Thursday, September 27, 2012

An officially initiated UK Fresher

This week has been ok, aside from the fact that I have a terrible cold! At University, it is known as the fresher's cold. I guess its known as the freshers cold because it is the first time the first years are living with other people so the spread of sickness is inevitable. The cold began in my flat about a week ago but I believed I wouldn't get it because I have already grown accustomed living with a bunch of people (I'm a third year) and I have worked with small children who you can catch anything from. However i was wrong.

The freshers cold starts off with a runny noise, sore bones, and chesty cough. As soon as you think you are getting better, you get ALOT worse. You get a sore throat and feel like doing nothing (This happened to me today). It is a terrible cold, but I guess it is sort of an initiation into University. But I wish it would go away, because I am going to Brussels tomorrow!!!

Going to Belgium was kind of a spur of the moment decision. My friends from DU and I were trying to go to the Isle of Skye (in the highlands of Scotland), but were to late getting tickets at the international club. So my friends decided to go to Belgium (I am not sure why Belgium) and I decided to tag along. It was not one of my original travel destinations, however, I am excited to experience a different city and get to eat Belgian waffles and chocolate. 

To be honest, I originally didn't want to travel that much, and that is still my plan. As of now, I plan on going to Belgium, the Highlands, Ireland, Wales, and Poland or Berlin. I am not sure if they will all work out but we will see. I really just want to experience the UK as a whole, and more specifically Scotland. I would hate to come away from this experience without having a greater appreciation of where I am living. 

Anyway, I hope this cold gets better by tomorrow. I have already taken a nap today, which is not normal for me. I'll be back really late on Sunday, so hopefully I will be awake enough for class at 11 the next morning. I hope to take lots of pictures and upload a blogpost when I get back. Until then :D.

Monday, September 24, 2012

Perspective

Last week started off pretty well. I finally got my ID after much financial struggle and my classes were good. One day last week (I can't remember when) my flatmates and I  went to awesome bar called The Bookshop. No, they don't sell books there. It's a huge but really chic bar with a dj, old nintendo games, and ping pong. It was a lot of fun.

Thursday was fun too.eFirst, my DU friends and I went to the city centre (the main shopping area), and went to Primark. They had to go to their bagpiping lesson but I did a lot of window shopping and got two really cute skirts on sale from H&M. When I got back to my flat, most of my flatmates and I just hung out. We did attempt to go to a party but it was kind of a dud, so we just came back to the flat and hung out. I was a little concerned about my flatmates, because they are 18 and they drink like Scots (rightfully so I might add), but they knew what they were doing. So after having a good week, I would have a fabulous weekend.

But that was proven false by Friday. I had the worst luck Friday evening. Essentially, I was supposed to meet Ivan and Abbie at 7:30 for an 8 o'clock movie but I thought I was supposed to meet them at 8. I was already running late to meet another friend who was coming along, so I grabbed my water, threw it in my purse and headed to the subway. Once I realized that I had screwed up the movie time, I felt so bad but we headed to the movie anyway. As we started walking, however, I felt my bag leaking. I hadn't closed my water bottle and it all spilled at the bottom of my purse! I grabbed my phones, camera, and ipod out of there as fast as I could but it was no use. Even though my iphone was in an otterbox, it still got water on it. My phone would turn on but the screen said no sim card (even though there was one). So I turned my phone off and it hasn't turned back on since. I actually have dropped my phone in the toilet, and have saved it, thanks to my sorority sister Emma, by putting it in rice. However, going to the movies, I didn't have any rice on hand so I couldn't dry it out. If anyone has ever had this problem, how did you fix it? My ipod is dead but it was dead a long time ago. It's just so hard not to have my usual iphone so I can contact home if I need to, you know?

A glimpse of the many things I am thankful for

 


  














But yesterday/today, I kind of put things in perspective. What I mean is, I realized that losing my phone wasn't the end of the world. I learned this because yesterday my mom told me my grandfather was in the hospital because he got a pacemaker. I was shocked to hear this but glad that I heard he was doing fine. I also learned that it is typical for older people to get pacemakers and that he could have many happy years ahead of him. However, it still upset me terribly. I wish I was closer to home and could visit him in the hospital. I also put my life in perspective because I watched the episode of How I Met Your Mother where Marshall's dad dies. I know it sounds stupid but today it just hit me that, although I am experience change and minor hardships while abroad, my life is pretty good right now. After all, in my mind, family and friends are all that matters. Not material possessions, like an iphone. If there was a fire and I could only grab a couple of things (yes I can't chose only one), I would grab my pictures, journals, and Marley dog (stuffed animal). End of story. It was that one little thing that I needed to be reminded of to put my life into perspective.

