Learning... About life and such

Oh School, how I love thee, you are a place where I live and learn, and for half a year I am in Glasgow doing it! (HA ha, dreams do come true) It turns out that other than learning about scholarly things I also get to learn about Scotland while I am here (who would’ve thunk?). Like the school I am currently attending is the 4^th oldest school in the English Speaking world, and the 2^nd oldest school in Scotland, falling behind The University of St. Andrews which is where Prince William went to University!!! My school was originally founded in the City Centre; however it was moved to the West End of Glasgow when the city got too crowded. However I feel that the West End is much more crowded… (It makes no sense) The Biology Building was actually on fire at some point in time, so it has been rebuilt. Other than that I must say that I feel my University is surprisingly small considering that over 20,000 people attend school here, it does help though that the many dorms are removed from the main campus, so it’s like there is less than there really is (Sneaky Scots). My school is right next to Kelvingrove Park, a subway station, and the Botanic Gardens (So many options). So after school was finished this week I decided to utilize the subway station, seeing as I have already used the Botanic Gardens, and Kelvingrove Park is rather boring (however I might actually spend time figuring out about that in future).

Our lovely little subway, known as Clockwork Orange because it only goes in a circle

I went down to the City Centre to look at the many shopping oportunities on Saturday, and it was very fun, they have so many fantastic stores it made me want to spend all of my money. The stores are also in these gorgeous old buildings, and the shopping down in the city centre is sprawling so there is plenty to do. I also decided to go down to Glasgow Green on Sunday, which is the oldest park in Glasgow and lies right next to the River Clyde. At Glasgow Green there is a building known as the People’s Palace where you can go through a “museum” that features Scottish history through the wars, and also general facts about the city and where people could live, what was done back in the day, and also full of Scottish Brands such as Irn Bru (Iron Brew is the pronunciation) There is also a small “winter garden” attached to the People’s Palace so that people can enjoy some plant life during all of Glasgow’s wild seasons.

A church down by the buchanan shopping area, look at how cute it is.

Considering the weather in Scotland is somewhat mad, which is like the weather in Colorado in that we can experience all seasons in one day, I was still rather easily surprised by this week’s weather. On Wednesday and Thursday this past week I believe that the whole of the Atlantic Ocean fell on Glasgow, so much so that I literally had to wade across a street in water that almost went to my knees (thank goodness for my hunters) Then on Friday the weather started getting really nice, and for Saturday and Sunday we were able to walk around in balmy 15 degree weather where really only a light sweater is needed and the sun was shining like crazy. But it keeps the city fun having so much weather to go through, and I had no idea I could get so wet in the rain even with an umbrella, and that the city could also dry out so nicely for the weekend.

as you can see, there was some fantastic weather this weekend, this picture is of the Clyde River

The Clyde riverbank is beautiful as well, and there is so much history there. Originally the Clyde River was much wider than it currently is, and therefore much more shallow, however some leaders of Scotland (a really long time ago) realized what kind of money they could make using the river, so they paid a very nice French Engineer to make the river less wide, and much deeper, which allowed the city to become a shipbuilding city, and also make some other large things, such as locomotives. There are still pieces of this building history on the Clyde, though much has been removed because it was making the river dirty and toxic. The river has now been cleansed and you can fish for salmon in it, and it has also gone through a sort of rebirth with many newer buildings that represent the past.

Part of the Clyde River revitalization, I think its pretty cool, and right near this was a building with a half naked man outside... Pretty exciting by the Clyde

It was nice to be able to see so much and do so much once class was started. I got to enjoy the rain, go to classes, and walk around the city, and try an Ostrich burger. I learned that the teachers practically speak a different language even though they don’t. I had no idea that Detritus in American English turns into Detrytus (pronunciation) here in Glasgow, and who knew that Skeletal was really pronounced Skeleetall? It makes me laugh often, so I have started to keep a sort of Dictionary of Scottish Pronunciation. All I have to do for the rest of my weekend is read some more of Waverley by Sir Walter Scott, which has turned out to be a pretty good book. I can’t wait for more adventures to happen, including the adventures that will happen when my parents arrive on Wednesday this week.

Where I enjoyed the Ostrich Burger, AKA Big Bird, it was rather delicious, and they have great chips.

Enrollment and Edinburgh

This past week has been a very relaxed week, I spent most of my time enrolling for classes, and figuring out which books I actually had to buy, and which books I could just find in the library. After some of the usual stress, such as my classes not all fitting together, and getting charged one extra pound to take a Biology course I am finally settled, the only thing I have to learn now is where my classes will be (which will require some campus exploring on my part) and when my seminar classes will take place (which will cause stress on the teaching staff’s part (yes)). Even after all of the general hullabaloo about school, I am very excited to start my classes this Monday! I will be starting my day at 10 in the morning with Scottish Literature where we will be reading some very exciting books, some are even in Scots, and I will be finishing my day with Celtic Civilization where I will be learning about everything Ancient Celts.  On Tuesday I get to start my day with Human Form and Function which sounds very exciting, and three hours later I will be in my Ecology and Conservation class. So I am all settled there, but I did have to do something actually exciting this week so, I went on a trip.

