The Usual

Oh dear, it’s been a bit too long since I’ve last updated. St. Patrick’s Day passed by without too much to comment on. It’s just that I hardly ever know what to talk about. What did I do this week? Oh, the usual. But I realize that the “usual” is probably still interesting to those wondering what’s going on over here in Glasgow. And I’m guaranteed to miss the “usual” when I head back to the states. So here’s a glimpse of my usual:

Class, rehearsal, archery, drinks and general socialization, homework, exploring the city. Honestly, sometimes I feel accomplished when I manage to do all my laundry.

I think I make it out to be more boring than it actually is, though.

One of the greenhouses in the Botanic Gardens. The statue at the front is Eve.

This last week brought about the premier of The Hunger Games, which I happily attended–braid and all–the night before the opening. Before that, I was able to see Spamalot! at the King’s Theatre here and it was amazing! I don’t know why I hadn’t ever seen it before. Definitely a good decision to go. I’ve also been out to the West End a couple times. I absolutely love the Botanic Gardens, and with the warmer weather settling over Scotland, they’re an ideal place to visit. I’ve been there twice now, once on a day out and again today for a book fair, but I plan on going back later this week. After the book fair, I had lunch at The Hillhead Bookclub and picked up a vintage necklace for £2. I’ve also walked around the Merchant City at night a bit more–by now it’s really become my home.

I suppose that’s what the “usual” signifies–that I’ve made my place at home. All the streets and places that confused me before are now familiar, with names and memories attached to them. I still feel like a “tourist” at times, running around with my camera, and I’m still learning what things mean (like “steaming,” for example). But I’ve come to think of Glasgow as my home. I really, truly am in love with this city. I love everything about it. I’ve never lived in a large city before, so I know that’s part of it, but there really is just something about Glasgow. I wish I could take it and everyone back with me and drop them over Iowa City. I’m really going to miss a lot when I go home.

I know this is shocking, but the sun was out all day with only a few clouds on my first trip to the Botanic Gardens. It's been in the sixties lately. It's lovely!

I have awhile until that happens, however. I still have two more months to go, and I just found out that my boyfriend will be coming to visit me when the University of Iowa lets out in May! I’m really, really excited about it. I can’t wait to see him and show him around my city. The trickiest part is budgeting for it. It always is. I’ve already started a list of places to go, though. Yay!

In a week, I’ll be heading to Loch Lomond, and not soon after, on spring break. So, yes, I will definitely update when I return from that trip. It’s been a headache trying to prepare, from purchasing tickets to researching hostels to planning a schedule, and we still have quite a bit to do before we leave. But it’s sure to be an adventure, and you can look forward to that update. Hopefully soon after, because I’m going to try and write my essays before I go. Yes, hopefully.

I apologize that this particular update doesn’t have much of a theme and that it’s not really much in the way of writing, but at least it’s something, right? I’ll try harder next time.

Getting Active!

Or, against stagnation.

Apologies to all those wanting to hear about the exciting times I’ve been having in Scotland. They sort of came to a stand still for a while, particularly with midterm essays wearing down on me. I also haven’t exactly felt like writing a blog post. But! I couldn’t have that last for very long, now could I?

I turned in my final essay for midterms on Monday afternoon, and, basking in my new free time (when really, I had had plenty of time before…), I decided that I was going to be more active this week. I had done yoga once already, but three essays over two weekends had kept me away for a while, and beyond that…? I’ve stuck to my room.

Ladies and gentlemen, when you study abroad, do not stick to your room. Or, as easy as it is to do so, don’t get in the habit of doing the exact same thing with the exact same people all the time. I love my friends here, but the truth is that we’re all exchange students. We’re all American exchange students. It’s fantastic to spend time with them and travel with them and hang out with them, but I can’t help but feel like I’ve only been getting a taste of what it’s like to live in Scotland with other people just like me. Also, I think maybe I’ve been spending too much time at clubs/pubs and not enough time sight-seeing. (Although again… I don’t regret for a second making the friends I’ve made!) I set a goal before going abroad to make non-American friends. I really did. And I haven’t really been meeting that goal. You can’t really meet that goal when you stick to your room and don’t make an effort to meet people, can you? So I can’t blame anyone or anything but myself.

