Empty Orchestra

I can't get over the weather here. It's been really quite warm, considering how cold it is in the US these days, and I think I'm getting soft! One of the security guards at the complex where I live told us on one of our first days here that February is the coldest month in Glasgow. And wouldn't you know it, it started snowing last night and hasn't stopped yet! First 'real' snow we've had, other than the occasional flurry (a very wet flurry, because it's so humid!). I must say, if this is as cold as it gets...HAHA to everyone freezing their bums off back in the Northeast US!

Maybe Glaswegian weather is nice because it's so predictably awful. In fact, the only few days it's been sunny so far are those days that we've gone out and taken photos of the city! So we've been pretty lucky.

This is an interesting time to be gone, because so many distinctly American things have happened while I've been here: the inauguration and the Super Bowl, I mean (I guess that doesn't count as SO many, but whatever). I suppose going in the fall and experiencing Halloween and Thanksgiving in a non-American country would've been similarly strange (or at least, waking up on those days and realizing it's not a holiday would be). However, both the inauguration and the Super Bowl have gotten a bit of hype around here. I've spoken a little about the inauguration, which was fun; but the Super Bowl was even more of an experience. First of all, as I make more local friends it gets more apparent how different the cultures actually are! Last night, we all went to a pub/bar/nightclub place to watch the game. It was probably the first time I've watched a football game and been one of the most knowledgeable about what was happening! Not that I really had any clue, but it was less embarrassing not to know and more gratifying when I did know the answers to questions posed by people seeing American Football for the first time. The only downside was that we don't get American commercials, so I didn't get that particular bit of enjoyment. Also, commercials in the UK don't last as long, so there were several instances where we were watching them mill around on the field while the commercials in America played. It was interesting to see the illusion of "continuous play" shattered like that. I knew that they suspended play during commercials in the Super Bowl, I just never really thought about it much. (Note: I typed this paragraph and then re-read it, and I spelled commercials wrong EVERY TIME. Oops.)

One of the best parts about last night was that my friends convinced me it would be a good idea to sing karaoke while we were waiting for kick off (which happened at just after 11 pm--needless to say I did not stay for the whole game, especially since my flat was a 50 minute walk away!). Now, I've never been a shy performer, but karaoke has never really been something I thought about doing. So, we made a deal: I would sing if they would come up on stage and dance. It was a really fun time. Two of my friends took a video, so maybe I'll put that up here (once I've watched it myself, to make sure it's not TOO embarrassing). You'll just have to keep checking back to see!

Alright, time to walk to class in the snow. It makes campus feel oddly familiar, somehow...