At the very end of my week one of my friends (Erin) and I decided that we should have a day trip to Edinburgh, so we did. We got on a train at Glasgow Queen Station and about 50 minutes later we were in Edinburgh Waverly station (This semester I am reading Waverley by Sir Walter Scott, coincidence?). At this point we tried to find the Royal Mile to make our way to Edinburgh Castle, but instead we just found our way there without the Royal Mile. This did let us discover a very cool park next to the Castle though.  The Castle was a wee bit expensive (EEK) but we still had fun. Now I have to decide if I will be seeing enough Castles here in Scotland to really need to purchase the explorer card. We got to wander around several different rooms, and see some historical things, and learn some facts. We looked at the Crown Jewels of Scotland, which were in this funny storytelling maze with all sorts of mannequins and drawings, and panoramas. We also visited the Prisons of War area of the castle, where we looked at some graffiti on the prison doors from different wars. We also got to see some of the things the prisoners made while they were staying at the castle. Then we went to the Military Prison which was much nicer by comparison, although it was sadly reminiscent of my dorm room here. They had the same size bed, some cabinets, a writing space, and a wash hand basin, all in the room, just like my room… (Does this mean I am in the Prison of School?) We ended our trip to the castle in the Great Hall where there was a lot of armor, and some swords, daggers, and goblets. The Castle was very fun in the end.

A view of the Castle and the park we walked through to get there



One thing to be wary of at this Castle is the ever changing weather. We got there and it was sunny, then it started to rain, then it was raining and windy, then the wind was blowing, then it was really sunny, then it started to get hot. So in Scotland you must travel with your jackets, several layers of clothes, and also your umbrella (that happens to be pink with polka-dots, and have a ruffle on the edge!)

Erin and I at the top of the Castle when it was very windy

After the Castle we found the Royal Mile and got to look around, there were lots of things going on in the streets and we got to see many a wee shop. We stopped for fish n chips which was delicious, the batter I think was all butter, the only downside was that I think I ate the whole fish, and that was a little unnecessary. We did discover a great fudge shop as well, so we got some! Then we wandered our way back to the train station after a very eventful and tiring day in the city of Edinburgh.



A Church on the Royal Mile

At the absolute end of the week we went to the Grosvenor Theater on Ashton Lane, and got to watch the movie ‘Tamara Drewe’ in big comfy seats, and the best part was that the movie theater is attached to a bar, so you can bring some drinks in with you if you so desire, which means that any movie theater from now on that allows you to enjoy a drink with your movie is the movie theater for me.  All in all a good week, even though it was for the most part uneventful. And I am very excited for my classes to begin. It should be a very different but at the same time awesome experience.

Man on a horse statue in Edinburgh

Orientation and Fun in Glasgow

I have just completed my first full week here in Glasgow (for the most part) and all I can say about this city is… WOW… I love it here. It really is my dear green place, which is excellent and in stark contrast to Colorado. The week started with the rest of the international students arriving on Sunday for our orientation program. We all had to wake up bright and early on Monday morning to walk at least 20 minutes to campus for information sessions. After tons of fun sitting in the back of the world’s most uncomfortable amphitheater I met some new people and we headed to the Fraser Building for perhaps the most disgusting lunch I have ever eaten ( a good note here is that, Scottish people make funny foods). After more talks and seeing more people I finally got to come back to my new dorm and relax. There are more than 200 study abroad students this year at the University of Glasgow, and I believe 200 more postgraduates and Erasmus students also studying here this semester


On Tuesday I got to meet some teachers to discuss the classes I would be enrolling for. From this information I have decided to enroll for Celtic Civilization, Scottish Literature, Human Form and Function, and Ecology. Hopefully when I get to decide on my seminar times for more intimate conversation on each subject I will be able to avoid any classes on Friday, which would provide me with a three day weekend for travelling and such. On Tuesday I also got to go to a church, that has a crypt in the basement where they serve lunch daily, which sounds a little weird but fun at the same time, I will have to take them up on that offer someday soon. The best part about Tuesday was the rain, it actually rained, so I got to wear my raincoat and rain boots, and it was fantastic. Also Tuesday brought my first venture down Ashton Road which is where the posh bars are. There was much fun to be had, and then a Taxi ride home afterwards, due to the fact that it was dark, and each of my friends and I live in a different dorm.

