I had a great break at home with my family. I got home Tuesday, December 22nd. When I arrived at SFO, Bec, Noah, and Jimmy were there to pick me up and we went out to dinner at Chevy’s. (They told them it was my birthday, so I got the big sombrero and singing.) The next day I spent with Bec and Bill. We started off going to brunch at Samovar in Yerba Buena Gardens, and then walked downtown to Union Square. After that we went shopping in Japan Town and bought some great fish, rice, and seaweed. We decided that our new Christmas Eve tradition was going to be making sushi. It was unbelievable. I decided to spend the night at their house and on Christmas morning, we went back to our house for brunch and presents. That afternoon we went to my uncle’s house in Danville for more presents/family time and a scrumptious meal. The rest of the week is mixed up in my head, so I’ll mention some highlights. We saw Avatar in 3-D, I went shopping for Scotland necessities, we had dinner with our friends David and Suzie, and last but not least, my last dinner was Top Chef 5!
Bec and Bill at the Samovar Tea Lounge in Yerba Buena Gardens
Me making sushi
Our wonderful dinner.
Christmas tree at my house
Christmas Day brunch with Baba, Deda, Mom, Dad, Bec, and Bill
Christmas tree at my uncle's house
After tricking David into thinking we all left him alone with the dessert and check.
Our family has Top Chef competitions where we have friends over, divide into 2 teams, pick an ingredient out of a hat, and then each teams has to cook an appetizer, main course, and dessert featuring the chosen ingredient. For my last dinner in SF, Top Chef 5, the ingredient was pear and it worked out pretty well. We had 2 teams of 6 (our largest Top Chef yet) and there were 4 judges, me, Katie, Mom and Dad. I was the judge because I was videotaping the entire competition.
Bec and Gabi making pear cupcakes with salted caramel frosting
All of the delicious food cooking on the stove. (Pear/Squash soup, poached pears, shrimp and more)
Me and Bec in the kitchen.
After Top Chef, I went home, got some rest, and then woke up early to have breakfast with my grandparents, do some last-minute errands, and finish packing for Scotland. I had to be at the airport at 1:45pm.
MY TRIP- January 1, 2010
I got to the airport around 2pm with my two small pieces of luggage and my backpack, and checked in with Virgin Atlantic. My flight was supposed to leave at 4:45, but ended up leaving an hour late around 6. I had an aisle seat (my favorite) and it was a pretty comfortable flight. I didn’t get much sleep, and I didn’t do ANYTHING I said I was going to do. I never even opened my laptop to upload my pictures. Once I got off of my direct flight from SFO to Heathrow, I headed to customs. I almost had a an issue getting through customs because I didn’t have my flight itinerary printed out for my trip home and I didn’t have my address for Glasgow, so they had no proof that I was going to be leaving in 6 months. But, the guy was nice and he said he wasn’t worried about an American student, so he let me through to get my luggage. After getting my luggage in London, I checked in with British Airways but had to pay for an extra piece of luggage (they only allow 1 piece of checked luggage on that flight). The flight was short, only an hour, and I slept most of the way. When I got to Edinburgh, I got my luggage and grabbed a taxi to Jurys Inn (where my orientation group is staying tomorrow) and asked if they had a room for me tonight a day early. Luckily they did and now I have a great room, even though I can’t figure out how to work the heater and I’m bundled up in a sweatshirt under a big blanket. When I got to the hotel, I called Lizzie, my friend from Smith who is studying at the University of Edinburgh, and she came with her friend David to the hotel. We then walked around, they gave me a little tour, and we grabbed a bite to eat and a drink before climbing up a hill to see Edinburgh from above. By the way, it gets dark here before 4pm…SO weird. Right now I’m hanging out in the hotel room, trying to rest and relax before orientation starts tomorrow. I’m hoping to get my cell phone and address soon so I can give you my number.
Some New Years day event happening in the streets of Edinburgh
On the top of the hill looking out over Edinburgh. (You can see the carnival on the right)
I’m really excited for this adventure in Scotland and I will be sure to keep you updated on everything going on here.
ORIENTATION HAS BEGUN- January 3, 2010
Orientation is going great so far, and it’s already almost over. On Saturday, everybody arrived. In the morning, my roommate checked into the room next to me, so I checked out of my room and checked into the one next door. We ended up going out to breakfast at a cute little café in Edinburgh with another guy from our group and then headed back to the hotel for an afternoon nap before other people arrived. At 5:15 we met the rest of the group downstairs with our orientation leaders, introduced ourselves, had a very brief meeting, and then they took us out to pizza in Grassmarket. It was snowing all night and was absolutely gorgeous.
