Whew. So I just got back from a bit of a whirlwind first day of Rosh Hashanah, by far the most exotic and energetic of my life. I thought I should write it all down while I remembered the smaller details, though I'm sure I've already forgotten a bunch of things.
This morning I woke up to rain (surprise, surprise), and after quick breakfast to hold me through services, walked down to Oran Mor, the supposed meeting place for the Jewish Society students. The flyer I was given says: "For those who don't want to go alone, we ar emeeting outside the Oran Mor at 10am to walk into town." As a side note, the Oran Mor is the church-turned-pub/theatre that I think I mentioned before. Still haven't been there, but it looks like they also have a nice restaurant.
Anyway, it was a good thing that I was wearing comfortable heels, because I ended up manuevering through lots of puddles, only to wait in the rain for 15 minutes. No one showed up. Thanks, JSoc. I of course neglected to look up the address of the Garnethill Synagogue, and so had no idea where to go. But I headed across the street to the Grosvenor Hilton in hopes of finding a conceirge desk to put me in the right direction. Surprisingly, there was no conceirge that I could see in the Hilton, but a friendly cab driver told me he could get me to Garnethill, although he didn't know where the synagogue was.
After the cab ride I realized exactly how long of a walk it really would have been (probably a half hour or more), so I'll probably take a cab tomorrow, too. We headed up Garnethill St. and the cabbie asked a bystander where the synagogue was. As it happened, we were right next to it. So it seems that somebody up there was looking out for me. After generously tipping the cabbie, I headed into the synagogue.
The random bits of information I've collected about Garnethill Synagogue are very interesting. Apparently it's the oldest synagogue in Glasgow, founded around 1860, though it's clearly been renovated since. The sanctuary is utterly gorgeous, with a domed ark and beautiful stained glass windows. It can probably hold around 200-250 people, but that was for a long time ago. The Jewish population of the UK has been shifting down to London and Manchester, or at least moving out to the suburbs of Glasgow, leaving the cities of Scotland with very small congregations. Someone sitting near me commented on the large turnout Garnethill had for the high holidays, and there were approximately 50 people there.
Garnethill is an Orthodox Synagogue, and so obviously this was the first time I've spent Rosh Hashanah not in a Conservative setting. And boy did I miss it. The women sat in the balcony, and I felt utterly disconnected from the service. This could also be because of the average age of the congregation, which tended towards the elderly. The rabbi read very, very fast through Shacharit and the Torah service, although Musaf took forever. Almost all of the melodies for the songs were different, which might also have added to the separation I felt.
Other random observances:
-The women wore amazing hats, which sort of reminded me of the Church-hat phenomenon you see in movies (and I suppose in some churches)
- Along with the prayer for the state of Israel, there is a blessing for the Queen. I suppose it's logical, but I never thought about it.
- There was much less "announcing" in this service, from the page numbers to the specific prayers.
-The rabbi's sermon was very short (under 15 minutes).
The neat thing about the congregation was their singing. A bunch of the men got up during Musaf and harmonized for each song, almost like a barbershop quartet (though I think there were more of them). It was very pretty, but the rest of the congregation didn't really join in, which made me miss the interactive aspect at home.
I was probably more homesick today than I have been in a while. I really missed being with my family, from the comfort food of the night before, to leaning over to someone during the service. It was tough to read the immortal line "all ye people clap your hands" and not have a brother to snicker about it with. I miss you all a lot.
During the service a kind woman came over to me and pointed out (who I thought to be) Ms. Jesner. In fact, it was another woman whose husband was driving me to the Jesners for lunch. The Jesners don't belong to Garnethill, in fact they live out in Giffnock, a suburb of Glasgow almost 40 minutes away by bus. But the Jesners were wonderful, welcoming people who served a scrumptious, home cooked meal (despite being kosher food, which you can only really get sent from Manchester). No apples and honey (they said that's only done at dinner), but challah and honey, matzah ball soup, roasted vegetables, chicken, meat pastries, fruit, chopped liver, fresh melons, brownies, wine, home-made ice cream, and an apple-pie meringue (which was interesting, but yummy). Two American students from St. Andrews were also there for lunch, one from Poundridge and one from Philly! Funny how small the world really is.
The Jesners have two daughters and a son, though the son is in Japan, and so wasn't home for the holidays. Their Uncle Harry (not sure if he was actually related), a 90+ year old semi-famous band leader was also there, and he was pretty amusing. Apparently the BBC made a TV documentary about him last year. Harry Margolis, I'll have to look it up.
I was there nearly all afternoon, from about 2:00 to 6:00. The Jesners were nice enough to give me their number and said I could come back anytime, which was really sweet. I finally caught the bus/subway back to Hillhead, rushed home to do tashlich on the foot bride, and finally take off my heels. That's not even all of my adventure, but that's all I can manage at this point. It's back to the synagogue tomorrow, and then I imagine I'll just take a nap.
