Thistle Do - Thistle Dum

13 September 2008

The journey across the pond has begun! I am officially across and currently writing from a comfy chair in the Edinburgh International Arrivals seating area. So far, the view from the airplane window told me that Scotland is very grey. Grey in the sense that rain will most-likely be in the forecast for the next few days if not months, but I am willing to accept the rain as an invitation to the autumn semester.

I’m not exactly sure where to begin explaining my whirlwind of a day (or two, depending on how you look at it. Technically, I have been traveling for 12+ hours, including layovers and whatever else life threw my way. Also, excuse the lack of concrete sentences. I’m very tired. Not sleeping well at night coupled with not sleeping but for a few hours on the plane does NOT sit well with my brain or my other functions.

Anyway, the trip actually began yesterday (Friday) morning around 10:15AM. That was when my dad and I packed up my huge suitcases and drove the ten minutes to my mom’s office (yes, I actually packed more than was necessary. I learned my lesson from under-packing in Australia, and decided I couldn’t part with my amazing wardrobe).

We had to copy some things when we got to my mom’s office, but by 10:45 we were off! It took about forty-five minutes to cruise through the morning traffic to the airport. And once we got there we discovered at the desk that my first flight was delayed from it’s original leaving time of 1:15PM to 2PM. Not bad, we thought. That bought us time to sit down and try to have a civilized meal together. Although, “civilized” wouldn’t be what I would call it. Probably because I was blubbering the whole time I ate my food. The tears just squeezed out. It was like they had a mind of their own and I couldn’t do anything but wipe them away and yell at myself to stop being so emotional. That worked only after my parents left me to walk through security.

I guess until we physically walked in to the airport, part of me still thought I wasn’t going. Somehow, some way I would manage to just not go. Or something stupid. Although, the thought of an extended summer until Christmas did sound appealing, my rational side (ever the wise-woman) informed me rather bluntly that I was indeed going to Scotland to study abroad for three months.

That was when my brain had a hissy fit, reminding me of my first day going to first grade. I bawled, not wanting to leave my dad. (By the way, to any of you who may be wondering what that looked like, we do have it on tape. One of the more embarrassing displays of my waterworks and tantrums, I have to say. )

Rational side: You’re going, Kristen. There’s no way you can get around it.

Irrational side (AKA: Crybaby): But, I won’t see my family for three months! (Tears gather in my eyelids like a woman gathers a skirt)

Rational side: Stop crying. Why do you always make a scene? Don’t be stupid, anyway. Mom and Dad will visit. Maybe even Keeley and Carly, too. Regardless, you’ll see them again.

Crybaby: I know...I’m just, going to miss them so much! (The tears decide to take a midday stroll down the sides of my face)

Rational side (sighing): Well, then. Miss them. But it won’t change the fact that you’re going. Here. Let me get those for you. (Rational side wipes the tears away)

Yes, that’s pretty much what my brain was doing all the way through lunch and as I walked to my gate. I was expecting a few phone calls after I got through the gate, and I just prayed I would be able to pull myself together so not to cry on the phone like the baby that I was. Crybaby can be very persuasive sometimes.

After composing myself and talking to a few people on the phone, I got more wonderful news that my flight which had already been delayed forty-five minutes was now not scheduled to leave until 3PM. Crap, I thought. Now what? Will I make my next flight? What if I can’t get there in time?

....You get the picture. In essence, Rational side and Crybaby had another battle. Rational side won.

Well, as it turned out, we did leave the gate at 3PM and arrived at Newark International around 6PM their time (they’re one hour ahead of Wisconsin time). I was actually amazed that the flight only took 1 and a half hours, when my itinerary said it took 2 and a half. Maybe they didn’t take the time difference into account.

So. There I was, fresh like a newborn off the plane, wondering and worrying about how to get to my next gate. Honestly, upon walking out of the plane ramp lo an behold my questions were answered. A HUGE sign literally pointed me in the right direction.

I had to take a bus. Okay. Not so bad. Got on the bus. Got to my next terminal. Then I had to navigate to my gate. It took all of five minutes, honestly. And I even had time to spare to get a Sbarro pizza slice and an orange soda. Wonderful. I think someone was looking out for me.

So I bummed around the gate area for a while, chowing down and talking to my mom and Carly. Suddenly, it was time to board the plane. My excitement for adventure began to take hold.

Thanks to my mother’s amazing magic-working skills, she was able to get me an Elite Access pass which meant I could board the plane earlier (granted, I wasn’t in Business or First Class seating, but it’s still a perk so I can’t complain). No one sat in the seats beside me, although the row of seats behind me had three people so, eventually, one of them - a guy from San Francisco - moved to occupy one of the seats beside me.