Anyway, Lauren and I saw Hope Springs. I thought it was sweet. It's about an old couple who try to add  zest back into their marriage by going to a marriage counselor. Tommy Lee Jones, Meryl Streep, and Steve Carell were in the movie. Meryl Streep's and Tommy Lee Jone's  happy scenes reminded me of my parents, so it was almost like a little taste of home. 

Saturday, I started coming down with a cold, known as the fresher's flu. It isn't that bad but I just feel achy, and have a terrible runny nose (I still have it). Anyway, I mailed in my absentee ballot that afternoon. To be honest, I was very proud of myself. I know that my voice may be very small in politics, but even the smallest voice can be heard. I felt like I was making a difference. That night, my DU friends and I planned out all of our trips we wanted to go on together. I was so grateful for this because I didn't want to travel alone. So as of now, I am planning on going to Ireland, Poland, and Wales (with my flatmate because he's from there and maybe with my family when they come).

Sunday was ok. I went to church, where the Dean said it was ok to ask questions and have doubts about the church. I would have never heard that from my church at home. Later that night, I learned that only about 1% of UK residents go to church. Being an episcopalian, I almost felt like I would be coming home in the UK, because I just assumed that all of the UK was under the Church of England. Oh well. With its grand structure and humble congregation, it's still an amazing experience going to St. Mary's Cathedral in Scotland. Last night, my junior friends (DU+Dasha) went to see my friend Katy in her musical. The Cecillian society preformed Little Shop of Horrors. The production was a 48 hour production, meaning they auditioned on Friday, rehearsed Saturday and Sunday, and preformed Sunday night. It was a great preformance. I couldn't believe they had only started rehearsing on Saturday!

Today has been ok. I woke up thinking that my education class started at 10 when it really started at 11, so I had some time to kill. My friends and I tried to get tickets to go to the Isle of Skye this weekend, but the tickets were already sold out by the time we got there. It's all good though. My friends and I were going to go to ultimate frisbee but it was to rainy and windy outside. Instead, some of us stayed in and played card games. Anyway, tomorrow is a long day. I have three classes! Write to you all again soon:D



Wednesday, September 19, 2012

The American way to living like a fresher

Oh my gosh! I can't believe I haven't blogged in awhile!

So last wednesday my mom went to the airport and I took the train to back to Glasgow. It was the weirdest feeling, but I was excited to come back. I was eager for classes to start. I decided not to take a cab from the train station, so with my oversized backpack strapped on my back, I took the subway back to the closest station to the university and walked the rest of the way. It was an epic scene.

That night, I met some friends and we attempted to go to the headphone disco. See, I had to buy a freshers pass that would allow me go to all the freshman events, including the headphone disco. Of course, I didn't buy one because I was traveling most of the week so I didn't get one. When we got to the party, I couldn't get in. It was ok though. One of my friend's Scottish roommate, Greg, was kind enough to walk me back to my room.

By Thursday, the freshers had already moved into my dorm, so that morning, I was nervous to get up and meet them. One of my roommates, Braum, was eating breakfast with another guy, Calum. From there I met so many people. Here is a list of my roommates.

Braum- The first person I met because we are both international students and we had to go to international orientation (He's from Holland). The first time I met him, I wasn't able to talk to him for too long because I was carrying a lot of groceries. Now we talk a lot more.

Julie- She is my next door neighbor and is so sweet and down to earth. She and I met the Friday before I left. She is an actress (in French films, she's french) is studying drama and music. She has really frizzy blonde hair.