L'shana tovah, everyone.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
I'm So Lazy
I keep telling myself to do a blog post, but the minute I sit down at my computer all energy seems to rush out of me. It's basically a miracle that I'm writing this right now. :)
So much to catch up on, I'm going to have to be pretty selective. First off, classes. The semester finally started here on Monday, and after all the anxiety and finagling of enrollments last week, I'm surprisingly very happy with my classes. I've managed to take film classes I'm actually interested in, and at the moment I'm only in class 3 days a week. I could get used to this UK system thing.
The two film classes that I'm so excited about are both in non-American cinema, which is a requirement for my cinema studies major at Penn. I'm taking Australia in Film and Television, and Scotland, Film and Television. A somewhat humorous aside -- both of my professors are named Ian, and their last names are Craven and Goode. Kinda weird. The classes are relatively small seminars, meet once a week for five hours each (screening time included) and in both cases I've had some great discussions. The themes and issues of Scottish and Australian cinema actually seem very similar, and I'm interested in seeing if the similarities continue throughout the semester. Both of my professors are very accommodating and the native students seem welcoming and friendly. So far, so good.
The last class is Scottish Literature 1A, which is the most introductory class you can take. It's a large survey with probably about 100 kids in the class (which is smaller than some of the lectures I've had at Penn), and our seminars/recitations/tutorials or whatever you call them start next week, provided we actually get assigned them before next Tuesday. I really wanted to take Celtic Civilizations 1A, but the cinema classes screwed with my schedule. I'm not totally into the Scot Lit class so far, but it's high time that I took an English class, and hopefully this one will prove more enticing as we get into the material. We're looking mainly at the 19th and early 20th centuries, with texts from Sir Walter Scott, James Hogg, Robert Louis Stevenson, Hugh MacDiarmid, and Lewis Grassic Gibbon. Unfortunately, not all the books are available in the book store, so I have to go hunting for "Sunset Song."
Oh, yeah, the book situation. My film courses have way too long a reading list for me to actually purchase the books, and I wasn't particularly interested in lugging them home after the semester, so earlier this week I headed over to the library to survey the situation. The Glasgow Uni library is a pretty nice place -- 12 floors, too many computers to count, and a lot of little study cubicles. Unfortunately, there's no Mark's Cafe, only vending machines, and you're not allowed to bring coffee or tea in, even if there's a lid on the container. There's a "eating and drinking" section right by the entrance that made me feel like I was in the cordoned smoking section of a restaurant. But I digress.
The library has a significant "short loan" section immediately on the left as you enter. There you can take out books for 4 hours, 24 hours, or a week, complete with self-service check in and return. I found the books I needed for this weeks Australian reading, and then went to the regular lending desk to find out about the photocopies my professor had said he'd made for us. What I discovered was that each article had its own folder, with the article literally taped down to the folder, so you can't feed it into the copy machine. No two-sided copies for me. You also can't take more than two folders out at a time, regardless of the fact that my professor assigned five readings. So I took out the first two, went upstairs to the photocopy room on the third floor, and went back down to return those two and take out new ones. God, do I miss bulk packs.
Other exciting news from the week? On Wednesday I went to Edinburgh for the Scottish-students meeting of the Penn-Cornell-Brown UK Centre. They reimbursed me for my bus ticket, which was under 10 pounds, and bought me a cup of hot chocolate from The Hub, where the meeting took place. It was a lot of administrative stuff that I don't need to go into, but the women running the meeting were very nice, and they'll be back up the week of Thanksgiving for another meeting, this time stopping by Glasgow. If I want to get reimbursed for my cultural bonus (75 pounds provided by Penn to do some culturally British things) they'll pay me back in cash then.
I spent the rest of the afternoon with Xixi, walking around Olde Town and the campus of the University of Edinburgh and wishing I had brought my camera along with me. I didn't remember much of Edinburgh from my previous trip 10 years ago, but when I went this week I really noticed the difference between Glasgow and Edinburgh. They just have a very different tone from each other, something that I'm not sure I can really describe. Anyways, we went to a neat little cafe called Chocolate Soup for dessert after dinner, and then I boarded back on the bus to Glasgow.
A random anecdote from my travels: Wednesday was the first time in my life that I've had to pay to get into a bathroom. It was 20p to get into the Buchanan Bus Station "w.c." (water closet), and at first I was pretty annoyed that I had to pay. But when I thought about it, I realized that the bathroom was much cleaner than the bus/train stations I've been to in the States. The bathroom in Penn Station is utterly ridiculous, and several times I've wondered if bums run in there during the day to have toilet paper fights or something. I'm not sure whether it's worth it to pay -- what do you all think?
As for my evenings, I went to Jewsday Tuesday, which was awkward, but fun. At least I sort of know some of the people I'll be walking to schul with next week for Rosh Hashanah now. I also went to the Student Cinema and Television Society (SCATS) social yesterday, but I'm currently battling a cold, so I didn't hang around that long. Tonight Di, Kara, Kristie and I are heading down to Buchanan St. to see the new Liam Neeson movie, Taken. It looks pretty mediocre, but I love Liam Neeson, so I'm still excited.
