Weekend: Homework and Hockey

I spent Saturday in the flat working on researching and writing some essays. It was pretty nice. For a few hours I had some coffee, rugby on mute, and was reading for one of my English classes. England played Ireland in rugby, so me, Scott, Adrian, and Mikey watched that. Later, I went to a nerd-themed birthday party with the gang. Scott and Adrian hooked me up with some supplies, and I was pretty decked out. It was a fun night, but we left early to hunt for some food.

Today I woke up, did some reading, ate breakfast, and went to a church called Destiny Church. It was cool to meet a bunch of new people, and the message was solid. I think I'll go back to see it again. The afternoon was spent working on my essays and watching some soccer. We just finished watching the epic hockey match... Disappointing. We were watching it with seven girls from Canada, so it was pretty tense in the room. When the U.S. tied it up at the very end we were going nuts and there was some serious energy in our group! We Americans were stone silent when it was over. It's alright, though. We'll all be friends in the morning...

Mountain Dew = Catnip for Scots

The last few days have been rain-filled like typical Scottish weather. Thursday was pretty uneventful. I had a class in the morning and spent the afternoon reading and relaxing after our big game on Wednesday. I went to the gym and made some pretty decent stir-fry for supper. Mikey was on duty that night, so he, Adrian, Rick, and I stayed in the flat and watched "The Untouchables." Great movie. Never gets old. I went to bed early.

I woke up around 10 on Friday and made myself a fried egg, bacon, ham, and cheese toast sandwich for breakfast, and around noon I met up with Mikey to head to a candy shop that sold some American junk foods and, most importantly, Mountain Dew. They didn't have any of the original kind (they sold out of it as soon as the shipment came in), so Mikey got a can of Code Red and Voltage. He also got a six-pack of A&W root beer. The pop was insanely expensive at £1.50 a can! He also got a Tootsie Roll because he'd never had one. We left the store, and Mikey popped open the Code Red. He almost fell over the sugar hit him so hard! It was super strong but delicious, he said. He downed the can and tried the Tootsie Roll, which he thought was a strange taste. We stopped in a shop so I could get some European candy. I got a Double Decker, which is a humongous bar with chocolate, nougat, and rice crispie chunks, and a Curly Whirly, which is a cramel/chocolate lattice-type bar. They were both really good! We were on our way to Aldi so I could pick up some milk, cereal, and a few other things, and Mikey tried the Voltage. At the first taste he stopped and said, "You've ruined me. I'm going to go broke and lose all my teeth because this stuff is AMAZING!" I swear it's like catnip for Scotsmen. The can was empty before I knew it. We got back to the flat, had a root beer, and then Mikey and Scott had to go to class. I worked on my essays for a while and then we went to the Union for a drink around 5. Scott and I left the Union around 8 to go home and watch the rugby (France v. Wales), and we stayed up pretty late watching crappy quiz shows and the Olympics. I fell asleep watching Canada v. Slovakia on my computer.

The rest of the weekend will be filled with essay writing and research, naps, and the Olympics. Canada plays the U.S. for the gold on Sunday night, so we'll be watching that with our Canadian friends. Should be interesting. That's all for now. Cheers!

'Nother Win vs. Newcastle

Game day again today. We got to play at home against Newcastle, which was really nice! I slept in 'til noon, ate an awesome breakfast of cheesy scrambled eggs, bacon, peanut butter toast, a banana, and some orange juice. I took care of some school business and got ready to head down to the gym. We warmed up at 2:00, and the game tipped off at 3. Newcastle only had about eight players, and we had a bunch more than usual. I met the rest of the team that I hadn't met before, and they all said, "You're the American, huh? I've heard a lot about you!" I guess I'm an enigma... Ally, Dade, Julian, and I started again, and one of the new guys whose name I can't remember joined us. We started off slowly on the offensive end, and Newcastle hit a lot of three-pointers. We found ourselves down by about 8 halfway through the first quarter, but we battled our way back to take a 22-20 lead after the first. The second quarter slowed down even more. Newcastle plays slowly, and it was hard for us to get our fast breaks going. I officially got my first technical foul in Europe. They got a turnover and a fast break, and as the man with the ball was breaking toward the hoop, I cut in front of him and tried to steal the ball. I made no contact, and he wasn't even in the air trying to make a layup. The ref called a technical foul on me because I was the last man back and 'tried to undercut the player.' B.S. I asked Scott about it, and he even said that it was a horrid call. To add to that, I got stuck with a personal foul on the same play. Not sure how that works because usually technicals don't count as personals, but the game went on. I picked up a few more ticky-tack fouls and sat for the last three minutes of the half. We were ahead 32-30 at halftime. The third quarter was similar to the second in that it was slow, but we started to turn up the defensive pressure and good things started happening. We made some turnovers, got some layups, and started to shoot the ball well. The game remained close through the fourth quarter until the last five minutes. Newcastle stopped scoring and we closed the door. We made our free throws and eventually took the win 75-63. It was a great game because a lot of my friends here came to watch. We had quite the crowd! I ended up with 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists. It was, again, a ton of fun, and we're in the semifinals next week! It's the equivalent of the final four! Hopefully I'll eventually post some pictures of me playing so you'll have evidence that I'm not just making this whole story up! Tonight we're going to celebrate the win by getting some Mexican food, watching the U.S. play hockey, and going to the international student pub night. Hopefully the Strathclyde Saints can keep rolling all the way to a championship! The team said that if we win it all, I get to take the trophy home. I will make that happen, I swear. :)

Back to Reality...