Stewart- I met Stewart the day he moved in but I don't know if he remembers, because that was the Friday before I left as well. He is a stud and has a twin brother. He is also really nice but not as talkative as the rest of them. He is from Edinburgh

Sorcha- She likes to party but is so sweet.  She is Northern Irish. She and Stewart are together. They are seriously the cutest and most perfect couple. Her brother goes to NYU, so see has been to the United States. When she and Stewart are partying, she always tells me that they want to visit me in Texas or New York

Calum- Calum is 17! He is so talkative and sweet, just like I have been saying about all of my roommates. Because he is the same age as my friend Jackson, he fills the youthful friend gap I have been feeling while I am over here. I feel almost like a guardian for him because he is so young. Calum is also from Edinburgh.

Cal- Cal is the one that brings the group together. He is ver flamboyant,  talkative,  and is always up to hang out with anyone. He loves Ed Sheran. Cal is from Wales

Reese- Reese is a very manly Scot but sweet at the same time. He likes blood and gore (he tried to get us to watch Clockwork Orange. He said it wasn't that bad...) but you can tell that he has a good heart.

John- Unconciously, I want to call John, Ron (Weasly), because he is Scottish and has red hair. He is  kind of the Jerry of the group (Parks and Rec reference) but he means well.

Eve- Eve is from Scotland. She is seriously the sweetest person ever. I haven't spent as much time with her as the others because she has been traveling.

Lily- Lily lived in Spain but she's from England. She is talkative and is always up for a party, but she is also very sweet.

Andreas- Andreas is from Cyrus, Greece. I don't see him a lot but I would love to talk to him more. He is very quiet, I suspect because of the language barrier, but is nice.

That's my flat and I love all of them! We've been hanging out a lot. On Friday, Cal bought a cheap drinking game and we played that and truth or dare. The next day, we did exactly the same thing. I had to do some funny dares for people. I had to style Calum's hair (fohawk with his initials with spray paint)  and get a piggy back ride from him (His dare was to pick the person sitting next to him up. I don't know if it was supposed to be literal or figuratively but I like his way). We all had to hide from Stewart until he found someone or after 15 minutes. Sorcha had to call her friend and act like she was kidnapped. It was a crazy night. Then, we tried to go to a freshers party but the doors closed. It was all good. I had had a goodnight.

On Sunday, I had dinner with two of Edie's (my big in my sorority) old flatmates, Ivan and David. I had met Ivan before but I had never met David. He is from London. Abbie, Ivan and my mutual friend, David's girlfriend, and her friend all had dinner in their flat. All of them were so nice. They all seemed really interested in America and were really nice about answering all of my questions about Scottish culture.

All this week I have had lectures. (Lectures are hour long classes here in the UK. On top of that, you have to take a tutorial for your classes, another hour, that are the discussion part of the class). My first lecture was a little weird. I pratically ran across campus to make it there, and only two other girls were in the classroom. It was only until after my class that I realized that I have a University of Glasgow email account and class had been cancelled that week. Next, I had Celtic studies. My friend Amanda is in that class and it is really interesting. On Tuesdays I have my history class, Scottish Milineum. Oddly, a lot of people I know are in my class. Ironically, one of the professors of the class is from North Dakota. And once every two weeks I have my Scottish Culture class. I really liked it today. We learned about the creation of the Scottish language (Scots used to  speak a type of language named Scots, derived from english. There are still remnants of it in Scottish language today).

All in all, I have been well. I have had one minor difficulty, however. For some reason I was not fully registered because the financial office had not gotten a chance to read my scholarship letter! I was so frustrated! I couldn't even check a book out of the library! It was very annoying. Thank God I could get a gym membership.

This week had been very busy. On Monday my friend Lauren came over to meet my flat (She lives in a flat with all international people and she wanted to meet some British people). We got to watch a real football (soccer game)! Then yesterday, a couple of friends and I went to an international party to get free pizza and hang out. Other than that, I have just been getting to know my flatmates.  They really like How I Met Your Mother :D. Today at dinner ( I have become quite the chef by the way :P) a couple of us played monkey in the middle (here they call it piggie in the middle). I've learned many new words (Dodgey, meaning sketchy) and so far, have had a great time.

Unfortunately, I have not been in touch as much as I would like to with my friends from DU or home. If you are reading this, skype date soon? I promise I will get on a regular schedule. The time difference is so challenging though.

