Adventures in Scotland!

On Sunday afternoon I finally arrived in Glasgow. My roommates and some of the people I went to London with took the train with me to Scotland. We got off at the wrong train stop after being misdirected by a slightly sirly Scotsman. However, we had a lovely walk past the University and I got to take a few pictures thanks to Jonathan. My first thought when I got off the train was that I like this place one hundred times better than London. Don't get me wrong, I loved London, but it just wasn't my thing. Everything is a lot more calm here and the culture is more friendly. Also, it is BEAUTIFUL and GREEN! I just can't get over how much I love walking around. Every day I walk through a gorgeous park with bridges and grass with wildflowers. (There's also a skatepark with swear words graffitied everywhere, but you know it adds character I guess.)

On Sunday I had my first experience with Scottish food. I have mixed emotions about the grocery stores here. Pros: 1) AMAZING chocolate. So far my favorite has been chocolate cadbury bars- the oreo edition. Oh my heavens, it is to die for. (And I probably will by eating my body weight in these chocolate bars of goodness). 2) They have fairly normal things to eat like yogurt, spaghetti, and salad. Cons: 1) Everything tastes slightly weird besides the chocolate. My peanut butter is kind of musty and bland, so that makes my PB&J's less than delicious, but I'm getting used to it. 2) Food is so expensive! Especially when you know you aren't going to enjoy a lot of it! 3) Most of their crackers are actually just cookies. 4) I miss American cereal.

On Monday I had my first day of class. I'm taking six credit hours of one mega class. Basically, all we do is read books, poems, and short stories and then write two papers a week. There are only four weeks of class, so by the end of the week I will have 25% of my grade. This is starting to terrify me honestly. Most of the people in my group are English, History, or Political Science majors. As a result they have a pretty good grasp on at least British history or politics. Since England is so connected with Scotland, they have some sort of background for the things we are reading and learning about. On the other hand, I am a Communications Disorders major and have only taken one writing and one history class in college so far. I literally know about three things involving Scottish history and I haven't analyzed literature in two years. In class on Monday I accidently zoned out and started analyzing my professor's veins and tried to remember the names of them. This then led me to thinking about how amazing it is that over 20 muscles connect to the hyoid bone. Then I remembered that I am no longer taking Speech Anatomy, and I should really be trying to figure what Annals of the Parish reveals about the industrialization of Scotland. Long story short, I am having an amazing time, but I'm clearly not an English or History major. That being said, I'm a little nervous about how my papers are going to go, but it will all be fine I'm sure.

On Monday night we went to my professor's flat for FHE (family home evening). Some ward members also came over to meet us. One guy from the single's ward warned us to not be out past eleven because the University is "proper dodgy," and that we "have to have our wits about us."

On Tuesday, my roommate and I learned that it gets light here around 5 am. We left our curtains open and were both wide awake and couldn't sleep after 5:45. By seven we gave up and decided to walk around campus. The main university seriously looks like Hogwarts in the courtyard. Also it is graduation so people are walking around in black robes which completed the effect. We did some exploring and snuck down a creepy stone spiral staircase that led us to the anatomy lab. We heard someone shut a door above us and I thought we'd for sure be locked up with the Scottish cadavers, but don't worry we got out okay. On the way home we stopped at the local Wellington church and had lunch at a little cafe in the basement called, "The Crypt." They served homemade lentil soup which was incredible. The people here are SO nice! They kept giving us samples of Scottish food to try and all these people came to say hello and chat. We met two little adorable redhead Scottish boys named Lewis and Aneiran, ages 3 and 5. They taught us some Gaelic. After our feeble attempts to imitate them, we asked if we'd gotten it right. Lewis paused and just said in his little Scottish accent, "Well, not quite." Kids are so dang polite here, it's adorable. Then this little Scottish old man named Sandy offered to take us on a tour of the church. He was everything you picture a Scottish man to be. He had a green sweater, missing teeth, and tufts of white hair that stuck up in the back. He was christened in that same chapel and had attended church there every Sunday of his life. After the tour we got invited to come to a Ceildih (a Scottish dance) on Saturday at the church. Sandy is going to teach us to Scottish dance to accordian music. I'm so excited! haha

After wandering around town, Madi and I met up with the group to go downtown. First we went to the Glasgow Cathedral (St. Mungo's). It was amazing! I've never seen such an old building before. Most of it has been redone over the years, but it was originally built in the first century. I saw St. Mungo's tomb which was a little creepy. I didn't realize that saints were buried in the basements of cathedrals. After the cathedral we went to the Necropolis which had tons of thousand year old graves. It's a huge grassy green hill with headstones and crosses all over the place. Most of them are cracked and decaying and it would be a perfect scene for a horror film. In a weird way, seeing the cathedral and graves made me so humbled. Humbled to have been given the amazing opportunity to be in this beautiful country and gain a better perspective on life and cultures, and also humbled knowing how many people have come before me. It is because of the lives of the people here hundreds of years ago that I am where I am today. If my ancestors hadn't chosen to immigrate to the United States and make the sacrifices they did, who knows where I would be today. I am just so grateful to have the life I have. I am so blessed and every day here helps me to see that more.

Today I went to class and once again realized that I am a little out of my league here. Compared to the published poet in my class, I feel like I don't have very good insights into the novels we are studying, but it's good to be out of my comfort zone. That's one thing I am definitely learning to be good at here. Even with my group I don't really know people well yet so I feel a little out of place. However, I know it's good for me and I love meeting new people so it's all good. After class I went to the Kelvingrove museum and an organ concert. On the way home there was a man in a kilt playing the bagpipes! I just love it that this is completely normal here. Now I am back at my dorm procrastinating my paper which needs some major editing.

Here are the pictures that go along with this post...

On the train to Glasgow

Dropping me off at my dorm. I wish they could have stayed with me!

My roommate Madi and I on our first day of school.

Everything is more proper here. (Besides the fashion...I don't know why but everyone cuts off their jeans at their buttcheeks and then wears black tights under them. Don't worry, I will spare you from seeing a picture of that.)

The lobby outside my classroom.

The door to my classroom.

The main university building.

This is the grocery store on the block. It's more expensive, but convenient. It reminds me of South End.

A synagogue I walk by on the way to class.

A church at the end of my street.

A fountain in the park.

 More Kelvingrove park pictures.

 It looks like Hogwarts!!!

Sneaking down the steps to the anatomy lab. Notice the warning sign. I noticed..but ignored. Also what you can't tell in this picture is that it was pitch black. The flash brightened it up for a second.

 Yeah, I'm a nerd and I like anatomy and medical stuff. I just wanted to see what it looked like in Scotland, okay?

 Chapel inside the school.

Doors of the Wellington Church

Lentil soup and bread for lunch!

Aneiran and Lewis. Oh my heart. They were adorable. Aneiran is "fwee" and Lewis' favorite number is one 'undred and eighty trillion.

Buchanan Street

George Square

First view of the cathedral

Graveyard outside the cathdral

 St. Mungo's tomb/grave

Where the queen sits when she comes to visit.

That's me, if you look close!

The Necropolis

I thought this face was only fitting.

Madi being the necromancer.

Doing the noodle dance.

Sidenote: If you are wondering why there are so many pictures of me, it's because my roommate has a really nice camera so I stole a lot of pictures from her.

Well, that's all for now! Stay tuned for a video of a bagpipe player!