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.

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

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.