Lastly, I will try to blog more on a regular basis. Ta-ta for now








Friday, September 14, 2012


My Princess Wave at Buckingham Palace
On our last day in London, my mom and I got a tour of Buckingham Palace. The first exhibit was an exhibit on Leonardo Da Vinci's drawings and studies on the human body. I never knew he was an anatomist as well as an artist. Maybe that's why his drawings are so perfect. 
Is that Prince William?
But I was not really interested in Da Vinci's exhibit. I wanted to see the palace! Again we were only allowed to see the Queen's Staterooms. The rooms were so magnificent and grand. I would give anything to live there. We saw the opening of the Palace, where William and Kate were dropped off after their wedding. We also got to see the throne room, where William and Kate and Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip took their wedding photos!!! I was starstruck by these places but can you imagine what I would do if I saw them? I would probably cry. The special exhibit was on the Queens diamonds because of her Diamond Jubilee but I would much have rather seen the exhibit on the Royal Wedding (which we just missed :/ )
Tea at Buckingham Palace
After our tour we went and had tea and a treat in the Buckingham Palace Garden. Then we headed to the Queen's royal mews. On the way over there, we saw a green range rover pull into the back entrance. According to my mother and the movie The Queen, every royal drives a range rover. I tried to look inside it, but did not get a good glimpse.
Prince William and Catherine Middleton's Wedding Carriage!!!
Prince Charles' and Princess Diana's wedding day carriage
The Coronation Carriage
Anyway, the Royal Mews were very cool. We saw Princess Diana's wedding day coach, as well as Catherine Middleton's wedding coach. We also saw two of the Queen's horses. After the mews, my mom and I went on a walk to Clarence House, where Prince Charles, Camilla, and Prince Harry live. On the walk over there we saw a beautiful monument to the men and the women in the armed forces.

Armed Forces Monument
My sister, Leah, had asked my mom and I to go shopping for her at Topshop in London. We searched for one and found a HUGE one on Oxford Street. We shopped there so long that we missed the opening scene of the musical we saw, Singing in the Rain. It was a fun musical with amazing tap dancing. In the famous number, Singing in the Rain, the main character actually danced in the rain on stage.


After the musical, my mom and I went to an Indian food restaurant. Although we were the only one's there, it was fun to eat a dinner alone with my mom. All in all, it was a great trip. We squeezed so many things in that we were constantly moving. But that's just how the Rosenthal's travel :D


Arthur's Seat...It was way too Windy


Royal Day Out Day 3: Windsor



My mom and I really didn't have any plans for Monday but after another early morning flight we decided to go to Windsor. The guy that helped us with our train ticket wasn't very helpful and made fun of us but nonetheless we left Paddington Station and took the short train ride to Windsor.

Windsor is a picturesque British town that houses the Queens weekend home, Windsor Castle. Windsor also houses a lot of cute touristy shops and pubs. It was one of my favorite towns we went to.

Windsor Castle is, itself, a town. Many people, aside from the Royal Family, live there. It was the bigger castles we saw. We were allowed to see the Queen's staterooms and St. George's Chapel. There is so much history in St. George's Castle. For example, it is where many Kings and Queens are buried, such as the Queen's late parents.

However my favorite memorial/tomb, was Princess Charlotte's memorial. I know I wrote before that Queen Victoria was one of my favorite members of the royal family but Princess Charlotte is my favorite historical Princess. Her story is the most tragic story of a royal I have ever heard, besides Mary Queen of Scots that is. Princess Charlotte was the daughter of Prince George (later King George IV) and Princess Caroline. Like many royals, Princess Charlotte's parents did not have a happy marriage. Prince George often held his daughter captive and did not allow Charlotte to see her mother (even though he also had a bunch of mistresses like his wife). Prince George even controlled Princess Charlotte's love life. She was madly in love with a man who her father did not allow her to marry. However, her father approved of Prince Leopold of Saxe-Colburg and they did fall madly in love (yes, Queen Victoria's uncle through her mother). However, their marriage was short. Princess Charlotte had one miscarriage and when she became pregnant with another child, she was put on bed rest for most of her pregnancy. Due to the antiquated doctoral system of the time, Princess Charlotte died alongside her baby boy at the young age of 21. Prince Leopold was very torn up but eventually moved on. If Prince Charlotte and her son survived, Queen Elizabeth would only be a distant relative of the Royal family!
*Not my picture
When I saw Princess Charlotte's tomb, I was overcome with sadness. This girl had undergone such a tragic past and was not able to let her legacy live on. Now she is another forgotten royal.