Well, it was back to the old grind again today. Weekends away make it really tough to work at school during the week. Although I wished I was still on a beach in Spain, I soldiered on back into the University world. I had a few classes, made an omlette for lunch, found a cheap barber shop, got a haircut, and bought some postcards to send off to America :) I watched 24, which is getting better every week, and then I did some research for an essay. I ate supper and met up with the basketball boys for some playing before our big match tomorrow! We play Newcastle at home, so I'm looking forward to playing for my friends here! Everybody's getting pretty excited for the game; it's quite the event! It's the quarterfinals, so if we win we're in the Final Four of the entire United Kingdom! Kind of a big deal! I'd better rest up. BIG game tomorrow!

¡Aventuras en Alicante!

HEALTH WARNING - This entry is extremely lengthy and detailed. Consult a doctor first or read at your own risk. Keep away from pets and children.

I just got back from an AWESOME weekend in Spain! I had so much fun seeing a face from home and living the Spanish life for a few days. Here's the recap:

Day 1: I caught a bus to the airport at 7:30 a.m., arrived, got through security, and got in line to get on the plane without any problems. One of the airport workers was walking along the line checking everyone's papers, and when he got to me he asked, "Where's your stamp?" Dumbfounded, I stammered out, "Stamp?" He told me that I was supposed to get my passport approved at the front desk all the way back through security. I was in shock. He said that he was going to take my backpack and that I needed to run as fast as possible back to the front to get approved! I snapped out of the shock and relived my glory days of the George-Little Rock cross-country meet (my only career win) by sprinting through the entire airport, back through security, to the front desk, through security again, and back to the end of the line. It was crazy! I've never had to do anything like that, so my trip to Spain almost didn't happen!

As eventful as the morning was, the plane ride was pretty calm. Except for the landing. Let's just say we 'bounced' into Spain. Stepping off the plane was like stepping into a sauna. It was so humid and hot; I loved it! I got in the airport and began my search for Cassandra. We planned to meet near the exit, but it turned out that there were many exits to the airport... After three phone calls we figured out where we were and were reunited! It was so nice to see someone from home! We immediately started sharing stories (Cassandra had just been asked to dinner/followed around by a creepily affectionate older Algerian man) and found a bus to the city. The bus ride was sweltering. We were crammed in among a ton of people, and the luggage rack was full of smelly bags in which our faces were shoved. Spain is crazy. I like it :) I had my first 'stupid American' moment when I found myself holding the stop button on the bus. The bus wasn't moving from a stop, and nobody knew why except for one Spanish man who was yelling at me to stop pushing the button. I had no idea what he was saying, but Cassandra did. It was embarrassing and funny. I enjoy playing the stereotype from time to time... We escaped the bus and walked around the center of Alicante. It was pretty nice out. I hadn't seen the sun for so long! Eventually we headed down to a restaurant called "Miami," where we met up with Cassandra's dad, Gerry, and his girlfriend, Sherry, who were visiting Alicante for a week. After lunch we walked around some more and found me a hostel to stay in for the night. We saw some more of the city, and walked along the beach. It was wonderful! After a while we were walking to go eat supper, and Cassandra was a bit ahead of me because I was taking pictures. As I was catching up to her, a few older men were whistling and shouting "¡Hola guapa!" which essentially means, "Hey pretty lady!" They then saw me running after her and started cheering me on and yelling at me in Spanish. I couldn't understand them but I got the message. Cassandra told me that they were saying to me "Your girlfriend is very pretty! Good luck! Very nice! etc." Gotta love those Spanish men. After eating some excellent Mexican food with Gerry and Sherry, Cassandra and I went to meet up with her friends in her program to go to ¡Botellón!, which is when most young Spanish people go to the boardwalk by the beach and have a huge party. It was sweet meeting everyone from her program, and later we went out to a few bars. It's amazing how late everything happens in Spain. We ate lunch around 3, supper around 9:30, and went out around 11:30. It's also awesome that from 2-4 in the afternoon, nearly everything in the city shuts down for people to go take their siestas. Cassandra and I decided to go play some cards and relax at my hostel around 2 a.m., which was a good decision. We just got to talk about our adventures in our countries, and before we knew it, it was 4:30! I walked her home, walked back, and hit the hay.