On final random note. In the library I found that all of the toilets say "for sanitary use only." Does anyone else think that is either highly unnecessary, or highly confusing?
So much to catch up on, I'm going to have to be pretty selective. First off, classes. The semester finally started here on Monday, and after all the anxiety and finagling of enrollments last week, I'm surprisingly very happy with my classes. I've managed to take film classes I'm actually interested in, and at the moment I'm only in class 3 days a week. I could get used to this UK system thing.
The two film classes that I'm so excited about are both in non-American cinema, which is a requirement for my cinema studies major at Penn. I'm taking Australia in Film and Television, and Scotland, Film and Television. A somewhat humorous aside -- both of my professors are named Ian, and their last names are Craven and Goode. Kinda weird. The classes are relatively small seminars, meet once a week for five hours each (screening time included) and in both cases I've had some great discussions. The themes and issues of Scottish and Australian cinema actually seem very similar, and I'm interested in seeing if the similarities continue throughout the semester. Both of my professors are very accommodating and the native students seem welcoming and friendly. So far, so good.
The last class is Scottish Literature 1A, which is the most introductory class you can take. It's a large survey with probably about 100 kids in the class (which is smaller than some of the lectures I've had at Penn), and our seminars/recitations/tutorials or whatever you call them start next week, provided we actually get assigned them before next Tuesday. I really wanted to take Celtic Civilizations 1A, but the cinema classes screwed with my schedule. I'm not totally into the Scot Lit class so far, but it's high time that I took an English class, and hopefully this one will prove more enticing as we get into the material. We're looking mainly at the 19th and early 20th centuries, with texts from Sir Walter Scott, James Hogg, Robert Louis Stevenson, Hugh MacDiarmid, and Lewis Grassic Gibbon. Unfortunately, not all the books are available in the book store, so I have to go hunting for "Sunset Song."
Oh, yeah, the book situation. My film courses have way too long a reading list for me to actually purchase the books, and I wasn't particularly interested in lugging them home after the semester, so earlier this week I headed over to the library to survey the situation. The Glasgow Uni library is a pretty nice place -- 12 floors, too many computers to count, and a lot of little study cubicles. Unfortunately, there's no Mark's Cafe, only vending machines, and you're not allowed to bring coffee or tea in, even if there's a lid on the container. There's a "eating and drinking" section right by the entrance that made me feel like I was in the cordoned smoking section of a restaurant. But I digress.
The library has a significant "short loan" section immediately on the left as you enter. There you can take out books for 4 hours, 24 hours, or a week, complete with self-service check in and return. I found the books I needed for this weeks Australian reading, and then went to the regular lending desk to find out about the photocopies my professor had said he'd made for us. What I discovered was that each article had its own folder, with the article literally taped down to the folder, so you can't feed it into the copy machine. No two-sided copies for me. You also can't take more than two folders out at a time, regardless of the fact that my professor assigned five readings. So I took out the first two, went upstairs to the photocopy room on the third floor, and went back down to return those two and take out new ones. God, do I miss bulk packs.
Other exciting news from the week? On Wednesday I went to Edinburgh for the Scottish-students meeting of the Penn-Cornell-Brown UK Centre. They reimbursed me for my bus ticket, which was under 10 pounds, and bought me a cup of hot chocolate from The Hub, where the meeting took place. It was a lot of administrative stuff that I don't need to go into, but the women running the meeting were very nice, and they'll be back up the week of Thanksgiving for another meeting, this time stopping by Glasgow. If I want to get reimbursed for my cultural bonus (75 pounds provided by Penn to do some culturally British things) they'll pay me back in cash then.
I spent the rest of the afternoon with Xixi, walking around Olde Town and the campus of the University of Edinburgh and wishing I had brought my camera along with me. I didn't remember much of Edinburgh from my previous trip 10 years ago, but when I went this week I really noticed the difference between Glasgow and Edinburgh. They just have a very different tone from each other, something that I'm not sure I can really describe. Anyways, we went to a neat little cafe called Chocolate Soup for dessert after dinner, and then I boarded back on the bus to Glasgow.
A random anecdote from my travels: Wednesday was the first time in my life that I've had to pay to get into a bathroom. It was 20p to get into the Buchanan Bus Station "w.c." (water closet), and at first I was pretty annoyed that I had to pay. But when I thought about it, I realized that the bathroom was much cleaner than the bus/train stations I've been to in the States. The bathroom in Penn Station is utterly ridiculous, and several times I've wondered if bums run in there during the day to have toilet paper fights or something. I'm not sure whether it's worth it to pay -- what do you all think?