My favorite happy thing to see, however, was Princess Mary's playhouse. She gave the playhouse to her mother because her mother collected dollhouses. It wasn't intended for play, but I wanted to play with it so badly! It was basically a castle doll house.

After Windsor Castle, my mom and I went to the Duchess of Cambridge (otherwise known as Catherine Middleton :D) pub. I know the name of the pub has probably nothing to do with the Duchess, but it was still fun to eat there.
I swear I wasn't being a creepy stalker. I just wanted to get a photo of their coattails!
When we arrived at Windsor, I had seen signs for Eaton, where Prince William went to school. So after dinner, my mom and I made our way to Eaton. The boys were completely ruled the town. Their uniforms were so classy. They wear tuxedos with coattails everyday, even to class? How can they concentrate in that outfit. I told my mom that I wanted to teach there and she told me that I should work somewhere in the United States. Oh well, one can dream can't they:D?

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Royal Day Out 2: Edinburgh and St. Andrews

Arthur's seat at 59

On Sunday my mom and I took a really early flight to Edinburgh. It was a quick flight and when we arrived we grabbed our bags and went to our rental car. For some reason we were given a mercedes, that my mom hated, but nonetheless it was a fancy car.
Holyrood
Our first stop was Holyrood. Holyrood is the official residence of the Queen in Scotland. We saw the garden and her state apartments. The castle was magnificent. Fun Fact: Zara Phillips, one of the Queens many grand children, held her wedding reception in the courtyard of Holyrood. They also had a really informative exhibit on Mary Queen of Scots. Her story is very tragic.
Arthur's Seat
Next we went to Arthur's seat. How did I even hear about Arthur's seat you ask? The novel One Day, by David Nicholls, begins and ends at Arthur's seat. It is one of my favorite books and it was made into a decent movie with Jim Sturgess and Anne Hathaway. Arthur's Seat is right behind Holyrood. It is straight walk up a hill but it is worth it because you get a beautiful view of the whole city of Edinburgh. We met another mother and daughter who told us all the things we had to do on our visit to Edinburgh. One of which was to go to the Britania. We didn't schedule to go there but we couldn't pass up the chance.
Driving the Britannia
My attempt at Princess Diana's famous Britannia Pose
So, we ended up touring the Royal Yacht Britannia. This was the Royal family's yacht from the early 1950's until 1997. We saw the Queen's bedroom and study, Prince Phillips bedroom and study, Prince Charles' bedroom, the dining room, and the living room. We also saw the help's quarters such as the captains bedroom, the shipmate's room and hang out, and the kitchen. It was so cool to walk were the royal family had been. Fun fact 2: Zara Phillips had her pre-wedding reception aboard the Britannia.

Lastly, we travelled to St. Andrews, where William and Kate met. On the way there, my mom managed to do the unthinkable and got a flat tire. The way she explained it to Hertz was : "I guess I hit the curb...But I don't like this car anyway!" We got it fixed in about thirty minutes though.
Our fixed flat tire
When we got to St. Andrews it was already dark but we were able to see the big golf course and the college. We were told that the college is spread throughout the city. We went to the University building and got to see and hear the fresher's party. Then we ate dinner in the city centre.
Hogwarts or St. Andrews?
I was pretty disappointed by the amount of Americans there. I swear, every other person was American! The students were also pretty unruly and didn't seem to appreciate the wonderful place they were studying in. I hope to believe that William and Catherine were more dignified than how they were acting but sadly, you can't believe everything you read.

Royal Day Out 1

One of the views from my train windows
On Saturday I took the train to London to meet my mom, who was flying in all the way from Dallas. My train ride went pretty smoothly. I couldn't stop looking out the window at the beautiful British countryside.

Once I arrived at my hotel, my mom wasn't there yet so I did a little shopping on Oxford street. I went to Primark and it was crazy. Primark is a British superstore, kind of like Macy's or Dillards. There were so many people there that I was so overwhelmed. I bought a few things but left as fast as I could.

My mom hadn't called me yet and I was worried so I went back to my hotel and had lunch. Just as I was about to panic, my mom came in. Her phone wasn't working and that's why I couldn't reach her. I was so thankful to see her.

