Well, I'm here. I'm alive. My baggage came through just fine. I'm starting to get the hang of all this.
We're all girls in my flat, which is on the third f-ing floor of my building... two from Norway, one from Uganda, one from Ghana and one from Nigeria. I'm still a little unclear on who the seventh is or even if we have one. Right now I have one plate, a knife, a spoon and several shot glasses that I brought with me. No forks-- the entire city of Aberdeen seems to be out of forks.
It hasn't rained all the time, just most of it. The sunshine comes and goes in bursts. I love it.
My housing is a 20 minute walk from the campus, and each time I've gone out I've gotten lost. The maps they give us are for shit-- there are few road names on ANYTHING, and no key that points to north! I did wander about on campus today and wait in a line for 2 hours to get my computer fixed. It needed to be calibrated or something. Oh well, it's worth it. I just ate a potato with some butter and a bit of applewood cheddar... a fine dinner for a college student! Some of the girls want to go out bowling tonight with Fresher's Week, but I think I might take a long hot shower and do a little reading. And if they decide to go down to the local pub ON CAMPUS, called the Watering Hole, I'm totally in!
The flight from DTW to Amsterdam was fine, just long. We had a strong tailwind, so we got to Amsterdam an hour ahead of schedule. I didn't sleep a wink-- those seats are so uncomfortable and i had my laptop bag under my feet. That, and I imagine I was still a bit nervous. The flight to Aberdeen was pretty bumpy, but I was sandwiched between a bunch of soccer fans coming back a little late from the game in France. Apparently Scotland beat the French for the first time EVER and they stayed to celebrate. I guess the "Tartan Army" is a huge deal over here. Regardless, they were all very friendly. When we went to exit the plane, it was onto one of the moveable ladders directly onto the tarmack, and the fellow behind me clapped me on the shoulder and said, "Welcome to Scotland! Hope you enjoy the weather!" I don't think I've stopped grinning since. There were people holding a sign with my name on it in the airport proper, and my luggage made it through just fine. There was a minibus to take us to Hillhead, and a very nice guy driving pointed out the campus as we flew past.
I met a guy named Michael at the Watering Hole last night and I guess he's all about taking me to my first proper FOOTBALL game. It's on Thursday, and part of the Scottish Premiere League. All I really know is that it's a pretty important match, I have to wear red, he's buying my ticket and a scarf, and there will be drinking beforehand. By the way, the translation of the Norwegian for Pregame comes out roughly as Foreplay... that made for an interesting conversation...
I'm going to try to straighten out my loans tomorrow, and as soon as my excess aid check comes through, I'll get a phone. Also, they're doing Tom Stoppard's Arcadia at the Arts Center, and I think I'll give that a go. I am going to put in my 3 pounds and sign up for the "Castle and Whiskey" tour for next weekend as well... it sounds basically perfect. And I need to e-mail the station manager at the Uni Radio Station and see if they have any openings, considering I'm outrageously qualified for that as well. All in all, things are looking pretty good for little Miss Melville.
No comments:
Post a Comment