This all lead up to Wednesday where we finished our talks about campus life (thank goodness), but it also lead to a lot more fun. I got to go to my first Ceilidh, which is a party here in Scotland. They gave us all drinks, some more weird foods, and also taught us some traditional Scottish dances, I participated in one, and watched the others. Afterwards nine of us ventured a whole two minutes from campus back to Ashton Road to enjoy drinks and fun at Vodka Wodka, and true to its name there was much Vodka to be had. We had a lot of fun laughing at our poor dancing skills at the Ceilidh and also what else we would be doing the rest of this week.

Wednesday also had me visiting the beautiful Botanic Gardens in the West End. I decided to go there to read a book, and look at flowers, and I also used that time to enjoy some Chips and a tea. I wandered through Kibble Palace where they have a room full of carnivorous plants, and then I wandered around their main atrium where all sorts of great looking exotic plants are housed. I would highly suggest that if you ever do find yourself in Glasgow, that the Botanic Gardens are one of the first places you visit.

Thursday left me running to campus early in the morning for a full city bus tour. It was absolutely fantastic since my legs can only carry me as far as the west end. So on my own I had only seen from Ruchill Park down through Kelvingrove Park (which turns out isn’t a lot of the city). The bus tour took us to the City Centre and Across the Clyde, I got to see some of the old shipbuilding industry and the Locomotive transferring industry. I also got my first close-up of the Science Centre which looks absolutely fabulous and they are home of the Glasgow Spire which gives full 360 degree views of the city through rotation of the actual building (but only when the weather is nice, so I can’t imagine that being very often). The rest of the day led to relaxation (finally) due to the constant going that Orientation provides.

My final day of orientation had me going on a bus (coach) to Callander and Loch Katrine. From my personal experience, these buses were not meant to drive down these twisty Scottish roads, and it left me dizzy and not very hungry. But I still was able to eat some fish n’ chips (they were pretty good for haddock) in Callander before getting back on the bus to Loch Katrine. The Loch is more than beautiful. It is about 10 miles long and very deep, I believe they said 260 feet deep. The wind was coming down all the hills surrounding the Loch making the boat ride on the Sir Walter Scott a little chilly, but it was well worth it for all of the fantastic views, where the mist was hanging on the tops of the hills, and all of the colors were melding together as the seasons are getting closer to changing. After this we went to Aberfoyle and got to see some animals and I bought myself a very nice Cashmere Scarf.

So after a very busy week, which might be my only one with so much activity in it I am left with perhaps the world’s longest blog. All in all my week has been very exciting and amazing I have seen some wonderful places and things with so much more yet to come, and I am excited for all I will be doing next week, including my enrollment for classes!

Welcome to Glasgow

So, After what seems like years of waiting I finally landed in Glasgow (YAHOO!) at just about the tiniest airport I have ever seen (Of course I haven't been everywhere just yet). Pretty much the flights were if uneventful, at least very long. I have had just about enough air travel to last me a lifetime. I now officially live in Lomond House which is missing 2 letters on the sign, So, Omond Huse is actually where I am living. I am on the top floor in flat M room 2 and have the most amazing view of Ruchill Park right across the street. I will definately be checking that out. Jealous anyone? Don't be just yet. It turns out that in Scotland they make their beds out of stone, and it makes it very difficult to fall asleep. Thankfully I have a few days to get used to the time change and the stone bed. So a girl has to eat doesn't she? I decided when I woke up at 7 this morning and without an alarm clock as well, that grocery shopping would be an excellent thing to do. The Tesco Express is listed as .54 miles, who knows what that could possibly be in Km but I found it, I am happy.

I discovered that the grocery stores here are much tinier, with very little to offer in one place, so unfortunately I will have to shop many stores to get what I need. One thing I need to be careful about is that everything seems so much cheaper here, since the prices are listed in pounds, but then I have to remember to change that over to USD. It's so expensive. Another thing to realize is that I can't shop for a lot of stuff at one time considering that I have to carry it all back the .54 miles and also that my fridge is exceptionally small and I have to share it with 4 other girls.

The view from my room, there was a mini cooper in the view last night, but it drove away...

There is a small river type thing running behind the dorm area with a cute little path past it, and all of the trees that I have seen so far a green. And there is really foliage; it isn’t just pine trees and maybe a leaf if you’re lucky. I also can’t say that I miss the dry Colorado weather, because its luxurious here and my hair might turn into an afro if I don’t stay on top of it.

the river thing behind the dorms, you can see some of the buildings behind all my green trees!

All in all, this will be my first day in Scotland and I am very excited, it is more than I could have hoped for, and all of the buildings are just so darn cute. Probably because they were built in the early 1900's and aren't all glass balconies and "modern" shapes. I will try to buy a phone today to go with my new groceries, and hopefully invest in an alarm clock and some other essentials they seem to have forgotten about here. I will enjoy my time here in “The dear green place” that is Glasgow!