After lunch we went to Kensington Palace, the place where Queen Victoria was raised and where William and Kate will live next year. It was so AMAZING. Just to warn you, Queen Victoria is one of my favorite royals. People misunderstand her. They only remember her as the grumpy, old, fat woman who was morning the loss of her husband. But I remember a young girl who had to take over the British throne at a very young age and who had a fairytale romance with Prince Albert (who unfortunately died at a very young age).

In Front of Kensington
So you can imagine my excitement when I stepped into the Palace. When my mom and I walked by the front gate, we paused for a moment to see the flowers and letters left for the 15th anniversary of Princess Diana's death. It was very solemn. It was so powerful that people could still celebrate the philanthropic and caring Princess even 15 years after she passed.

There are three exhibits in Kensington Palace. First, we took a tour of Princess Diana's dresses. It was kind of a let down because there were only about 4 dresses but it was amazing to see the fashion icon's real dresses. Next, we took a tour of the King's magnificent quarters. Last we took the Queen Victoria tour (we didn't go to the last exhibit).
Queen Victoria's Table
The exhibit was outstanding. I will give you a brief early history on the then Princess Victoria. Princess Victoria was born to King Edward and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Colburg. Unfortunately, her father died when she was very young so she was raised by her mother and her mother's sly advisor, John Conrad. Both people took advantage of Queen Victoria and tried to control her as much as possible. As I said before, Queen Victoria became Queen of Great Britain at the age of 18. She was finally set free of her mother and Conrad. She then married Prince Albert and had 9 children. Sadly, Prince Albert died at the age of 42. Victoria was so in love with him, that she morned his death until her own. This annoyed the British citizens, because she would not do some of her official duties. However, to me she will be remembered as the young girl that loved her husband and her country with all her heart.
Prince Albert and I
I was able to see her mourning dress (that has turned brown now), her wedding dress, her dolls, and the table where she did her first official business in the day she was crowned queen. I had read about her but actually being there brought the whole thing to life. It was mind blowing.
My curtsy to Queen Victoria
After the exhibit we walked through Hyde Park, a beautiful park right outside of Kensington. It reminded me of the setting of Emily Giffin's novel Something Blue. Once we got back to the hotel, we went to dinner at this amazing chinese food place, Royal China. Even though I've only been away for about two weeks, it was so good to get to catch up with my mom. Day one complete :D

Chill


Last Thursday was a pretty chill day. I took a tour of all of Glasgow and my friends and I went out and played jenga. Then on Friday I went on a beautiful jog off a creek right by my flat. Then I met Abbie and Ivan (my big's friend) and we saw Anna Karinana downtown. It was a spectacular movie. It was also cool to see a movie in September that won't be released in the United States until November. It was a great night.
My scenic morning jog

Monday, September 10, 2012

Long Time No Write

For those of you who follow my blog, I am sorry I haven't written anything. I have been super busy/ lazy. But here is a quick update with, of course, a longer description to come.
Thursday-Glasgow tour, went out an played Jenga (I know, it's crazy that that was the highlight of my life)
Friday-Took a short jog along the creek, met my big's friend, and saw Anna Karinina 
Saturday- Took the train to London, met my mom, went to Kensington/Hyde Park
Sunday- Flight to Edinburgh, Holyrood Castle, Arthur's seat, The Royal Britannia, flat tire, St. Andrews
Monday-flight to London, Windsor Castle, Eaton

Pictures and posts to come!

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Culzean Castle (The Z is silent :D)

Today I got to tour Culzean Castle (the z is silent :)) as part of the Scotland trips they offered through the international orientation program. I did not know anyone but thank god a student from DU was on the tour. On the hour long bus ride over I sat next to a Chinese student, Helen, and we discussed the differences between our two countries. It was very funny. We both argued that the other person's country was the big super power. It was an eye opening bus ride. As soon as we arrived to the country park we were given a tour of the castle.
Culzean Castle
Culzean Castle belonged to the Kennedy family (not JFK's family, they were Irish :D). Robert Adam was the architect who, in the 18th century, molded the castle into a "neoclassical mansion". It was a beautiful castle with many victorian designs. Only half 2/3 floors of the castle-mansion is shown to visitors and there were no cameras permitted. However, we got to see the drawing room, the kitchen, the library, a few bedrooms and powder rooms, and the kitchen. The whole time I kept thinking of Downton Abbey and how cool it would be to live in a mansion like that.  For those of you who don't know, Downton Abbey is a British tv show shown on  PBS which follows the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants in the early 1900's. If you don't watch it already, you should definitely watch it!