Day 2: Woke up around 9 a.m. and had a little battle with the shower. It had one of those hose things, and its holder on the wall was broken, so I had to hold it with one hand or pinched between my neck and shoulder, all the while washing myself and making sure no water sprayed out the top of the shower. Eventually I won. I met up with Cassandra, Gerry, and Sherry, and we went to Mercado Central so Cassandra could buy us some breakfast materials using her Spanish. The market was sweet! The whole building was packed with places selling fresh meats, breads, pastries, vegetables, and fruits. There were so many people; I had no idea what was being said half the time. Cassandra got us some bread, special Spanish ham, cheese, fresh clementines, and some pastries. We went up to a café surrounded by fresh flower shops on the roof of the market, sat in the sun, and ate a wonderful breakfast. It's common practice in Spain for people to walk around with stacks of hats, watches, sunglasses, purses, etc. and to try and sell them at restaurants, cafes, or at the beach, so we were being asked to buy all these things while we were eating, and there was also a man playing accordion for everyone! Also, we got orange juice, which is always freshly squeezed and served straight-up in Spain. It's amazing. Enough said. After breakfast Cassandra and I found my other hostel and headed down to the beach to relax. The wind was a bit chilly, but the sun counteracted it enough to give me a slight sunburn on my face. We laid out and slept on the beach for about four hours until it was time for lunch. We went and grabbed lunch at a Coyote Ugly because we craved American food, and it was pretty cheap. Cassandra and I were so tired that all we wanted to do was sit around and relax all day. So after we ate we walked and found an amazing Spanish guitar player. This guy must have been playing for his entire life because my mind was blown. Traditional Spanish music and the Spanish sun setting is a winning combination, let me tell you. We eventually made our way to Gerry and Sherry's hotel, where I took a siesta and Cassandra skyped with her friend Elizabeth back in Iowa. Gerry and Sherry came back, and we played some cards and ate sandwiches for a light supper. I learned the game "500," which is a super-sized version of Pitch/Euchre. It was a good game to learn, and after we finished we went to a bar called "Murphy's," met up with a few of Cassandra's amigos, and watched some of the Olympics. After that we went and got kebabs at a great little place called "Sultan." It's like the Middle-Eastern alternative to Panchero's, as far as late-night food goes. It hits the spot every time. Afterwards we kids went to a few bars and were out having fun until 5 a.m., which isn't unusual in the Spanish culture. As we were walking around and meeting people, we ran into three Scotsman! I heard their accent and asked them where they were from. It turns out that they all went to Strathclyde! It's a small world, and it's always getting smaller. They wer hilarious and so excited to meet an American that went to their school! We met a girl from England, a girl from Russia, and we found some Itlaian guys (Andreas and, that's right guys, Jacobo) who were all really friendly and hilarious! It was a super late night, but it was really fun!

Day 3: I got to sleep in until 11 and didn't have to battle the shower, which was nice because of our late night. I met up with Cassandra, Gerry, and Sherry for breakfast, and we planned to climb the massive mountain to Alicante's castle. It was a pretty long, tiresome walk, but it was worth it! It was an amazing view of the mountains, ocean, and city. It was party cloudy and a nice temperature, so we weren't dying from the heat. We explored the castle grounds for a while and headed back down the mountain. As we were following a new path down, we got about 3/4 of the way down and found a dead end. We had to climb most of the way back up the mountain to find the other route down. We eventually made it to flat ground and stumbled into an Italian restaurant, hungry for some food. Gerry, Sherry, and I got calzones, and Cassandra got some amazing Gorgonzola cheese gnocchi pasta. To attempt to repay Gerry and Sherry for buying us so much food, Cassandra and I decided to be sneaky and buy some wine, cheese, and bread for a late-night snack. We played some more cards and eventually went up to the hotel's hot tub (which was disappointingly more like a lukewarm tub) and Cassandra and I spent almost an hour and a half in the sauna. It was only recommended that you spend ten minutes, but we were so tired and the sauna felt so awesome that we didn't care. I decided that I'll be getting a sauna in the future. It feels surprisingly good to sweat that much in the extreme heat. We then got changed and went back to Murphy's to watch a bit of the Olympics, but we all decided to call it an early night (at 1 a.m.). We said our goodbyes and I headed back to my hostel. I got the man at the front desk to call me a taxi for the morning so I could get to the airport, packed most of my things, and quickly fell fast asleep.