As for my evenings, I went to Jewsday Tuesday, which was awkward, but fun. At least I sort of know some of the people I'll be walking to schul with next week for Rosh Hashanah now. I also went to the Student Cinema and Television Society (SCATS) social yesterday, but I'm currently battling a cold, so I didn't hang around that long. Tonight Di, Kara, Kristie and I are heading down to Buchanan St. to see the new Liam Neeson movie, Taken. It looks pretty mediocre, but I love Liam Neeson, so I'm still excited.
On final random note. In the library I found that all of the toilets say "for sanitary use only." Does anyone else think that is either highly unnecessary, or highly confusing?
Saturday, September 20, 2008
A lot to look at...
Sorry for the enormous amount of pictures, but I had to cover all of Freshers Week, as well as all the pictures of the campus I need for looking back on this trip twenty years down the road. Hope they're not too boring:
http://picasaweb.google.com/ashs2ashs/FreshersWeek#
http://picasaweb.google.com/ashs2ashs/FreshersWeek#
Chapter 1: Review
So I'm sitting here in the university library waiting for Di to finish up with her auditions for the Canterbury tales, and I figured I'd use the time to share some lessons I've learned from my experiences so far. I desperately need to update the blog about the bajillions of things that happened during Freshers Week, but these tidbits don't really have a place in that post, so I'm sticking them here. So ... yeah, more info on the past week to come (since I'm sure everyone is waiting with baited breath) plus pictures! However, for the moment, I leave you with this:
1. As an American in the UK, you must be careful to refer to pants as "trousers," or else risk complimenting someone on their underwear.
2. British keyboards have some small differences that are just bothersome enough to slow down my typing. For example, the "@" symbol and the quotation marks are switched, leading me to frequently type my email address as cited material. The shift key is smaller, the enter key farther to the left and bigger, and both the $ and the £ symbols appear.
3. Napkins refers explicitly to sanitary napkins, while you use servilletes (or something like that) at meals. Haven't actually come across this confusion yet, but I was warned about it.
4. I have yet to see true "skim" milk -- only "skimmed" aka 1%.
5. I also cannot find Sour Patch products, which is depressing. Thank god I have the crispy M&Ms to tide me over.
6. 70s-style concrete buildings remain ugly, regardless of their country of origin.
The rest of my lessons are mainly about how I love Victorian architecture, and just old stuff in general. Everything here has such history, most of which I will only learn the littlest bit about. There's a lot to see, and not a lot of time to see it, and that's before I even leave Glasgow.
Oh, also -- I really hate when the American students try to put on British accents while talking to natives. Seriously, you're not fooling anyone.
1. As an American in the UK, you must be careful to refer to pants as "trousers," or else risk complimenting someone on their underwear.
2. British keyboards have some small differences that are just bothersome enough to slow down my typing. For example, the "@" symbol and the quotation marks are switched, leading me to frequently type my email address as cited material. The shift key is smaller, the enter key farther to the left and bigger, and both the $ and the £ symbols appear.
3. Napkins refers explicitly to sanitary napkins, while you use servilletes (or something like that) at meals. Haven't actually come across this confusion yet, but I was warned about it.
4. I have yet to see true "skim" milk -- only "skimmed" aka 1%.
5. I also cannot find Sour Patch products, which is depressing. Thank god I have the crispy M&Ms to tide me over.
6. 70s-style concrete buildings remain ugly, regardless of their country of origin.
The rest of my lessons are mainly about how I love Victorian architecture, and just old stuff in general. Everything here has such history, most of which I will only learn the littlest bit about. There's a lot to see, and not a lot of time to see it, and that's before I even leave Glasgow.
Oh, also -- I really hate when the American students try to put on British accents while talking to natives. Seriously, you're not fooling anyone.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Pictorial Representations, pt. 1
The first batch of photos, care of Picasa:
http://picasaweb.google.com/ashs2ashs/FirstWeeksInScotland#
http://picasaweb.google.com/ashs2ashs/FirstWeeksInScotland#
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Oh What a Strange City
Now on to happier topics -- trying to remember all the random things I did this week. This will probably be a little spotty, since some things obviously stick out more than others.
I did go see Rocknrolla, the new Guy Ritchie film. I don't know if it has opened in the States yet. I liked it less than Snatch, but I thought it was very entertaining, and Guy Ritchie always has fantastic dialogue. I'd recommend it if you're looking for a throwaway action movie. The neat thing about going was the location, on Ashton Lane, the local hot spot of pubs and bars. The theater is a tiny two-screen venue, with leather armchairs and sofas and screens smaller than the ones in the Larchmont Theater (for those who don't understand that reference, these were probably about a third of the size of regular movie screens). The night before I had been to the bar about the movie theater, called "The Loft," which is a huge space with two giant television screens (larger than the movie screens below it). I was actually lucky enough to be able to watch the final sets of the Murray/Nadal match, which was fantastic since there were some rowdy Scots cheering along with me.