That’s why I decided to do something about it. An offer of tea to a friend I hadn’t hung out with in a while lead to an invitation to try archery. I contemplated joining archery at the beginning of the semester but didn’t do it. I can’t even tell you why I didn’t do it. I just didn’t. But in the spirit of getting active, I went along.

Battle wounds?

<–Archery lead to this bad ass bruise over there.
(The reason for it isn’t as bad ass. Basically, when I hold my arm out, my elbow naturally points down, rather than out, so when I let the string go, it runs into my arm. I kept shooting despite the pain, and my long sleeve shirt kept anyone from noticing a correction was needed. Of course, I didn’t think to check on the state of my arm until after an hour an a half of archery. Expecting to see some large welts, I was pretty shocked when I saw that I was bleeding…)

Regardless of beating my arm up, I had a fantastic time. I really enjoy archery and I’ve already checked to see if there’s archery at my home university. There is. The best thing, however, was heading to the pub after practice for free food with the other members of the archery team.  The majority of the team was of course Scottish, with a handful of Americans, so we inevitably ended up on the topic of Americanisms verses… Scottish-isms? For example, there was the usual argument over the pronunciation of “aluminum” and the spelling of color/colour. But I also learned that overalls are called dungarees. And I still haven’t thought of an American equivalent of the NEDs. Oh, and they were just as bad at doing an American accent as I am at doing a Scottish accent.

The next day would have seen more yoga, but it happened to be International Women’s Day, and there was an event in commemoration, so I had to put yoga off for another week. This, at least, was for another (awesome!) event and not out of laziness. Here, we saw comedians, ate free food, and were given a salsa lesson. Dances like this always force me to be social so I can get a male dance partner haha. I left feeling energized and excited for my second ceilidh coming the next day. (Remember this post? I freaking love ceilidhs.)

The plan for Friday was to go in for another round of archery before heading to the ceilidh, but I got a message last minute from a friend about a theatre troupe I’d been interested in at the beginning of the semester. I’d sent them an email because acting was something I definitely wanted to get involved in, but I’d never received a response. (Apparently one of the contact emails was down, so that may have been the problem.) I saw that my friend had been cast as Tituba in The Crucible and was wondering how she’d gotten involved. She messaged me that they were having rehearsal that night and had a few parts left to be assigned if I wanted to come by. I love this play and I love getting involved in the theatre, so even being cast as an extra would have sounded great to me. I stopped by, and to my surprise, I was asked to read as Mary Warren. Apparently I did well, because I left that night having been assigned the role! “It was like it was meant to be,” I was told. “We had a few people we could have cast, but they didn’t quite fit the part. And then you showed up!” So now I’ve gotten involved with something I’ve wanted to be involved with from the beginning, and this newfound activity is exactly what I needed. I danced the rest of my night away at a ceilidh. Fortunately, I remembered a good majority of what I learned before, and I had good dancing partners (one who I had met earlier, as part of the cast!).

The view of the Glasgow Cathedral as we headed over the bridge to the Necropolis.

I ended my week with an excursion to the Glasgow Cathedral and Necropolis, then out on my first trip to a chippie followed by a movie. It was a beautiful day, and just generally a beautiful week, with all my new activities fighting at the homesickness that has started to creep in. I just need to make sure not get myself stuck in a rut. I need to remember that there’s nothing to stop me from getting out of my room and doing things. It’s never too late to get involved!
Until next time, which hopefully is much sooner than it took me to get this up!

PS: That said, I haven’t forgotten about things back at Iowa. This is the time of the year when I need to be looking forward to next year’s activities. I think I’ve been on top of things. I am just about to finish up my reapplication for my student staff position, I’ve applied to be an Honors Peer Advisor, and I was just accepted today to the University of Iowa Mortar Board! Keep active while you’re abroad, but don’t forget about the deadlines at home!

PPS: The elusive bird I was hunting down while at the Necropolis. Don’t judge me. (It’s a magpie lol)

One of my victory shots!