Day 4: Woke up at 4:45 and got in the taxi at 5:20. Arrived at the airport, made sure my document was stamped, ate some breakfast, got through security, and was on my flight home at 7 a.m. I got back to Scotland, and it was below freezing outside. I liked Spain's warmth for sure, but the Scottish lifestyle suits me a bit better. Those late nights would kill a person. Also, Scotland has a smoking ban in bars, pubs, restaurants, and clubs, which was nonexistent in Spain. The smell of smoke is overpowering after a while. I hoped to be back in time for my lecture at 10:00, but was unfortunately back a half hour too late. Shoot. I made it to my other classes, unpacked, went to the gym, got some groceries, made some excellent stir-fry, and am probably going to relax for the night. It was an unforgettable weekend in Spain, and I can't wait for spring break! It'll be fun traveling with Cassandra and a few of her friends from the program. I can already tell! Also, Cassandra gets to come to the land of kilts for the last weekend, which will be an awesome time. I guarantee it! I've got a healthy red/orange glow, a huge debt to Gerry and Sherry, and a boatload a pictures to upload for you to see! Spain was great in winter, but I can't wait to go back when it's actually summer! That's all for now. Cheers!

Leavin' on a jet plane...

I'm leaving for Alicante tomorrow morning! Ahhh! I'm so excited to go. Really looking forward to practicing mi Español! Today I went to my classes, and when I got home a package was waiting for me! It was full of awesome things. Lowry's seasoning salt, for one. I made us of it during supper tonight :) There was also a container of white party mix (thanks, Mom! It's been far too long...), some trail mix/nuts, other supplies, and a nice card. In the afternoon I went to a coffee shop called Tinderbox and met with the pastor of Harvest here in Glasgow. His name is Scott and we had a good chat about where we're coming from and just got to know each other better. It was a solid conversation; he's a great guy. After he left I stuck around and wrote half of one my 3,000-word essay for Beverage Management. It wasn't too difficult, but I felt I had to get something done before I go away for the weekend. After a few hours doing that I came home, dropped my stuff off, and decided to go on an adventure in search of Parmesan cheese, a haircut location, some empty travel liquid containers, and travel toothpaste. I wandered about the city centre for two whole hours searching for these things. I found everything except an affordable place to get a haircut... the search will continue. Next I went to the gym, made some supper, and went to Meredyth and Sarah's flat to chill. One of Meredyth's friends from Germany (Michael, he went to her high school for a year) was visiting, so it was cool to meet him. Me, Will, Sarah, Meredyth, Michael, and Victoria enjoyed a solid game of Uno (they know and love Uno both in Australia and Germany - it's an international lifestyle!) before coming home and packing up for my adventure this weekend! All that's left to do is sleep, wake up, and get on the plane! I'll tell you all about it on Monday when I return!

Close Call In Coventry

Today was game day number two. We had to drive about 5 hours down to Coventry, England, this time. We left around 9:30 this morning and got back around 2 a.m. We arrived at the gym, chilled for a couple of hours, and then got ready for the game. We were warming up, and the Coventry guys looked like some serious ballers. Again, they were a bigger team, but we were faster. The game was fast-paced and intense the whole time. Coventry's first basket was an absolutely massive dunk. One of their players was about 6'5", drove the lane, and jumped. He kept rising until his chin was above the rim and proceeded to slam the ball through. Ally got absolutely posterized. They got really excited and loud, but we didn't let it get to us. We ran a lot, and we only had seven players! I played nearly the entire game again and just kept running (just like Lehman taught us all those years ago). At the beginning of the game Coventry gained a 6-4 advantage, but then we regained the lead and never gave it back. We built our lead up to 7 points at halftime (49-42), with most of our baskets coming from layups and our post players. I hit my share of shots, had some rebounds, and made some assists throughout the match, but Dade and Ally were our main scorers. *I'd like to note that I had achieved personal milestone in that half--I made a 4-point play by getting fouled while draining a 3-pointer in my defender's face. It was unbelievably satisfying :) Throughout the second half we would on runs and Coventry would respond with runs of their own, and eventually the game was tied 83-83 in the fourth quarter. Coventry had an insane athlete who did most of their scoring. He was built like a small bus and didn't miss many scoring opportunities. We traded baskets for a bit and eventually found ourselves leading 98-91 with 1:29 remaining. I hit a big three to sway some momentum, and then Dade made a beautiful 3-point play by getting fouled and making a layup. After he made the free throws, we knew we had it in the bag. Their freak-star athlete had other plans. After they took a timeout, he started making crazy plays. He would either drive and make a crazy layup, drain a 3, or get fouled and make all the free throws. They would run a play for him, make a shot, and foul us when we had the ball. Ally made two free throws (100-96), missed two free throws (100-99), and then Dade made two more to seal it. That made the score 102-99 with 7.5 seconds to go. They called another timeout and ran a play for you-know-who. They inbounded the ball to him, and he took a deep three, which glanced off the front of the rim. One of his teammates grabbed the rebound and was fouled as time expired and the buzzer sounded. After a bit of discussion, the refs decided to put 0.5 seconds on the clock and give them two free throws. He made the first, and then intentionally missed the second. Julian grabbed the rebound, and it was finally over. 102-100. It was a close call down in Coventry, but we won another tough road test, and it sounds like we'll finally get a home match next week! We're in the quarter-finals of the playoffs now; hopefully our run won't stop! I haven't been in that high-scoring of a game since my Junior Varsity days at Sioux Center. It was insane, but a ton of fun. I think I ended up with 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists. Dade and Ally must have each had 30 points. They just kept making layups! It was a great day and an even better win for us. Now all I have to do is go to a few classes tomorrow and then it's off to Alicante to relax for the weekend! Not bad! Cheers.