Later on this week Di and I had lunch with two of her fellow Butler University Program students, Nick and Kara. Apparently Nick is a bit of a Youtube star (mongoos150 is his username), but he's also a student at University of Arizona. Kara is from Portland, Oregon, and is studying to become a vet. Anyway, we had some very cheap Indian food, which was a great bargain. We then took a tour of campus (provided by the International Orientation program), and after resting at the dorm for a bit, went out to the Queen Margaret Union and the Glasgow University Union.
Glasgow Uni's two student unions have very different personalities, and within one night of visiting both, I think I know where I belong. The GUU is a very popular place, but it immediately struck me as reminiscent of the frat houses I trolled along with the rest of the freshmen back during NSO at Penn. The QMU on the other hand, was full of awkward, yet eager and friendly people dancing and singing along with the "cheesy pop" played by the DJs on Friday night. To encapsulate the personality types of the place, last night Di and I decided to stay in. Around 8:00, a group of GUU "helpers" burst into our flat armed with vodka and Irn Bru (the official soda of Scotland, more on that later). They gave us and our flatmates free drinks, and proceeded to try to peer pressure us into going to the GUU that night, or at least to the party downstairs in Flat A.
Not wanting to be complete losers, Di and I headed down to Flat A, which was full of students, except for the ones who actually lived there. More GUU-men pushed and pushed and pushed to get us to go there, despite our repeated attempts to explain our desire to just relax tonight, and assuring them that we would go out later in the week when we wanted to. Finally, enough was enough, and Di and I headed back upstairs. On our way out we saw a girl struggling to move in, her giant suitcases too much for her to handle. We grabbed some of her bags and helped her up to Flat H, where we discovered two QMU girls casually talking to some students. They opened the door for us and started a conversation that was very calm and friendly. They remained just as friendly when we told them we were staying in, and threw in a listing of their events for this week as a reminder or option. Overall, the difference between the representatives of the unions was marked. Guess where we're going tonight if the International Society's night out is lame?
Yesterday during the day, Di, Kara and I went down to City Centre to shop around, and explore the area. Of course it was raining, but the area is very cool, and we found a Sainsbury, which was the best part of it. I bought a prepared meal that was probably the best dinner I've had here (except for the lamb saag).
Oh, time for random facts/instances:
- Nick, Di and I encountered a strange sight on Friday: a elderly, completely bald woman walking down the street, wearing a pink tracksuit with the jacket open to reveal her bra and sagging breasts. She casually strolled by us.
- Kara and Nick apparently saw a drunk man kick a rat who was running down the street.
I wish I had more than that -- I'll have to start writing them down, or else I'll forget the good ones. As they say here, cheers!
I did go see Rocknrolla, the new Guy Ritchie film. I don't know if it has opened in the States yet. I liked it less than Snatch, but I thought it was very entertaining, and Guy Ritchie always has fantastic dialogue. I'd recommend it if you're looking for a throwaway action movie. The neat thing about going was the location, on Ashton Lane, the local hot spot of pubs and bars. The theater is a tiny two-screen venue, with leather armchairs and sofas and screens smaller than the ones in the Larchmont Theater (for those who don't understand that reference, these were probably about a third of the size of regular movie screens). The night before I had been to the bar about the movie theater, called "The Loft," which is a huge space with two giant television screens (larger than the movie screens below it). I was actually lucky enough to be able to watch the final sets of the Murray/Nadal match, which was fantastic since there were some rowdy Scots cheering along with me.
Later on this week Di and I had lunch with two of her fellow Butler University Program students, Nick and Kara. Apparently Nick is a bit of a Youtube star (mongoos150 is his username), but he's also a student at University of Arizona. Kara is from Portland, Oregon, and is studying to become a vet. Anyway, we had some very cheap Indian food, which was a great bargain. We then took a tour of campus (provided by the International Orientation program), and after resting at the dorm for a bit, went out to the Queen Margaret Union and the Glasgow University Union.
Glasgow Uni's two student unions have very different personalities, and within one night of visiting both, I think I know where I belong. The GUU is a very popular place, but it immediately struck me as reminiscent of the frat houses I trolled along with the rest of the freshmen back during NSO at Penn. The QMU on the other hand, was full of awkward, yet eager and friendly people dancing and singing along with the "cheesy pop" played by the DJs on Friday night. To encapsulate the personality types of the place, last night Di and I decided to stay in. Around 8:00, a group of GUU "helpers" burst into our flat armed with vodka and Irn Bru (the official soda of Scotland, more on that later). They gave us and our flatmates free drinks, and proceeded to try to peer pressure us into going to the GUU that night, or at least to the party downstairs in Flat A.
