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!