The Swing of Things

I've settled into a groove with class. I feel like a normal college student again, more or less. Monday was a day of class, reading, and going out to eat at an Italian restaurant for supper. The food was delicious! I decided against going to play basketball with Dade and Ally; I had some reading to do after supper. I got back to the dorm, started reading, and then went to get a drink of water around 11:00. Scott was in the main room watching "Seven" on T.V. I sat down to watch a little bit, and the next thing I knew, it was 12:30 and the movie was over. It was a good time; it's fun talking with Scott about British and American differences. I finished my novel and got to bed around 2:30 a.m.

Watching the movie wasn't so worth it this morning. I really didn't want to get out of bed, but I dragged myself out for class. Class was pretty uneventful, I came home and did some more reading this afternoon. Tonight, Jackson and I went to play basketball with the Strathclyde guys, which was fun, but now I'm just going to relax and do some more homework. We've got a big trip down to Coventry tomorrow for our game! Should be a lovely trip. Looking forward to game #2!

Also, Cassandra and I booked our spring break travels. We'll be heading to London for a weekend, Dublin for 5 days, Rome for another weekend, Sorrento (a small beach town paradise in Italy) for 4 days, and then Glasgow for the final weekend! It'll be insane! She's got some friends from her program that will join us, and some of my friends from here might meet up with us in Italy or Ireland! I can't wait! Oh, and there are only two days until I fly to Spain!

Week's End

Sorry for the delay in posting, folks. The blog just kind of fell by the wayside this weekend. Here's the wrap-up. I spent a solid four and a half hours in the library on Friday afternoon. I was beginning the writing process for two of my essays, researching and brainstorming. I made some progress, which felt nice. They're not due 'til the end of March, but the sooner they're finished, the better. The night was spent at Jackson's flat where he and his flatmates put on a party in honor of the olympics' opening ceremonies. There were a ton of people there; most I hadn't met, so it was cool to meet some new people. Unfortunately, Saturday wasn't nearly as productive as Friday. I went to the gym in the morning and watched rugby with my flatmates for most of the afternoon. I suppose it wasn't a complete waste; I got an education about how rugby works! Today I went to church, did a bunch of reading and reviewing, went to a college student get-together through church at a coffee shop, and am currently waiting to do some Skyping with the family back in Iowa. Also, I've been working on spring break plans with Cassandra. She and a few other girls from her program asked me what I was doing, so we've been discussing our plans. We've got some awesome ideas, but I won't tell you them until they're booked :P

Thursdee

Quiet day here today. Woke up for my one lecture at 10:00 and then walked to the grocery store with Scott to pick up a few things. Came home, made lunch, read some books, did laundry, printed my boarding passes and hostel reservations for Alicante :D, read some more, ate supper, read a bit more, then headed to play some basketball with the guys from the team. Ally and Dade play for a club team here in Glasgow, and they get together to play with their team twice a week. They invited me to tag along, so I did. It was a good time, we did some shooting and I met two other guys from the team, Dan and Rambo (a nickname; he's actually a very calm guy). It was good to shoot, but my legs are killing me now! Should be a quiet night around the fort. I'll do some more reading, maybe watch a bit of Jurassic Park with my flatmates, and then hit the hay. I'm promising myself to get some research done for my essays tomorrow! 'Night.

Knockout in Nottingham

Not since my freshman/J.V. glory days at Sioux Center High School or last spring during Droppin' Dimes' reign to the Res Hall Championship game have I been able to say, "It's game day."

Today was game day.