It also reminded me of the movie Dark Shadows or The Woman in Black because it is a empty castle on  a hill right off the sea. Coincidentaly, it does have a supernatural history. First, the castle was used in the 1970's British horror film, The Wicker Man. It is also apparently it is haunted by previous members of the house, but then again, what castle isn't "haunted" in Europe. They have such a deep history that anything is possible :P.

Walled Gardens
After the tour, we were free to walk around the castle grounds. Like I said, the ground had a spectacular view of the sea. So the guy from Denver (Steve) and Helen went to lunch at the only cafe there, a cafeteria. Then Helen met up with her friend so Steve and I wandered around aimlessly and ran into some other international students. We met Dan from Brown, Maria from Denmark, Kerena from Germany, and another girl from Pennsylvania. We decided to go as one big group to the beach.
A Scottish Beach
Before the beach we walked through the walled gardens and went to swan park. The park was pretty and, of course, was home to many swans . The beach was amazing though. It looked like the typical English country side beach. There was a pretty island and a beautiful jutting cliff, which we actually climbed. The only downside to hall of it was that I got sand in my shoes but it was worth it. Then we headed back to the castle, got on the bus, and left.

We got back around five but I was so tired from the day that I've just been hanging out in my dorm room since then. It was definitely a good day. Until tomorrow!

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Stripping the Willow

My School for the Next Three Months
Yesterday started the beginning of orientation. I woke up and met friends that I have through mutual friends and we walked over to orientation together. The University shoved us all into a big lecture hall and talked to us about everything we needed to know from 9-12, with a break of course. It wouldn't have been that bad if it wasn't so hot! However they apologized for the heat and said that they couldn't do anything about it.

Then a couple other DU students, two other friends, and I got lunch at a cute little crepe place right next to the university. Then we had a couple of boring orientation activities to do but I did run into one of my friends who lived in the same hall as I did freshman year. It was nice to see a familiar face :).

Last night, my friends and I also went to the international student social. It was amazing. Because the drinking age is 18 in the United Kingdom, they gave us a ticket to get a free drink at the bar and I just felt like I had to get one :D. The highlight of the evening, however, was the Scottish Dancing, which involves a lot of hopping and twirling around. I got very dizzy a couple of times. All the dances were fun but the "Stripped Willow" made me laugh the most because I could not get it down. (It sounds a lot easier than it looks).

This is a little bit like a Scottish Dance, but without all the footwork

After the dancing, they served a buffet. Unfortunately, it was certainly not enough to feed all of us, so my friends and I went looking for a little place to eat. We found this place called The Basement and decided to try it.

It was the coolest bar! It was small though and we couldn't find a seat. This James Mcavoy look-a-like (which is funny because he is actually Scottish) invited us to sit with us and his girlfriend. We decided "Why not?". Little did we know that Monday night is trivia night. They asked questions from the royal family (which I got right by the way) to American movie stars. They even made fun of One Direction (Leah). It was the best night. Chilling with a cute Scottish couple and making new friends it was the best!

Today, sadly, was not as fun. I forgot how stressful the actual class part of school actually is. Why do they make signing up for classes so hard and confusing. I just want to do what I want to do! Not to mention I woke up late again today. What is wrong with me?!!!? I am always a diligent student. What have I become? I am seriously worried! Then, I didn't get to go on my campus tour because I got lost trying to get to the building we meet at. Although it was a difficult day I did get to ride the subway and go downtown to the pound store. But it is days like these where I wish I could use my iphone, have wifi in my room, and be with my family. On a positive note, I get to tour a castle tomorrow! Until next time -Lauren

Sunday, September 2, 2012

One step at a time

The picture of the botanical gardens I promised
I promise I will stop blogging once school picks up :D

Today was amazing. I woke up to my British alarm clock on my dinky phone telling me "It's time to get up!"It made me smile because it reminded me of my mom waking me up in the morning. So I packed my backpack, put on my formal clothes, and headed to church.