After pizza, a group of us girls went out to a pub near our hotel and grabbed a drink before heading to bed. We were all pretty exhausted from the jetlag and could not wait to get out of the cold and into our warm beds.
Today, my roommate and I woke up at 7:30am, got ready and went down to breakfast in the hotel. At 9am, our orientation began in a conference room upstairs and we spent the whole morning learning about the history and geography of Scotland. At around 11:30am, Mr. James McCarthy (an author and former Deputy Director of the Nature Conservancy Council for Scotland) came to speak to us and gave a wonderful talk on Scotland. After his presentation, our orientation leaders took us out to lunch at a nice French restaurant called Le Sept in Hunter Square. I had a homemade potato and haggis soup and a spinach and ricotta crepe. A bunch of us cheated by getting the haggis soup because it didn’t even taste like real haggis…I have yet to try the real stuff, but I can’t wait.
Michelle, Lorna, Briana, Duncan, Me, Jessica, and Candace at Le Sept.
After lunch, we walked to the Arcadia Study Center to see where a lot of our trips would be departing from (since they don’t have a pick-up in Glasgow) and then we headed to the Edinburgh Castle. It started snowing and getting very cold but we made it up the hill without slipping on the ice and were able to walk around on our own and see the castle. My friend, Briana, and I explored the castle a little before we realized we had to meet everyone at Mary King’s Close at 4:45pm, just down the street from Edinburgh Castle on the Royal Mile. “Hidden beneath the Royal Mile lies Edinburgh’s deepest secret: a warren of hidden ‘closes’ where real people lived, worked, and died. For centuries they have lain forgotten and abandoned…” It was a fun tour, the tour guide was hilarious, dressed up in full costume, and we were able to see how people lived beneath the Royal Mile and learn about their daily life.
Looking out at Edinburgh from the Castle
Leaving the castle...already dark around 4pm.
Some interesting facts:
· An elevator here is called a “lift”
· Pants are trousers, and if you say “pants,” people think you are referring to underwear
· The ground floor is not the 1st floor. The second floor, to us, is called the 1st floor here
· A pint of beer is 20 oz. (the imperial pint) while a pint of beer in the US is only 16 oz.
· There are 3 languages spoken in Scotland: English, Scots, and Scottish Gaelic
LEAVING EDINBURGH/HOMESTAY- January 4, 2010
Today we had to check out of our hotel before another morning of orientation. Orientation was not bad at all. It was never boring, and they were able to keep it short and sweet. After signing up for some great trips for this upcoming semester, we went out to lunch and to buy cell phones for the UK.
The two trips I signed up for are:
· The Scottish Borders: Abbotsford, Jedburgh, and Floors Castle on Saturday, April 24th. We will go to the Scottish Borders, see Abbotsford, which is a house built and lived in by Sir Walter Scott. After Abbotsford we go to Jedburgh where we will be able to walk around the village and see Jedburgh Abbey. Floors Castle it the home of the Duke and Duchess of Roxburgh and is the largest inhabited castle in Scotland.
· Overnight Trip to Glasgow, Oban, Isle of Mull, and Isle of Iona on May 1-2 (the weekend after the Scottish Borders trip). We will go to Oban, the “Gateway to the Isles” and then walk along Ganavan Beac to see the ruins of Dunstaffnage Castle. When we come back to Oban, we will have a tour of the Oban Distillery, climb the hill to see McCaig’s Tower, and explore the town. On Sunday, we will get on a ferry to the Isle of Mull, then catch a ferry to the Isle of Iona. We will then visit the Iona Abbey and the Street of the Dead.
Our homestay was the house on the corner.
Michelle with our host family, Malcolm and Rebecca.
A TOUR OF GLASGOW- January 5, 2010
Today, Michelle and I woke up at 9am, ate breakfast and then walked to the train station to meet up with the other 4 University of Glasgow students in our program. The 3 guys in our group are staying with John, a minister, who was kind enough to give us a tour of the city. Our first stop was the People’s Palace where we learned about the history of Glasgow and then ate our packed lunches in the beautiful botanical gardens. (I also tried Scotland’s most popular soda, Irn Bru, pronounced Iron Brew. It tastes like bubblegum.) After lunch we walked to the Glasgow Cathedral, the St. Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art, and then walked across the street to the Oldest House in Glasgow, built in the 15th century.