Not wanting to be complete losers, Di and I headed down to Flat A, which was full of students, except for the ones who actually lived there. More GUU-men pushed and pushed and pushed to get us to go there, despite our repeated attempts to explain our desire to just relax tonight, and assuring them that we would go out later in the week when we wanted to. Finally, enough was enough, and Di and I headed back upstairs. On our way out we saw a girl struggling to move in, her giant suitcases too much for her to handle. We grabbed some of her bags and helped her up to Flat H, where we discovered two QMU girls casually talking to some students. They opened the door for us and started a conversation that was very calm and friendly. They remained just as friendly when we told them we were staying in, and threw in a listing of their events for this week as a reminder or option. Overall, the difference between the representatives of the unions was marked. Guess where we're going tonight if the International Society's night out is lame?
Yesterday during the day, Di, Kara and I went down to City Centre to shop around, and explore the area. Of course it was raining, but the area is very cool, and we found a Sainsbury, which was the best part of it. I bought a prepared meal that was probably the best dinner I've had here (except for the lamb saag).
Oh, time for random facts/instances:
- Nick, Di and I encountered a strange sight on Friday: a elderly, completely bald woman walking down the street, wearing a pink tracksuit with the jacket open to reveal her bra and sagging breasts. She casually strolled by us.
- Kara and Nick apparently saw a drunk man kick a rat who was running down the street.
I wish I had more than that -- I'll have to start writing them down, or else I'll forget the good ones. As they say here, cheers!
One Week
So I've officially been in Glasgow for a week, which is crazy to think (imagine how I'll feel when I hit a month). I've got loads to catch up on, so I'll probably split my recollections up a bit. First, my impressions of the registration system at Glasgow Uni (as they call it here).
Trying to sign up for classes here is the only thing that has made me wholeheartedly believe we do it better in America. The reluctance to divulge information on classes and the curriculum for this semester is mind-boggling. For most schools in the U.S., some form of advanced registration would have occurred last spring, and then you would be able to revise your schedule online for the weeks leading up to classes. Sure, there might be some cancellations or changes in professors or scheduling, but you would know that before walking into your first class.
But I have about a week until classes, and I literally have no idea what the Film, Theatre, and Television department is offering this semester. The only course catalog offered describes lower-level classes, and nothing is offered for the upper level classes (online or in print). After going to the department to ask them directly, I was told they couldn't give me any information (either because they themselves don't know it, or because disclosure to students is not allowed for some reason). I won't know anything until this Thursday, when I go to the enrollment meeting and have to make a decision on the spot.
It just seems ridiculous to me -- why have everything be rushed at the end? If you have a cap on your classes, deal with it early. Then you'll be better able to help out those who are searching for other classes or looking to appeal for a spot in the class. Oh well, not much I can do but complain about it. Hopefully on Thursday I'll finally have a schedule to report back.
Trying to sign up for classes here is the only thing that has made me wholeheartedly believe we do it better in America. The reluctance to divulge information on classes and the curriculum for this semester is mind-boggling. For most schools in the U.S., some form of advanced registration would have occurred last spring, and then you would be able to revise your schedule online for the weeks leading up to classes. Sure, there might be some cancellations or changes in professors or scheduling, but you would know that before walking into your first class.
But I have about a week until classes, and I literally have no idea what the Film, Theatre, and Television department is offering this semester. The only course catalog offered describes lower-level classes, and nothing is offered for the upper level classes (online or in print). After going to the department to ask them directly, I was told they couldn't give me any information (either because they themselves don't know it, or because disclosure to students is not allowed for some reason). I won't know anything until this Thursday, when I go to the enrollment meeting and have to make a decision on the spot.
It just seems ridiculous to me -- why have everything be rushed at the end? If you have a cap on your classes, deal with it early. Then you'll be better able to help out those who are searching for other classes or looking to appeal for a spot in the class. Oh well, not much I can do but complain about it. Hopefully on Thursday I'll finally have a schedule to report back.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Some Sort of Orientation
Much to my surprise, I find that I have a little bit of "blogger's guilt" (I put that phrase in quotes as if I've heard it somewhere else ...). I actually feel bad that it's been a few days since I've updated, so here's a somewhat complete recap of my first few days in Glasgow.
Over the course of the past couple of days I've managed to grocery shop (finding both Oreos and Crispy M&Ms -- though both took some effort), ride the subway to the City Centre, watch a football match in a real pub, and visit the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. Throw in two days of lecture-hall orientation and a bus tour, and that's been my week in short.
I assume that it'd be pretty tedious to list everything I did in detail, so I'll only recount some of the coolest/strangest moments to date. One of each happened to me last night. After walking around all afternoon with Diana unable to find Sauchiehall street, Di and I went to dinner at the highly recommended The Wee Curry Shop. Delicious lamb saag, and excellent service. However, just as we were finishing up, a lone elderly man at a table behind us began a conversation. It started off as normal enough. Di and I had been discussing the various theatre programs in high school and college that we had participated in, and the man inquired about our experiences, mentioning he was a part-time actor/singer/musician. But within a couple of minutes the conversation became more of a monologue on his part, and soon he was describing his arthritis, OCD habits, and dissatisfaction with the current generation's penchant for swearing. Finally both our checks came, and the man laid a wet kiss on Di and my hands before exiting the restaurant, stopping briefly to chat with the perturbed maitre'd. It was definitely one of the odder experiences of my life, and I worked in NYC this summer.