Now why go to church, you ask? Although I go try to go to church every Sunday, I am not a very religious person. I can't tell you what I believe in because frankly I don't know. But I can tell you that going to church helps get my head on my shoulders. It reaffirms my morals and helps me make since of the life I lead. And whatever Episcopal Church I have gone to is always welcoming and safe. That might not be the best faith based reason but it is my reason. I wanted to go to church in Scotland to help me through this transition and because it is the birthplace of my religion (England is to be exact).
The steeple with a traditional Scotsman :)

St. Mary's Cathedral
Surprisingly, I didn't get lost walking to the Cathedral, although it did take me awhile to get there. However, I was accosted by three young men in a car on my walk. I wonder if they would've said anything if they knew where I was going. The Cathedral was so pretty. They had picturesque stained glass windows and an actual pulpit (unlike my church back home). The preacher had a deep almost majestic voice that captured the audience. The sermon was about change how fast the world has become. It reminded us to take things one step at a time and not to rush through things. To live each day as its own. I needed to hear that after getting ready to spend a semester in a completely new country.

I, like all other guests, was invited to have coffee or tea after the service. There I met this sweet old Scottish man who tried to get me to meet all the Americans in the congregation. There was a professor from California and a man from Virginia who had met his wife during her study abroad experience in Virginia. The preacher was actually from the United States as well. His daughter was getting ready to go to college in Boston. I found my own little America in Glasgow (However, it seems that Scots love American things. I have seen dominos, subway, and they sell coke products here like crazy)

Next, I went to a cute little cafe for lunch and then headed to the University's workout facility. I did get lost this time and a little old man helped me find my way. He told me that if I got lost again to just ask someone. Glasgow is really one of the nicest cities I've ever been too. 

After my workout, I walked around campus a little bit. It is so beautiful. Everything is made of stone with pretty green grass. It kind of reminded me of my dad's alma mater, Columbia. 

University of Glasgow

When I got back to my dorm I met one of my flatmates. He is from Holland and is a freshman. I couldn't really talk to him because I was carrying groceries. I hope he doesn't think I'm mean. I haven't seen him since then. 

Tonight I went to get chinese food at a little whole in the wall place right next to my dorm. No one else was really there, but it was good. It reminded me of Jason's Thai back at school, which made me miss my friends there. I walked back to my dorm and I have been writing ever since. Orientation starts tomorrow so hopefully I will be preoccupied :). Ta ta for now.

Saturday, September 1, 2012

They don't have gardens like this in the United States

So I made plans last night to meet up with a friend from DU around 11 but I overslept! I  felt so bad. I hate jet lag! Thankfully she understood and we ended up meeting at the botanical gardens around 1. It was hard to meet up without a phone but we found each other and walked around byres street. 

Byres street is so cool! It's a street filled with little cute Scottish shops. It reminded me of the streets of New York, but in Scotland of course:). We stopped in a little cafe and I had my first fish and chips and an Irn Bru. (For those of you who don't know irn bru is a Scottish soft drink everyone likes here. It kind of tastes like a Big Red or a creamy orange soda.) Then we headed through the botanical gardens to get to Tesco (a UK version of Target or Walmart).

Walking through the gardens are beautiful! There was a creek that ran through a beautiful stone bridge. I regret not taking pictures but I'm hope I will be there again.  We got lost but this nice lady helped us. She was from India and told us all about Scotland. We walked for about twenty minutes but we made it to Tesco.

I only bought the essentials: a laundry basket, a recycle bin, plates, etc... I thought I had done a pretty good job. Unfortunately, I forgot that we had walked and I had to carry it all back to my dorm. It was a difficult walk and my recycling bin cracked but I made it back to my dorm. Although the walk was hard, it was another beautiful walk and I needed these things. My room finally looks like a room. Here are a few pictures.
My Dorm
My Desk
I also have a community kitchen and a community bathroom, toilet and shower in my flat. It's kind of like a suite back in the US. I like it but it's not the nicest dorm because I am in the freshman dorm. I just keep reminding myself that William and Kate must have had dorms like this their first year at St. Andrews, maybe. It will be better once people show up. Write later :D