The Glasgow Cathedral. Breathtaking!
From the museums we walked to the main shopping area of Glasgow on Buchanan Street, and then ended up back at the train station. The six of us, and John, hopped on the train and now Michelle and I are back in Kirkhill, relaxing after a lot of walking today. I was so happy I stayed warm today and my shoes didn’t bother me at all. From now on I guess I have to wear tights under jeans, with a pair of socks, and a tank top, long sleeved shirt, hoodie, leather jacket, gloves, a scarf, and a beanie to stay comfortable. Tonight our host mom, Rebecca, is going to make pizza for us with artichoke hearts and walnuts. Maybe we will beat them at another game of Pictionary as well.
* * *
I am now in bed and we had an incredible last night here in Kirkhill. Michelle and I helped Rebecca make the pizza, which was delicious. We had great conversation at the dinner table and then Rebecca and Malcolm told us they were taking us to a movie at an old movie theater in Glasgow. After dinner we put on our warm clothes and hopped in the car. We saw a movie called Nowhere Boy about John Lennon. It was a beautiful film and I would go back and see it in a heartbeat. (If they are not playing it in theaters in the US, try to find it somewhere else. I highly recommend it.) Before the movie, we treated Rebecca and Malcolm to drinks at the café in the theater because they treated us to the movie tickets. After the movie, we got a little tour of Glasgow around the Glasgow School of Art, and saw some Charles Rennie Mackintosh architecture. (The theater we saw the movie in was designed by Mackintosh as well.) On our way home, we drove by a restaurant called Spice Garden and they asked us if we had ever tried Pakora. We hadn’t, so Malcolm put the car in reverse and got two different kinds for us to try (chicken and vegetarian). It was delicious and it is open until 4am, so I’m sure we will be back there sometime this semester. When we got back to Kirkhill, we continued to chat in the kitchen, do dishes, and I gave them my gift (a book about San Francisco). Now it is 1 in the morning and I have to be up at 8am to pack up and get ready to be taken over to another host family’s house where our minibus will be ready to drive us to the university.
FINALLY IN MY FLAT- January 6, 2010
I am finally here in my flat in Glasgow and it is much bigger than I expected. This morning we woke up, had breakfast, and then drove to John's house where the minibus was picking us up. We drove to the Gatehouse at the University of Glasgow, picked up our keys, and were then driven to our flat. It is beautiful here. The flat is huge...so much bigger than my apartment in New York. (But then again, there are many more people living here.) My roommate goes to Boston College and is from Ohio. Her name is Laura. Michelle (from my program) is living in the room next to mine with a girl named Ryn (short for Katherine). My friend Briana from my program is living two floors above me with another guy from Arcadia named Conor. The other Arcadia people are all around campus. I'm so excited I'm finally here. Now I need to unpack, get settled in and then go shopping!
Yeah, I go to school here...this is the univeristy.
Still the university. I can't believe I will be taking classes here.
* * *
We spent the day walking around in the city center, buying towels, blankets, and other necessities for our flats. We grabbed lunch at a restaurant on Sauchiehall Street then walked back to campus and relaxed a little. At 8:30pm we met up with a bunch of people and a freshman living on the third floor (from Romania) took us to a popular pub near our flat. We stayed there most of the night until they turned off the lights around 11pm, then got fish and chips and walked back to our flat. I can tell I will be eating a lot of fried food here in Scotland, but hopefully I will find the gym soon, or the amount of walking might make up for it.
Today (Thursday), we had our first day of orientation. We walked to the lecture hall at around 9am, learned about the different courses and the way classes are run here. If Smith will accept it, I think I have found the perfect schedule for my time here in Glasgow.
Art History: We will talk about Neo-Classicism, Romanticism, Realism and Impressionism in Britain and France, Scottish Art and Europe, Mackintosh, Glasgow and the Decorative Arts, Austrian and German Expressionism and many more topics
Figurative Sculpture at the Glasgow School of Art
Black and White Photography at the Glasgow School of Art
Bagpipes: history, repertoire, and performance course at The National Piping Centre (we will have one on one lessons for bagpiping every week along with lectures about the history of bagpiping!)
I register on Tuesday (I think), so cross your fingers for me. Now I am back in my flat, and at 6pm we have a social event with other international students here at Glasgow Uni. (That is what people call the University here.)
LOVE AND MISS YOU ALL!
Love Always,
Jess
Jess, this all sounds AWESOME! Great pics too. Keep having fun!
ReplyDelete