I woke up at 5:30, grabbed some breakfast, packed up my gear, and headed to the Union to grab a ride down to Nottingham, England. I met the guys on the team: Scott (the captain), Ally, Dade (pronounced 'Daddy'), Julian, Calum, a guy whose name I keep forgetting, and Akees. All the guys are from Scotland except Akees, who is from Greece. They're all really nice guys. I rode with Scott, Ally, and Dade, and I learned the offense on the car ride there. It took about four hours, so we got a little bit of sleep and chatted. It turns out that Scott is a D.J. in his spare time, so he was playing us some awesome music for the whole ride. Here's a sweet one: I was chatting with Dade about music, and it turns out that we're both in worship bands and are both really into Hillsong United! It was crazy. I told him all about Iowa, 24/7, and the fieldhouse; he thought they were the sweetest things ever! We arrived at Nottingham University around noon and just shot around/played knockout for a while, then we changed into our uniforms. I hadn't worn an actual jersey since high school, so putting one on was a bit nostalgic... *tear* It was hilarious, though, because the shorts were totally short, but we didn't care. We warmed up a bit more then took the court. The other team came on, and they were an average of about five inches taller than us, so we were a bit intimidated. I was also surprised when Scott said the starting five were him, Dade, Ally, Julian, and Pat. Starting? I was hoping for a few minutes! When the game started, though, we picked up the defensive intensity and ran fast breaks like it was our job. Before we knew it we were up ten points and completely in control. We all scored a fair share of points and won by 18! We were so happy that our 4-hour trip wasn't for a loss. I ended up with 16 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists. It was loads of fun! The drive home was okay. Slow, but okay. I think we have a game at home next week, so I'm really looking forward to that!

On another note, I booked a trip to Spain tonight for next Friday. I get to see Cassandra, which will be a blast! It'll be warm and I won't understand anybody. I'm so excited to go! Before then I'll have to get cracking on my essays and reading, but that shouldn't be a problem. That's all for now. Cheers!

Tuesday = Basketball

I went to my second new class today. It was Scottish Literature, and I love it already. I feel much more comfortable in the level 2 courses, so that's a major relief.

Now for the more interesting parts of my day:

I met Sarah at the Union to sign up for a ski trip in a few weeks, but unfortunately it was all full. She'd never been skiing and was dying to try it, so we thought we'd check it out. After that I went walking around the city centre, on the hunt for a MacKay tartan, a giant Scottish flag, some postcards, stamps, leather gloves, and an affordable wool coat. I found the tartan and postcards in a little kilt/souvenir shop. I picked out some nice/hilarious postcards and got the family's tartan scarf. I read a bit about the clan's history, and I'll be happy to buy more of it and wear it with pride! My great- great- great- grandmother (I think) was a MacKay, and that eventually became the Crosby family on my mom's side. I've found my Scottish roots! Can't wait to buy a kilt... Next I went and found stamps at the post office (who'da thunk it), a 5'x3' Scottish flag at another souvenir shop, and it's now hanging in my room with pride. I'd been hunting for a wool coat with a good deal, and I finally found the evasive 'one.' It's a gray 3/4 length overcoat, and I found it on sale for 59 pounds instead of 159! I then found some nice leather gloves, went to the grocery store, and came home.

After eating, Jackson and I went to the gym for Tuesday night basketball. After we had played our second game, Scott (the University team's captain) came up to me and asked, "What are you doing tomorrow." I said, "Nothing." I don't have any classes on Wednesday. He then told me that the team had a game in England tomorrow, they were leaving at 6:30 a.m., it was the first round of the playoffs, the team had an empty spot, and he wanted me to fill it.

My jaw literally hit the floor. Playoff basketball. In England. Me?!

So I'm going to bed early and waking up to ride down to England to (hopefully) contribute to a victory! I seriously can't believe it. The standard must be low or something (the fieldhouse boys know what I mean :D) It's going to be insane. Even if I just 'ride the pine' I'll be happy to be there! That's the major news of the day! It's time for bed.

P.S. There may be a little venture down to Alicante, Spain in the near future... Updates soon...

(Enter quippy Monday title here)

Early morning... the Super Bowl was on until around 3 last night, so I didn't get a lot of sleep. It was fun, though. We went to Walkabout, an Australian bar, where they had the game on every T.V., including a massive projector screen. It was cool to watch the game, but sadly there were no American hilarious commercials... Oh well! I had two of my new classes today. The first was Romanticism and Modernism, and I went to the lecture as well as discussion and really enjoyed it! The class was more at my intellectual level, which was a relief. Our discussion group was awkwardly quiet for about ten minutes until one guy was trying to pronounce the word 'dactylic,' and nobody could figure it out, so I said it and then everyone at the table realized that the new kid was talking! That was all it took to get the conversation/interpretation going, and we had a great discussion! After the class got out, a few of the guys that I met were heading to a pub for a pint between classes. They invited me and I hesitated at first, but I figured it would be an easy way to get to know the guys better. It was a good time! They were all from Glasgow and told me about the city and such. After that I went to Beverage Management, which was a nice break from the English discipline. It should be a good class. I can tell that I'll be much happier with my new classes :)

Tonight I went to the gym, reviewed some notes, and went to Quiz Night with Adrian and the boys from Northern Ireland. It was fun to try and answer the questions as a group. I handled a few of the American subjects. We didn't win but had fun regardless. More class for me tomorrow, but Jackson and I are planning to go play some European basketball hoops tomorrow night, so I'm looking forward to that! But for now, sleep...

To London and Back Again...