On Time Management and Lessons Never Learned

In my first year and a half of college, I never once pulled an all-nighter. In fact, I rarely ever went without at least six hours of sleep. In the mornings, if I’m lacking on sleep, then my shower and breakfast will just have to be sacrificed. I can eat a snack, shower after class, or read my homework between classes. I’m more of an over-sleeper than anything, contrary to the stereotypical sleep deprived college student. I make it work. I guess, that is, until now. I’m going on 32 hours without sleep (aside from a 40 minute cat nap I didn’t intend on taking) as I write this, which I probably haven’t done since middle school. I seem pretty coherent, too, right?

Yes, I have pulled my first college all-nighter. The sad thing is that I’ve had ample time to do my homework. I had an essay due on Friday and another due today, but that’s honestly not something that’s new to me. I am an English major, after all. I’ve had the topics since the beginning of the semester, and I haven’t had any other homework aside from reading. An all night stint should really not be necessary–yet both essays found themselves completed right around 5 am.

If I’m finishing my papers last minute with my busy schedule at home… and I’m even worse about starting my essays here, what does that say about my time management skills? That I have none?

In all this time in college, and in the last month of laziness, I haven’t managed to figure out that work takes time. No, that’s not right. I fully understand that I spent something like 12 hours straight working on that last essay. I just haven’t managed to figure out how to divide my time in a productive way, a skill I should maybe have gotten the hang of by now.

I suppose all of this is in the way of explaining why I haven’t updated–I’ve been stressed out by essays! Well, aside from the Epic International Pub Crawl… and a day of shopping… Okay, let’s face it. I’m not in the business of denying myself the enjoyments of being abroad. And I shouldn’t have to, because I have plenty of free time to finish up my homework in an timely fashion. I just need to master this whole time management thing.

Anyway, here’s to self reflection, and in the spirit of once more attempting to learn about time management skills, I will start my creative writing assignment that’s due in a week. Um. Tomorrow. Right now, I’m just a bit sleepy.

Comfort Food

Okay, it’s been four weeks and one day since I arrived at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland. Just about one month exactly, and I think I can honestly say I’m comfortable here. I still have my moments of peoplesickness, but I’ve started to think of my flat here as home. When I go out on the weekends, whether it be to a club or a castle, I find myself thinking, “I’m ready to go home,” meaning right here in this tiny little room in this tiny little flat in this not so tiny city.

Part of this acclimation is food. You see, the University of Strathclyde, unlike the University of Iowa, does not have a cafeteria or anything vaguely resembling a meal plan. As part of my exchange, I was given a stipend to spend on food–that’s my meal plan, and that’s only as a result of my program. So, since I want to spend my money on things like spring break* and going out with friends, I can’t really afford to eat out all the time or even subsist on frozen dinners. No, I have to buy groceries and get creative. I had an apartment last semester, but I rarely ever cooked in the apartment because I still had a meal plan, and I didn’t have the time to experiment with food. Well, I set the smoke alarms off on my first attempt at cooking, too, so that made me shy away… Anyway! Now I make time to try out new things and the worst mishap I’ve had was destroying a grilled cheese. And that wasn’t even my fault because that particular pan is evil and it was out of my control. Yes.

My first week or two, I survived on peanut butter and jelly, spaghetti, and cereal. Sometimes I still do. I never get tired of those foods! Last week, however, I filled my grocery list with veggies and spent the week using them up. (Mostly because they don’t really last longer than a week… so few preservatives!) I’ve found this website to be indispensably awesome. I just put in my ingredients, highlight something if I want to make sure I use it, and then it gives me tailored recipes. Last week, I think my masterpieces were a stuffed pepper made in the microwave, a spinach and mushroom quesadilla–with green pepper, of course–and a very potato-y stir fry. I made a stir fry! This is such exciting news for me because 1) I’ve never cooked a stir fry before, 2) I’ve never cooked potatoes before, and 3) I was convinced the smoke alarms would be coming back to haunt me or the food would be undercooked or some other awful result, but as it turns out, I am one fantastic cook. Also, try not to laugh at what a n00b cook I am.

When I do eat out, though, getting a good meal is never an issue. Hometown? Yeah, sometimes it’s hard to find vegetarian food. Glasgow? You’d be hard pressed to find a restaurant that didn’t serve vegetarian dishes. The veggie dishes are always clearly marked not only in all the restaurant menus, but also in the packaging for the groceries. Seriously, it’s so accommodating and wonderful and it makes my stomach very happy.

