like the time's Square of Glasgow. It's a pedestrianized, cobble-stone street (A staple of Scottish streets, evidently) with lots of shops, museums, and theatres. Downtown is a wonderful area, full of beautiful architecture and tremendous music and people. I heard at least 17 different accents walking through. I got the
phone I wanted, and a very simple plan that will only be about ten
pounds a month (BOOM). Also,they have like 14 digits in their
phone numbers, which seems excessive to me. Also the phones don't ring
here? It's just a long beeping sound....what the hell is going on here? I
also bought some groceries today (for 14 pounds I get milk, bread, some
plastic cups and silverware, peanut butter, water and apples....I AM
THE MASTER OF LIVING ON MY OWN).
Day 3- Checked with the main desk right now to see if I can expect
any of my roommates today. Apparently someone should be living with me already.....where are they? I didn't go out last night,
so it was very quiet. Spent most of the night journaling, reading, or watching illegal online versions of shows. I walked around Byres Road a bit during the day, which is the main street in the West End of Glasgow. It's full of life and business. the whole driving-on-the-left-side-of-the-road thing still has not fully registered with me yet. It's pretty insane that people can jay-walk when cars come whipping around the corner. The cars are significantly smaller, but i'm convinced one would throw me at least 40 feet. Also, i accidentally put all of my groceries in the freezer instead of the fridge, and my milk and water froze. My apples are all of varying shapes, and squishy following the defrosting. Maybe I need to get a little better at this surviving on my own stuff.
Less than an hour later- I have one flatmate! Her name is Qiao (pronounced Chow, but she
said I could call her Georgia...thank god), and she's from China. She's
very tired, but at least i'm not lonely anymore. My phone was acting up pretty terribly (apparently Orange (the company) gave told me the wrong number, which is great), but the problem seems to be relatively "fixed" after hours calling the phone company and bitching to others. I wandered around campus a bit today....it's absolutely huge. I have no
idea what are academic buildings and which are offices...so the 17th
should be fun. All of it looks like something that Dracula should be haunting (which is coincidentally a term they use for "visited frequently", see: "It's a popular haunt in these areas".) Or even Hogwarts. The Union (giant tower) is taller than Gasson, and even older. All of it is incredibly intimidating. Christine and I went out with her roommate, Rachel, and another girl
that Rachel knew, named Frida. Both are really awesome. We went out to
his nice restaurant (on Ashton Lane) that used to be a theatre and now is a pub and
eatery. Really awesome beer (Tennents, mmmmm), and great music selection. They do live music too, and i'm really looking forward to hearing some Scottish bands in pubs soon. Stole a cloth napkin for a dish towel, because why not express my kleptomania over here too? I'm meeting a lot of people over here that remind of folks back home, but maybe i'm just looking for comparisons.
Day 4- Orientation. We heard about how to register for courses and the process of getting
everything finalized as far as academics go. The Study Abroad and
Exchange Office does a lot for us, which is really nice. I'm in the
process of checking with my adviser to see how I go about carrying over
credits and so on. I might take a Exploring Scottish Culture class,
which would be really cool. It's set up similarly to American Studies,
in that in covers the History and the Literature of Scotland throughout
time and how culture shaped the country, rather than the other way
around. There's this really amazing event happening in Scottish
Parliament right now, where for two years (it's been going on for a
year) the people have the opportunity to vote on whether Scotland will
receive it's independence from the UK. Apparently that is all supposed
to be decided by April. It would be incredible, seeing as for years
Scotland has gone back and forth on the idea of not being ruled by Great
Britain, and seeking it's freedom. The woman (one of the Study Abroad
Advisers, Collette McGowan) explained it that you can ask any Scottish
citizen, and on any given day they will give you a different answer to
the question "should Scotland by free?". The Scottish Culture course
would cover this idea, and focus on it's impact on the country. We met the rest of the BC students who are here (there's 5 of us total)
and planned with the BC liason several trips. Her name is Rhona and
she's wonderful. Plus, BC covers all of the expenses, and frankly, what
the hell else could you want out of this abroad experience? So we're
going out to dinner with her next week, then to a futbol game, then a
weekend trip to the Highlands (and to Loch Ness........fuck yeah
Nessie). the other students from BC are really awesome. I actually went
on Kairos with one of the girls (Michele). I was talking to the other
boy with me (Sean) and he was also trying to figure out the whole Bank
of America-getting money issue. He said that he was told that Barclay
would maybe give him a debit card which would work with his BOA account.
So we walked (like a 45 minute walk) into the East-end of the city to
the nearest Barclay chain. When we got there, they said we'd have to
open an account with them, and we couldn't do that if we were only here
for one semester. Apparently that's an issue with most banks in the UK. Also had some of the best fish and chips i've ever. Scottish pubs are the freakin' best. Went grocery shopping last night, and walked over 50 pounds of groceries two miles back to my flat in the rain. Scotland has me as her Bitch.
Which brings us to Today, Day 5- Went on my walking tour today of Glasgow, and took lots of pictures. Finally saw the majority of the University, which is overwhelmingly huge. But the tour guide was helpful. There are competing Student Unions here, so I'll be joining one of those. It feels like fall over here, but every
night it rains. I keep thinking "and at night, the rain comes..." in a
really ominous voice. Also, apparently it's not appropriate to sing to
yourself around here? And I thought the streets were going to be filled
with that. Right now, I am drinking my first legally-purchased beer from a grocery store. Stella tastes so much better in Europe, and I don't know why.
So that's Scotland so far in a nutshell. It's wonderful, and scary, and nothing like I expected. Thank God for that.
Until later,
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