The @ Key is in the Wrong Place...

REWIND...I arrived in Scotland last Wednesday morning. It was foggy and raining a little bit, and looked just like I'd expected. Made it safely to my flat and moved all my things in. It was incredibly quiet, because no one was back for classes until Sunday, and I felt so incredibly alone. I unpacked, and realized I wasn't completely alone in the flat--a 3rd year student from Quebec wandered out of his room at around 12:30, and I think I scared him as much as he scared me. He told me a little bit about my other flatmates: two girls and another boy. We didn't chat for long, though. I guessed I'd have to wait a little longer for quality human interaction.

I decided to walk around the area for awhile. The folks at residential services warned me not to go behind the Murano Street Student Village complex, because the neighborhoods back there were not very safe. Other than that area, though, the West End of Glasgow is an adorable little place. It's got a more college town feel than the rest of the city. I intended to walk down to check out the university, so that I wouldn't get terribly lost when orientation started the next day. But a 20 minute walk to the uni campus turned into a 3 hour trek around the West End (aka, I got horribly lost). It didn't really matter that I wasn't where I wanted to be, as I had no obligations except to be home before it got too dark.

The West End is a truly picturesque place. The houses are all made of dark stone, stained by the years of air pollution from Glasgow's shipbuilding days. Glasgow isn't a polished city like Edinburgh, but its dirty buildings have a certain charm that suits the rainy weather better than anything "nicer" would.
Can you believe this building is where I have classes? Okay, well I don't have classes there, but I know people who do!!

There are also many tiny shops that have all sorts of goodies. (For prices that seem familiar, because they're all the same as in the US. Except they're in pounds.)

I felt a little better after walking around for a bit, though I couldn't shake the gloomy feelings quite yet. Exhausted after being awake for over 24 hours, I went to sleep.

On the way down to orientation, I met a bunch of people. Almost all had arrived the previous day, and were feeling as starved for companionship as I was! It was a bit like being a freshman again, with all the "getting to know you" activities. But now I had some friends. Knowing that the walk between the university/actual city and Murano Street was not the safest at night (Glasgow is the stabbing capital of the world!), I found three other girls and we've been walking around together ever since. Everyone was equally excited to be meeting new people, and that made it all seem a lot better. A photo:

So Thursday and Friday were spent in Orientation. Friday night, however, we had a bit of a rest from the technical bits, the International Student Society hosted a ceilidh. This is a bit Scottish dance (pronounced kay-lee) that involves lots of spinning in circles and general fumbling around until you understand all the steps. We did all sorts of different dances, including the Virginia Reel (which I didn't actually know, but at least I recognized the name). After the ceilidh was a big dance party called Cheesy Pop. It happens every Friday and is a lot like a middle school dance but more fun because everyone is flailing around and not standing along the walls.

Saturday we made the hour long walk to the City Centre to find a £ store and other bargain shopping venues. I'd been living on cereal and peanut butter, as I had no utensils, pots, or pans--only a plate, bowl, and mug that I purchased at the Salvation Army for £1. Apparently, at the £ store you can only buy utensils in the following quantities: 2 knives, 3 forks, and 4 spoons. So now that's what I have. Excellent.

After 2 hours of walking in the rain and winds that literally would knock you off of your feet if you weren't steady, we were exhausted. Still jetlagged and in desperate need of some actual nourishment, we made macaroni and cheese for dinner. Adding some frozen vegetables and a bottle of wine (of which the best taste/smell descriptors were: perfume, paint thinner, and nail polish remover) brought the total cost of the meal (for 5 people, mind you) to just under £4. Man, am I learning to live frugally!

Sunday was the day all the regular students returned. I met 2 more of my flatmates, a girl from Britain and one from Norway. The only one I haven't met yet is a Scottish boy, who apparently isn't around very often. They told me that the flat was a relatively quiet one, and that the girl who'd lived in my room last semester had left a whole bunch of kitchen things--a pot, pan, measuring cup, 2 bowls, a plate, cutlery, etc. So thanks, Jessie from Seattle, wherever you currently may be! Too bad I'd already spent some money on these things, but I appreciate it nonetheless.

Only in a city like Glasgow are most of the stores closed on Sunday, but all the pubs are open. After locating the buildings for each of my classes, the perfect end to the day (and celebration of the last day of "vacation") was chips and cheese in a cozy pub, complete with good friends, a football game, and Tenents beer (the cheapest one on tap, of course!). I felt extremely Scottish, of course.

Today (Monday) has been a bit more harrowing. Registration happened today for all new study abroad and exchange students (which I found ridiculous, because couldn't they have done this last week??), meaning that I had to miss my first class. I NEVER miss class. I thought I was going to have a stroke when they told me I'd have to miss the first one! But that wasn't the toughest part: my bank wouldn't authorize my tuition payment. And since it was only 5 in the morning in the US, I couldn't very well call and work it out (plus I don't have enough money on my pay as you go cell phone to afford an international call like that!). So they gave me a provisional registration paper, and I have until 31 January to figure my life out. I honestly believed they were going to send me home or something. Standing in the registration line, I melted down a little bit, and it was extremely embarrassing. Crystal and Briana sheparded me to the Queen Margaret Union for some tea and a chocolate fix, and everything seemed like it was going to be okay again. Hopefully I'm right!

So, dear readers, I believe that brings you up to date on my life. As soon as I can, I'll put up some more photos of the uni, and also the city and my flat. Missing you all from across the Atlantic!