But after washing our hands and heading out ourselves, Di and I headed over to this local pub Tennent's to watch Scotland vs. Iceland in a World Cup Qualifier. Tennent's brew is on tap all over the University area, so it was neat to actually go into the pub it comes from. This was a legitimate pub as well, packed to the brim with, um, exuberant football fans. We met a couple of other international students there, and ended up being some of the only women in the place, tucked into a corner booth. It was so packed Di and I had to go across the street to go to the bathroom, because it was easy to get out the door than across the pub to their own restrooms. I tried Magner's hard cider, which wasn't that different from the Woodchuck I've had at home. I knew, however, that I was in a real Scottish pub when the bartender looked at me blankly upon my request of a Seabreeze. I had a Smirnoff Ice instead.
It was really thrilling to be a part of the action. Men screamed and cursed at the television screens, and everyone seemed to be having a great time. I didn't really interact with the patrons, but I'm pretty sure they were less than interested in conversation at that point. It was however, the first honest to goodness drink in a pub I've had (we had been to bars the previous nights).
To finish up, some random facts I've learned in the past couple of days:
- No joke, Scottish people really do say "wee"
- To follow that, in our first orientation we were told that the subway here is called "The Clockwork Orange" because of its color and because "it runs in a wee circle"
- "Outwith" replaces "outside," as in "outwith of these dates"
- someone actually said "heaven forfend"
- Sauchiehall Street (which I believe means "willowy place near water") is pronounced sock-ee-hall
Hopefully I'll be more consistent with my postings as the semester goes on -- there should be another soon because I've also got plenty to complain about. For the moment, however, I have to get dressed to go to a ceilidh (pronounced kay-lee), the Scottish equivalent of a barn dance.
Over the course of the past couple of days I've managed to grocery shop (finding both Oreos and Crispy M&Ms -- though both took some effort), ride the subway to the City Centre, watch a football match in a real pub, and visit the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. Throw in two days of lecture-hall orientation and a bus tour, and that's been my week in short.
I assume that it'd be pretty tedious to list everything I did in detail, so I'll only recount some of the coolest/strangest moments to date. One of each happened to me last night. After walking around all afternoon with Diana unable to find Sauchiehall street, Di and I went to dinner at the highly recommended The Wee Curry Shop. Delicious lamb saag, and excellent service. However, just as we were finishing up, a lone elderly man at a table behind us began a conversation. It started off as normal enough. Di and I had been discussing the various theatre programs in high school and college that we had participated in, and the man inquired about our experiences, mentioning he was a part-time actor/singer/musician. But within a couple of minutes the conversation became more of a monologue on his part, and soon he was describing his arthritis, OCD habits, and dissatisfaction with the current generation's penchant for swearing. Finally both our checks came, and the man laid a wet kiss on Di and my hands before exiting the restaurant, stopping briefly to chat with the perturbed maitre'd. It was definitely one of the odder experiences of my life, and I worked in NYC this summer.
But after washing our hands and heading out ourselves, Di and I headed over to this local pub Tennent's to watch Scotland vs. Iceland in a World Cup Qualifier. Tennent's brew is on tap all over the University area, so it was neat to actually go into the pub it comes from. This was a legitimate pub as well, packed to the brim with, um, exuberant football fans. We met a couple of other international students there, and ended up being some of the only women in the place, tucked into a corner booth. It was so packed Di and I had to go across the street to go to the bathroom, because it was easy to get out the door than across the pub to their own restrooms. I tried Magner's hard cider, which wasn't that different from the Woodchuck I've had at home. I knew, however, that I was in a real Scottish pub when the bartender looked at me blankly upon my request of a Seabreeze. I had a Smirnoff Ice instead.
It was really thrilling to be a part of the action. Men screamed and cursed at the television screens, and everyone seemed to be having a great time. I didn't really interact with the patrons, but I'm pretty sure they were less than interested in conversation at that point. It was however, the first honest to goodness drink in a pub I've had (we had been to bars the previous nights).
To finish up, some random facts I've learned in the past couple of days:
- No joke, Scottish people really do say "wee"
- To follow that, in our first orientation we were told that the subway here is called "The Clockwork Orange" because of its color and because "it runs in a wee circle"
- "Outwith" replaces "outside," as in "outwith of these dates"
- someone actually said "heaven forfend"
- Sauchiehall Street (which I believe means "willowy place near water") is pronounced sock-ee-hall
Hopefully I'll be more consistent with my postings as the semester goes on -- there should be another soon because I've also got plenty to complain about. For the moment, however, I have to get dressed to go to a ceilidh (pronounced kay-lee), the Scottish equivalent of a barn dance.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Departures and Arrivals
It's almost 10:20 PM Glasgow-time, and way too many hours since I had proper sleep. I wish it didn't come off as so much of an excuse, but hopefully the notes I took over the course of my travels will be coherent enough to counteract the brevity of my introduction.