Honestly, I think when I head back to the US, food is going to be one of the things I miss from Glasgow. I imagine I’ll miss the green, the beautiful buildings, the friends I’ve made, and the weather, among other things. (People are always so shocked that I like the weather here! Really, though, the rain is usually just mist and I kind of like it…) But up there on that list, I think I’ll miss the multitude of vegetarian options and the cheap groceries and the lack of preservatives and the tea. Mmm, tea**.

*SPRING BREAK! Yes, it’s planned. Not entirely set in stone yet as still we have to get the hostels and transportation all booked, but our destinations are decided. Check out this post on my tumblr for the list of the fantastic cities I still can’t believe I’m planning on visiting! I may make a post about spring break as it gets closer.

**Best tea ever: China Rose Petal at The Willow Tea Rooms.

PS: I have pictures up in the photos tab from Stirling, which I visited about a week ago. I also visited the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in the west end of Glasgow this weekend that I’ll give you a sneak peek of

Sleep

I told you all that I wanted to update about getting used to living in Glasgow… and I also told you my next update would probably be about Stirling.

But here I am in the wee hours of the morning only a couple days later and I feel like updating again. That’s always the time I feel like writing. This is probably the reason most of my papers don’t ever even get a thesis going until I force it out around 9 or 10 pm. If I could manage to stay up late and still get enough sleep for all my classes, imagine the quality of work I’d be doing! Unfortunately, the quality of work is diminished even more without my full eight hours of sleep.

At Strathclyde, however, that does not seem to be a problem. In fact, I’ve been getting altogether way too much sleep.

First, let me explain my classes. Basically, I have class on Monday and Thursday. Yep. That’s it. 10-1 with an hour break on Mondays, and 11-4 with an hour break on Thursdays. I’m taking what will transfer as twelve credit hours back at the U of I, so it would be considered a light load at home, but I bet I’d be in class a lot more often. Thus, I have a helluva lot of time to sleep… and sleep… and sleep. Monday night? Twelve uninterrupted hours.

Since I’m going on three weeks of living in Glasgow, I can’t even blame my lethargy on the jet lag anymore.

With all this free time, you’d think I’d be busy with the piles upon piles of homework I must receive. You know, to make up for the whole “We only meet two hours a week” thing. However, I feel like I’m doing assignments similar to what I would be given on a Monday at Iowa to be finished by Wednesday. And nothing is ever technically due. We just have discussions based on the week’s work, and we’re not even graded on participation. Don’t get me wrong: I’m perfectly content to do the work I’m given. I can tell it’s going to pick up. Actually, I think I need to read all of Sir Walter Scott’s Waverley for next week. See, I am doing all the work. I lead discussions and I’m actually closely-reading the books and poems I’m assigned. The classes are challenging and stimulating, when I have them.

My point is, I’m not used to such a small work load. I don’t know how to handle it. And right now, I’ve gotten myself trapped in a sleep-all-day-and-half-ass-my-homework-because-I’m-not-really-accountable-for-it(-yet) cycle. I consider this a problem in the making and by recognizing it, I hope to stop it before it gets too bad.

I’m having homework culture shock, I think. (I guess this is kind of an update about getting settled in now that it’s reaching its end.) I’m used to being on the go! go! go! and now I’ve got free time, and since I’m not sure what to do with it, I aimlessly browse the internet and I sleep.

Except, of course, on the weekends. The city doesn’t sleep on the weekends, and neither do its inhabitants.

Edinburgh

Hello all!

Let’s talk about the exciting things I’ve been doing, like:

1. Walking past St. Mungo’s Ward in the Royal Infirmary while registering for the doctor,and getting excited because Neville’s parents are nearby.
2. Learning that St. Mungo is the patron saint of Glasgow. I see what you did there, JK Rowling.
3. Going to Edinburgh Castle, the castle that inspired Hogwarts!
4. Looking out at Edinburgh Castle (however briefly, because the back room was full and I had to leave) from The Elephant House, the alleged “Birthplace of Harry Potter,” where JK Rowling wrote a lot of her early Harry Potter work.
5. Having a feeling of “coming home” when returning to Glasgow.