As we had planned last week, our little group traveled to London for a quick weekend trip. It was a great few days! I wish we had more time, but it was still a ton of fun. Here's the tale...

We woke up early Friday morning and took an intense double-decker bus ride to Glasgow's Prestwick airport. We sat in the front row on the top level of the bus, and it was freaking us out. It felt like we were flying, and it looked like we were running over pedestrians and small cars all along the way. We arrived at the airport, got through security, and flew on Ryanair, which was pretty much what I expected: a budget airline that gets you to a place without the expensive luxuries of a normal flight. It got the job done. It was only an hour-long flight, so we were in London by 1 p.m.! We exited the airport and saw an interesting smoothie/juice shop called "Lovejuice." Needless to say, we wanted to stop. Unfortunately we had a bus to catch. No Lovejuice for us... Next, we took a bus from the airport to Liverpool Street, which is smack in the middle of the downtown business district. It felt like a metropolis. Unlike Glasgow, London actually has the population that fits its size. After being dropped off we had to hike a few miles to our hostel. It took us about a half an hour, and our first mission after dropping off our bags was to find food. Luckily there was a nice little pub, "The Friendly Dog," around the corner from our hostel, so we crashed there and got some lunch. The pub had a great menu and some interesting house beers (Bombardier, London's Gold, and Mad Goose). Nachos, drinks, a "Bombardier Pie," and an accidental anchovy (thinking it was a piece of bacon, I accidentally bit into a disgusting little anchovy, to the delight of my friends) later, our ravenous stomachs were satisfied. After lunch we decided to buy a pass for the "Tube," and go do some sightseeing. Our first stop was the Museum of London, which had interesting exhibits about the creation of London and its history. Next was Picadilly Circus, which was kind of like Times Square. Tons of shops, lights, and people! We stopped for dessert in a café and then headed to Big Ben, Parliament, and the Eye of London. It was crazy actually seeing the buildings! They're enormous and the architecture is unbelievable. Having them all lit up at night was also a treat. We tubed back to our hostel, relaxed for a few hours, and then went out to a bar/club to meet up with a few guys that Meredyth knew. Ah, how we'll never forget the night of the "sketchball supreme." That was Friday!






Saturday morning we woke up and grabbed breakfast to prepare for another day of tubing and sightseeing. Our first stop was St. Paul's cathedral, which was enormous and amazing. The outside was massively impressive; the inside was beautiful and serene. We weren't allowed to take pictures of the inside, but I would strongly suggest you go there. Next we went over to Tower Bridge and walked across that to the Tower of London. I wish we would have had an entire day just to explore the inside of the tower. It's a huge castle! We tubed back to Big Ben and Parliament to see them during the day, and while we were in the area we stopped by Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace. We couldn't go into Westminster because touring hours were over, but the building was still massive. Next time, I suppose. Buckingham was also massive. The Queen has some nice digs. Unfortunately there were no guards with fuzzy hats around to mess with, but I'll find them. Someday. Our final stop was Harrod's, which is an extremely expensive store. It was also massive. There were a lot of gold-plated things, mirrors, handbags, and scarves that cost about $225. I was scared to touch anything. With sore feet and empty stomachs we tubed back to our hostel neighborhood and found a pub called "The Swan." We hoped to find a pub with some crazy rugby fans (England was playing Waled in the 6 Nations tournament), but most sports pubs were packed. This pub was nice. We got to watch the game as well as relax. This pub also had some interesting house beers, and Will tried a few. One was called "Doom Bar" and the other was called the "Peculiar Ale" or something. Someone got nachos, I had fish and chips, and we all got some form of Bailey's coffee for dessert. It was perfect. We then crashed back at the hostel. Sarah went to meet up with a few Australian friends who were in town, Meredyth hit the hay, and Will, Jackson, and I played a few games of pool before bed. It was a solid day and a half, and we got to see some awesome sights!

Our flight home was the same as the flight to London, only the plane we flew home on was much nicer. We took the train from Prestwick to Glasgow, and the Scottish countryside was beautiful. There were about eight different golf courses that we saw, and there were some die-hards (just like you and the boys, Dad) playing golf on them! It made me miss my clubs and the summertime $5-a-nine rounds with Dad and the boys...

With our adventure over, I'm recounting our events in this post and thinking about a nap. Tonight we're headed to the Australian bar "Walkabout" to watch the super bowl! It'll be on here around 11 p.m., but it will still be amazing. Will and Jackson are both from LSU, so they're pretty excited about the Saints. Should be a grand time! Enjoy the pictures. Cheers!

Relief.