(Literally transcribed from my notebook, with exception of annotations in italics):
Leaving for Glasgow today, via NWA flight to Amsterdam. Flight was almost an hour late departing, but served both Club Crackers and Oreos with dinner, so clearly this is a good omen. Sat next to young man, possibly from Netherlands, reading book (in Dutch?) about what I assume are great/controversial leaders in world history. Socrates, Napoleon, Gandhi, MLK Jr., Churchill, Hitler and G. W. Bush made the list.
Slept a little, though now I feel kinda gross, plus I spilled powered non-dairy creamer down my leg. Also, I always feel very awkward about the amount of trash I have to hold onto on airplanes. I'm one of those people who prefers to eat in a clearn, uncluttered space. The fact that I have to wait for the attendants to come by and offer me a trash bag is disconcerting. Same with dirty plates at buffets. Can't just put is somewhere myself, and avoid the hassle? Or at least, my own mental hassle?
Also, sat across aisle from girl who looks like she could be related to Carly (Daucher). Turns out the guy was from Turkey.
Ate a Danish mmm and a smoothie at Schiphol (sp) Airport (I discovered later that I had spelled it right all by myself). Amazing how many signs in English only.
Public restrooms very nice -- stalls more like little rooms (full length, floor to ceiling door), would have taken a pic, but had some reservations about taking photo of restroom (maybe I'll get over that). After each call I make, cell phone has a little message "please wait" instead of date/time -- any ideas on why?
Met Katonah randomly taking same KLM flight to Glasgow. (Katonah is the only other Penn student studying at Glasgow this semester)
Delayed one hour!!
Forgot WebSurf!! But emailed them, called Mom, cross your fingers. (Mom was a hero and scanned in the letter, and it all worked out)
Scottish football players sitting behind us in boarding area. I can't understand a word. This doesn't bode well.
Coming through wisps of clouds, seeing all this beautiful green countryside, farms and villages and hamlets -- so much green ... and a field of windmills! Lots of trees. Gliding in towards the city. This is going to be home for the next four months ... everything is rich colors. Last time I was more interested in Legoland than the real land.
So much unmarred countryside -- lots of isolated houses. Suddenly this sprawling city emerges, very different.
And right before we land -- a field of cows grazing! (We flew right over them, but the cows were completely unperturbed by the noise ... probably used to it by now, I guess).
(Literally transcribed from my notebook, with exception of annotations in italics):
Leaving for Glasgow today, via NWA flight to Amsterdam. Flight was almost an hour late departing, but served both Club Crackers and Oreos with dinner, so clearly this is a good omen. Sat next to young man, possibly from Netherlands, reading book (in Dutch?) about what I assume are great/controversial leaders in world history. Socrates, Napoleon, Gandhi, MLK Jr., Churchill, Hitler and G. W. Bush made the list.
Slept a little, though now I feel kinda gross, plus I spilled powered non-dairy creamer down my leg. Also, I always feel very awkward about the amount of trash I have to hold onto on airplanes. I'm one of those people who prefers to eat in a clearn, uncluttered space. The fact that I have to wait for the attendants to come by and offer me a trash bag is disconcerting. Same with dirty plates at buffets. Can't just put is somewhere myself, and avoid the hassle? Or at least, my own mental hassle?
Also, sat across aisle from girl who looks like she could be related to Carly (Daucher). Turns out the guy was from Turkey.
Ate a Danish mmm and a smoothie at Schiphol (sp) Airport (I discovered later that I had spelled it right all by myself). Amazing how many signs in English only.
Public restrooms very nice -- stalls more like little rooms (full length, floor to ceiling door), would have taken a pic, but had some reservations about taking photo of restroom (maybe I'll get over that). After each call I make, cell phone has a little message "please wait" instead of date/time -- any ideas on why?
Met Katonah randomly taking same KLM flight to Glasgow. (Katonah is the only other Penn student studying at Glasgow this semester)
Delayed one hour!!
Forgot WebSurf!! But emailed them, called Mom, cross your fingers. (Mom was a hero and scanned in the letter, and it all worked out)
Scottish football players sitting behind us in boarding area. I can't understand a word. This doesn't bode well.
Coming through wisps of clouds, seeing all this beautiful green countryside, farms and villages and hamlets -- so much green ... and a field of windmills! Lots of trees. Gliding in towards the city. This is going to be home for the next four months ... everything is rich colors. Last time I was more interested in Legoland than the real land.
So much unmarred countryside -- lots of isolated houses. Suddenly this sprawling city emerges, very different.
And right before we land -- a field of cows grazing! (We flew right over them, but the cows were completely unperturbed by the noise ... probably used to it by now, I guess).
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