But don’t worry! Not everything had to do with Harry Potter. I’m just a huge nerd and had to get that out of my system. That’s not nearly all of the exciting things that have happened. I’ve been having such a fantastic time just being here that I hardly know when to update and I’m not sure what to talk about. But I’ll churn out an update for you all anyway. (Actually, mostly for my benefit because I want to read this when I’m missing Scotland.)

This weekend I visited Edinburgh with two of my friends and made enemies of my feet and calves. I’ve never lived anywhere as hilly as Scotland. Walking around campus here in Glasgow can be a workout, and that was nothing compared to traipsing my way up the hill to the Edinburgh Castle, down the Royal Mile, out to the National Museum of Scotland (and The Elephant House) and back to the bus station. Entirely worth it, but I was aching, to say the least. We were lucky to have the sun shining on us the Sunday of our trip, especially after the dreary weather that decided to hang around Glasgow on Saturday. Of course, had the weather taken a nasty turn and my umbrella gone missing, the bus station had vending machine umbrellas for a pound. I think that is so odd… and so, so fitting. We checked the map in the station after arriving in Glasgow, and wandered out trying to get our bearings. We’re not the best at it, but travel can be a lot of fun when you don’t know where you’re going. Luckily, our first stop, Edinburgh Castle, is visible from most places, so it was easy to tell if we were going in the right direction. Not as easy to find where to start climbing, but as with the weather, we had luck on our side, and it didn’t take us long to wander off into a pretty park that led directly to the start of the path to castle.

“Awestruck” is probably an understatement to how I felt when I reached the castle, and “breathtaking” can’t really describe the view, since I didn’t have any left after the climb. Let’s just say that the castle was something I’d never seen before and it was absolutely wonderful in my eyes. (I mean, three-fourths of what I enjoy reading has castles in it, and I got to actually set foot in a real one. Can we talk about fangirl?) Check out the Photos tab at the top of the page for pictures of the trip! And if you have me added on facebook, the pictures have commentary.

From the castle, we walked down the Royal Mile, the longer-than-an-actual-mile stretch of road that connects the Scottish Parliament and Edinburgh Castle. To be honest, I didn’t find it to be particularly interesting. Visiting it in August when the Fringe Festival is going on, I think, would be amazing, but this time of the year, it’s one “Real Scottish Experience” tourist-trap store after another. Although I did run into good ol’ Robert Fergusson on the stretch. (I’m sorry, Robert Fergusson, but I can’t understand anything you write without reading it ten times–and don’t blame on the Scots vernacular, because I can read Robert Burns just fine. Although it’s quite funny once I figure it out.) Scottish Parliament was an odd building.

The next stop was The Elephant House. Unfortunately, I couldn’t remember what street it was on, just that it was near the National Museum of Scotland and the street Potterrow (again, I see what you did there!), so we went in that general direction with no real plan on what to do after that. And my silly guidebook map did not have the common sense to show when one street was above another versus when they intersected. So, we ended up walking to Nicholson Street and standing underneath it before moving on to the next street with the intention of backtracking. The next street sloped up, so we headed up yet another hill in search of JK’s hangout. At the top, we did a lot of pointing around and going “I think the museum is in that direction?” and “No, hold the map the other way!” and “This is a stupid guidebook!” until Anna pointed out that we were literally standing right in front of The Elephant House. Literally. See, I told you we had luck on our side. We packed in and grabbed some tea, then respectfully left when we finished to open up our seats. Turns out the National Museum of Scotland was right nearby, so we spent the next couple of hours resting our poor feet and wandering around amid the artifacts and artwork before making the trip back to the bus station.

The strangest part? Seeing all the familiar buildings flash by in the bus windows after arriving in Glasgow and feeling like I was back home after a long trip. Because, well, I was, and I know Glasgow is my “home” for the time being, I just hadn’t realized that it felt that way. After two weeks. And I’ve hardly even been anywhere… I need to see more of Glasgow!

The next post may be a “getting used to living here” post, because I’d like to do one of those, but I am going to Stirling on Saturday, and I will probably be more excited to talk about that.

That’s all, folks! Until the next time.

