Glasgow

I had to go and re-read my last blog post to see what I had already written-- so much has happened I can't seem to keep up! :) I've been getting settled in. The hardest part still seems to be jetlag. I have continued to wake up in 2 hour increments throughout the night and get REALLY sleepy in the early afternoon. I also wake up starving around 4:30 am here (which is my normal eat a bowl of cereal before going to bed time!)

I was finally able to connect with my advisor yesterday and get registered for my classes. He was very nice and showed me around the buildings and introduced me to several people. I'm taking mostly (or all, not quite sure yet) Music classes, and they are all located on the Jordanhill campus, which is a small portion of campus located about 3 miles West of the main John Anderson campus. The bummer is that my flat is on the John Anderson campus, so I have to take the bus to all my classes. The even BIGGER bummer is that the bus only comes every 2 hours, so I have to get to my classes 1.5 hours early, just to make sure I will get there on time.

I went to my first class today which was music history. Probably about 15 students and it's going to be half about popular music (The Beatles, etc.) and half Celtic music (which I'm super excited for!). I'm the only non-Scottish student, so it's a great class to meet people in! I'm waiting to hear back from my Bagpipe tutor. I'm going to end up going to the Glasgow Piping Centre once a week for my one-on-one lesson. Can't wait to start that!

I've been meeting a lot more people which is great! Last night was an International Student Pub Night and I met several guys from France, a gal from Italy, a gal from Spain, and several Canadians and Americans. Tomorrow I'm going with a few of my roommates (and Mel) to explore the city a bit more and buy some things. I wasn't very smart in packing my coats.... I ended up bring my down coat and a very light jacket. What I didn't realize was what I REALLY needed was something inbetween. :-/ The weather (although much nicer than Iowa right now) has proven to be quite inconsistent, but I really don't mind it much.

I'm SUPER excited for a day-trip I'm taking on Sunday. Some of my roommates, my American friend Mitch, 3 of our new French friends and possibly a few others are all taking a day trip to Loch Ness and the Highlands. It's a 8am-7pm ALL DAY trip. I can't wait to get out of the city for a while and see the true beauty of Scotland! Saturday will also be great because we're going to be taking a walking tour of Glasgow with several Scottish students. Should be good!

Below are pictures of my view from my bus stop, hanging out with Aslan at George Square, and my bedroom. Above is me with my roommate Alex and me and the other is me with my new friend Patricia from Spain and Manuela from Italy. :)