A Week of Fun and Adventures

It’s always sad when you realize how much money you spend back in the states, but it is even worse here. I cannae (note my cute new Scottish language) imagine living here for how much it costs. Although I guess it would be fine if I were to actually be making money here, but it’s still so expensive. I guess I will just have to keep an eye on what I can and cannot buy. Although it can get difficult at the City Centre and on Ashton Lane (mostly because I love shoes, mixed drinks, and taking taxis home at night). But it will all end well, I am sure I only have 10 more weeks.

Me walking through Kelivgrove Park

I started the week having pancakes (which look funny here in Scotland) and going to the Kelvingrove art gallery and museum down next to Kelvingrove Park. Firstly the pancakes, Erin and I bought the Bisquick mix (its equivalent) and went forth to conquer pancakes (and brownies). So we mix our batter and pour it into the frying pan, where we realize they make their pancakes look like crepes, they don’t look like fluffy batter pancakes that I get back home. However I think I like them here better, they were really good and it turned into a fairly successful breakfast. After said cooking extravaganza we walked down through campus and to the Kelvingrove art museum, and it was a beautiful fall day, there were leaves everywhere, and campus was cute in the fall. At the museum we saw all sorts of great things, and tried on some faces, and also got to see the Scottish Romantic Period in art (I am learning about the romantic period right now in Scottish Literature, I suggest reading Sir Walter Scott’s Waverley, but steer as far away from James Hogg’s Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, as it sucks) It was a very nice museum, with lots of things, it was a mix of nature/ science, art museum, and art gallery, but it comes highly suggested as a stop on any trip to Glasgow, it helps that it is free!

I tried on a nose in the museum

On other notes this week I discovered you really can walk all the way to the City Centre. Erin and I walked down, and then decided to see a movie out of nowhere on Thursday, we watched Grown Ups, and again enjoyed in their delicious candy selections at Cineworld and had some fantastic popcorn. It was a good way to end the week (even though I had classes on Friday). After our adventure to the City Centre we went back to Ashton Lane in the West End to go to an International Society meeting. It’s kind of nice to meet in a bar. They did provide food, however, half nine at night is a little late to be having dinner, thank goodness I had already eaten (however bad for me) at the movies. The meeting was fun, it wasn’t really a meeting in the normal sense, but I met some people from Sweden. It was overall very cool.

The bar where we had our International Society meeting

On Friday I had my first real field trip that I was actually required to go on here for my Ecology and Conservation class. We went to Possil Marsh which is a reserve within city borders, making it very different from most other reserves and wildlife refuges. It is classed by Scotland as an SSSI (don’t ask because I don’t remember) which means that you can’t really build there. The Marsh is managed by Scottish Wildlife Trust in Edinburgh, and we got to tour it and see lots of dead plants (because its winter). Mostly it was a little sad because it was so cold. The forecast was for partly sunny skies (how optimistic we are) and 13 degrees. So I thought great I will wear a jacket with a long sleeve shirt and a scarf! NO. I was wrong; it was very cold, and kind of wet, due to the fact that it is a marsh. But overall very enjoyable and I did learn things as well. Some facts I learned: Pike eat ducklings and baby swans, Water Vole live there, and they are a highly endangered species, Otter are moving into the area which is a sign of a good environment, and finally I learned that I don’t understand Scottish comedy, jokes, or anything like that. I know this because my teacher and tour guide would say something and everyone would laugh, except for me, the only American in the class...

Possil Marsh, the view to the farm

Overall a very good week, I am excited for next week as I will be going to the Isle of Skye, which is way up north and a good 5 hour coach ride, and then a ferry, then we will be there. I have to start writing my first real assignments here at the University of Glasgow, but it should be fun, I changed my word processor to English (U.K.) and have put my margins at about 4 cm (very big margins), I know not to use the letter ‘z’ and I also know how to cite a paper properly here, so it should be fun. Both work and play make for a very tired Jessica here in Scotland.

Our Scottish Pancakes