Burns’ Night

The first week is over and I’m not quite sure I can say I’ve settled in yet, since I still have to register with a doctor and buy wellies. (These waterproof hiking boots my dad got me for the trip are necessary to my survival!) The weather was really nice when I got here so I think I had high expectations after that… only a couple days and then there was plenty of rain again.

First, let me introduce you all to my flatmates! I’m still getting names down and since I can’t spell some at the moment, I won’t butcher them by trying. They’ve all been really fantastic and I don’t think I’ll have a problem living with them. This is all of us in our flat’s living room!

The residents from last semester left a lot of stuff for all of us, so all of our dishes, flatware, and cooking supplies were waiting for us when we get here. I even had an ethernet cord waiting in my room for me. Unfortunately, there isn’t really any wifi and you have to be configured to use it… so my ipod isn’t getting as much use as I had hoped. I guess the flat is kind of small but I like it. There aren’t really any “dorms” over here, just flats located in different halls. The thing that I’ve found the strangest about them is that the sinks have two separate faucets for hot and cold water. My flatmates and I have found ourselves scalding our hands on one side and rushing to the other to cool them off. I think I’ve given up and I’ll just use cold water from now on.

 

I got signed up for classes relatively easily but missed two of my classes due to the lag in scheduling. We aren’t able to sign up until Monday, which is when classes start. I’ll be taking Creative Writing 2, Scottish Literature: 1170-1914, and (recently added) Order and Nature in Renaissance Writing. Over here, the class loads are really different than back at the University of Iowa. I only have classes on Mondays and Thursdays, and most of my grade at the end of the semester will be focused on final exams and papers instead of continuous assessment, although as an English major, I still have plenty of reading to do.

The campus itself isn’t as big as I had anticipated. Getting around is really easy and the University of Strathclyde is pretty much right in the city centre, so anything you could possibly need is nearby. I’ve done grocery shopping at the co-op near campus and at an Aldi’s, and for leisure shopping (or phone shopping in my case), Argyle Street in Glasgow is only a few blocks away from campus. Argyle Street forms a long string of shops in the city centre, with everything from Poundland to Top Shop.

All within walking distance of the campus, you can find almost anything to do. I’ve only been here for a week, so I haven’t had time to do much, but I’ve been past the ferris wheel lit up at night in George Square and numerous venues for the performing arts. I can’t wait to go see a concert! My first night here I went downtown with Bekah, the other exchange student from Iowa, for dinner at La Vita where I had pizza and my first (completely legal) alcoholic drink. They didn’t even ID me when I ordered it.

However, by far, the absolute highlight of my first week was Wednesday, January 25th. Robert Burns, a famous Scottish poet you probably know from the New Year’s song “Auld Lang Syne” was born on 25 January 1759, and each year this is celebrated in Scotland with a traditional Burns supper, consisting of all the Scottish cultural highlights. That’s right, there’s haggis. I went to dinner at the student union here, where I dined with students from the US, France, and the Czech Republic on a three course meal. The supper began with bagpipes being played as the chef carried out the haggis. “Address to a Haggis” was recited and everyone drank a toast to the haggis! So yes, I did most certainly have whisky with my dinner. And it was surprisingly good.

We started with lamb soup (potato soup for me) and bread, followed by the main dish: haggis, neeps, and tatties. You can look up what haggis is if you’re so inclined, but needless to say, it often doesn’t get the best reactions. I had the vegetarian alternative, which appeared to be chick peas instead of meat. “Neeps” are mashed turnips and “tatties” are mashed potatoes. Both were very good, especially the neeps. Our dessert was a ridiculous mixture of creams and fruits. After that, we headed to the ceilidh.

WARNING: I may have an overload of excitement.

Ceilidh, pronounced “kay-lee,” is a traditional get together for Scottish dancing. We had live music and lots and lots of dancing. We started at 9 and I left at 11:30 with the dancing still going on. I danced every single dance except one and I would do so every night of my life if I was allowed to. Some of the dances were partner dances, some group dances, some line dances. All of them were fun! They were very upbeat and fast, even the waltz, and they kept you on your toes. Luckily, most of us didn’t know how to do the dances, and the area was small, so the musicians were patient and people were understanding when you ran into them… which happened a lot. I danced with anyone and everyone and became generally very exhausted and happy. I met a lot of people because many of dances required that you dance with different people. Just as I had decided I couldn’t dance anymore, I actually had someone walk up to me, pull me out of my chair, and drag me into the dance without saying a word. He was a very good dancer (he knew what he was doing) and I think he probably picked me up off my feet a couple times, leaving me dizzy from the spinning when the dance was over. It was incredibly fun, and I am very serious when I say I would dance every night.