Well my class-changing fiasco has been resolved. I got into three different classes, and I think I'll be much happier with them. Not to say that the other classes weren't interesting; they were just above and beyond my comprehension. It was a hectic process, but I think it'll be worth it. As of now I'm still taking West European Politics, but I've changed into a few different courses. The two English courses are "Romanticism & Modernism" and "Scottish Literature: 20th Century Perspectives." They should be more suited to my knowledge of English; I'm looking forward to them, but I'll have to catch up! My last class is a business class called "Beverage Management," and it talks about the business strategies and techniques behind a restaurant/bar/hotel serving beverages to its customers. Should be interesting, but the really exciting part is that the class has a unit described as "Wine." We get to go to a wine-tasting, a distillery, and a winery for trips, and there is also an entire unit about matching wine or other drinks with food. I'm really looking forward to that part, because I've always wondered how people do it. I'm so relieved that I got my classes approved and switched. It will be a chore to catch up since I missed the first few meetings, but I'll manage.

With my spirits much higher, I did laundry. My friend Will tagged along, and we chatted about what we were going to do for our weekend in London! We're leaving tomorrow at 7:30, and we'll be in London by 1! I'm jacked about this trip. It'll be nice to get out and see the sights. More pictures will be coming... For now I've just been catching up with 24 and killing time until my Skype session with my family. I'm really looking forward to seeing them. Homesickness happens, kids. Don't deny it. For supper, Meredyth, Will, Jackson, and I ventured to a nearby pub/restaurant where we got nachos as an appetizer. They were absolutely delicious. How I had missed them! Meredyth and I got fish and chips, Jackson got a burger, and Will got a beef/mashed potatoes/Shepherd's pie thing that was delicious. Jackson and I tried it, and in Jackson's excitement, he shoved a steaming hot bite of mashed potatoes into his mouth and seriously burned the roof of his mouth. He didn't eat the rest of his food. It was intense! That's all for now, but I'll be updating upon our return from London! Wish us luck!

Madness.

So I'm realizing that my classes are extremely difficult. Level 3 courses are extreme, to say the least. Right now I'm in the process of switching out of two of them and replacing them with Level 2 courses, which are (hopefully) more suited to my academic level. It's insane. I'm trying to get things approved and meet with professors and advisers who never seem to be around... the system here is wacky. I've got to meet with the department head (a professor 'in charge' of the department) so he/she can 'approve' my classes in an email to another faculty member in another department who does all the official registering for students. Also, I have to email back to Iowa and get my new classes provisionally approved so that they count toward my English degree. All the while, the classes that you want to switch into are going on... It's nerve-wracking. I hope all works out soon so I can have a more stable schedule.

Any who, I got to play some European-style basketball yesterday. Jackson and I went to the basketball club's meeting, and we got into a 4-on-4 game. It was nice to get back on the court, but I miss playing at the fieldhouse a lot. Aside from that I've been going to classes and reading. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed, but hopefully my new classes remove some of that stress.

On another note, we're going to London this weekend! Sarah has some friends that she wants to go and see before they leave for Australia, so Jackson, Will, Meredyth, and I are going with her! We fly out on Friday morning and come back on Sunday night in time to watch the Super Bowl at midnight! Should be a grand time. I can't wait to take some pictures and see the city!

Rainy Monday

Sunday was a nice, relaxing day. I went and checked out the Harvest Bible Chapel Glasgow, and it was pretty cool! I think I'll be going back there when I can. The people were really nice and I met a few other students. After that I came back to my room and did more novel reading. We're reading "The Dear Green Place" by Archie Hind for Glasgow Novel, and it's okay. It's about a guy who is kind of finding himself through balancing work and writing. The other reading I did was for my Scottish Literature class, and it was a play by J.M. Barrie called "The Admirable Crichton." It was about some aristocrats and servants getting stranded on an island and then being rescued, but it was entertaining. Should be a good discussion! After I read for a while, I went with Scott and Adrian to their old flatmates' new apartment, which was just a little ways from campus, to watch Manchester United v. Arsenal. It was a pretty fun time. The five guys who live there are all from Northern Ireland and very passionate about their football. I enjoyed it. After that I came home, cooked some supper, read a bit more, then went over to Jackson's flat to celebrate his birthday. We just chilled in his flat. It was relaxing, yet hilarious because our Scottish friend Chris was there telling us his side-splitting stories and jokes. Overall, a great day.

Woke up today to some gray skies. The first in a while! I did more reading by starting another play by J.M. Barrie called "Peter Pan." You may have heard of it :) I went to the gym and worked out, came home and ate some lunch, then went walking through the rain to the merchant city and ran some errands. I picked up a few things and eventually made my way back to the library, where I got a printing card, printed some things, and borrowed a book for my Philosophy and Literature class. I came home and read some more, and now I'm waiting to go out and eat at a cheap, awesome Chinese restaurant, which was recommended to us by Chris. We'll see how it goes! Tonight we're going to a "speed meeting" event at the Union for international students to get to know more people. Should be fun! Then I will probably do a bit more reading (sensing a pattern here?) and go to sleep. Class and basketball await me tomorrow!