And I have to apologize again for not taking pictures… I actually forgot my camera when I went to the Burns’ Night Supper!

I’m very happy I could be a part of the Burns’ Night celebration. Everything has seemed so boring since then but I know that’s not an everyday thing. Tonight, I’m off to the pub for the first time. I can’t wait to see what else is in store for me here in Scotland!

Arriving in Glasgow

Okay, so I’ve been here for a day and I think it’s probably about time to give you all an update.

First, my apologies for being too busy to take any pictures. I managed to snap a shot of a blue police box that unfortunately was not bigger on the inside as I struggled up Cathedral Street with groceries for my new flat, but I’ve been on the go the rest of the time.

I spent the last night in the United States worrying that something would go wrong and clinging to my last moments with the people I now will not see for five months. I packed up in the morning, double checked my documents, headed out, arrived two hours early, and was told, “Your flight may be delayed five or ten minutes,” which calmed my fears a bit. I left my family and my boyfriend at the security checkpoint (trying–and failing–not to cry as I did so) and headed off by myself to the gate. Okay, so far, so good. Then there were whispers about a delay, and I looked up at the screen to see a forty minute delay. Annoying, but I have a five hour layover; I was prepared for this. More waiting, reading The Fault in Our Stars–then more whispers. “Looks like the flight has been cancelled!”

My thoughts: WHAT. I AM NOT PREPARED TO DEAL WITH THIS. WHAT IF I DON’T MAKE IT TO GLASGOW? WHAT AM I GOING TO DO!?!?!?! WILL I HAVE TO BUY ANOTHER TICKET? I CANNOT BE ON MY OWN. Oh look, there’s a line forming, better join them. DON’T PANIC.

Well, luckily, my thoughts were ridiculously dramatic. The girl in front of me, heading to school herself, calmed me down and let me borrow her phone. A short wait in line and a talk with one of the workers got me rerouted through Dallas instead of Chicago, and I was back to my seat to wait for that flight to arrive two hours later. I was on my way.

From there it was pretty smooth sailing. I slept on my way to London and finished The Fault in Our Stars (thanks for making me cry next to the grumpy guy in the aisle seat, John Green) and the eight hours went pretty quickly. Of course, I couldn’t stop myself from looking out the window and thinking “THAT’S IRELAND!” or “OH MY GOD THAT MUST BE WALES!” so of course the end of the flight was an awful daze of nausea, but at least I was excited. When I arrived, I was determined to know where I was going, even if I didn’t really. I at least looked like I wasn’t clueless, although my panic at the airport bus driving on the wrong (but really, the right–well, left, but YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN, OKAY) side of the road probably gave me away. Getting in the United Kingdom was so much easier than I had expected it to be, and before I knew it, there I was in Terminal 5 of Heathrow. Gucci, Prada, and Chanel all in a row, and even I was impressed. I had lunch in the airport and wandered around taking it all in as I waited for my next flight. Everything that was even slightly different was exciting. I’m allowed to be tourist-y for awhile, right?

I met up with another girl from my home school studying abroad at the University of Strathclyde while we were at Heathrow. We were supposed to meet in O’Hare, but you know how that went. I am kind of glad it happened the way it did though. It made me realize that things are not as big of a deal as I expect them to be, so I didn’t worry as much for the rest of my trip. AND I can say that I made it all the way to another country BY MYSELF. It’s small but it makes a big difference in my confidence here. The flight to Glasgow was quick and I had the whole row to myself (!). No problems with my bags, and then the issue was just getting to the Village Office and checking in! We climbed in a taxi and struggled to understand the driver’s accent (people say you’ll have difficulty understanding the accent and when you’re back home you don’t believe them, but it’s so true) and soon we were checking into our flats.

The first day? That’s an adventure I’m too worn out from to write about just yet.