The first thing I noticed upon sitting down was that there were no personal TVs. I didn’t see a single TV initially anywhere on the plane. This was disconcerting. I thought, how am I going to make it without watching a movie to get me through some flight time?

Well, the flight attendant soon put answers to my questions. With a flip of a switch, TVs came down between the seats. Yeah, it wasn’t a personal TV where I could watch any show I wanted, but it was something. I was happy.

Another great thing happened getting started on the flight from Newark to Scotland: the flight time was 6 hours not 7 as my itinerary said (maybe my itinerary was having an off day, or something...whatever, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that!).

Once we were airborne, I began to get really tired. Try as I might, though, I couldn’t get comfortable. Those seats were so hard. I wanted to sleep so badly, because I hadn’t had a good night’s sleep the night before (nerves, they freak me out all the time). I finally did manage to fall asleep for two hours or so toward the end of the flight, but still....sitting here in the airport with music going helps, but I am still exhausted.

It will be a long day.

Anyway, the end of the beginning, so to speak, went smoothly as well. Customs wasn’t as frightening as I anticipated. Basically, we got a form before landing, filled it out, and presented it to the customs officer. He asked me for my University acceptance letter (which I had to wrestle from my bulbous backpack) and then stamped my passport and let me by.

There were other student-types on the flight over but none of them were going to Edinburgh. The first person I asked was a Scottish native, but she was nice and we had a small chat before getting to the International Arrivals seating area. The others (there was a group of student-types congregating by the sliding doors - I thought I’d be the inquisitive, awkward person and ask where they were going) were going to the University of Edinburgh. Sad.

So, here it is I sit, with about an hour left to wait until the Uni people get here and hopefully lead me to the bus. I will feel better once I am settled at the school, in my cottage and unpacking. For now, I guess I have no choice but to sit here. At least I have Bethany Dillon to keep me company.

~~~~~

About a half hour after I wrote that, a representative for Scottish universities arrived at the International Arrivals terminal holding a sign. A group of about fifteen students followed her to a different area of the airport where the University of Stirling rep was. While she tried to round up more Stirling-goers, I started talking to some of the girls. One girl, Tamara, was from British Colombia, Canada. Another girl, Tressa, was from Sydney, Australia, and a third, Elena (EL-en-ah), from Austria. I spoke more to Tressa and Tamara than Elena while in the airport, but on the bus I sat next to Elena and chatted to her about her study abroad experiences. She is entering her first year of studies, although she is 23 years old, and is majoring in Environmental Science. It was neat because we found out that we are both enrolled in People and the Environment, but it’s not for sure whether or not we will have the same lecture, seminar, and whatever else that class entails. Still, I hope to see her again!

Unfortunately, none of the girls that I talked to were living in the area I was. Still, when we pulled up to collect our keys, I wished we would at least be close. I didn’t realize how big the University actually was until later...

I ended up on a different shuttle to the chalets where I am staying. There were four others on the bus, all from Spain, all friends traveling and studying together, though they are in separate flats. We were greeted upon arrival by Matt, a guy living in one of the nearby chalets. He was visiting his friend Ian who lives in the chalet next door and saw us pull up. I guess he decided to say hello.

And what a hello it was!

Wow. Okay, that Scottish accent is a complete beauty in and of itself, but paired with his looks? Well, needless to say, I wanted to say hello to Matt many atime more during my semester here...

So, anyway...I said Hi, wiped the drool from my chin, and wandered over to my chalet. As I opened the door, two words came to mind: tiny and cramped. These words were shortly followed by “embarrassment” when I realized I had no idea which room was mine or even how to open the door. The keychain had two keys. One to open the door and one, I thought, to open the door to my room. Nope. I was informed very kindly by Ian-Next-Door that the other key is used to open a cupboard or some sort.

Matt volunteered to help me with my room door. When I finally got the stupid thing open, he whistled. “Wow, you have the biggest room out of all of ‘em. I’m jealous as fuck. You should see mine. It’s half the size o’ this!” Boy, do I ever wish I could see his room....

Well, he left so I could “get settled” and then I went to unpacking my amazingly plentiful amounts of clothing. All of which, I am happy to say, are going to get a lot of wear if the weather keeps up like it was today. I would say it was about 50˚F, light rain, and dreary. However, my dad said not too long ago that, despite the fact that it rains in the UK a lot, the towns are so cute and the grass so green you don’t really need to sun to make you appreciate the beauty of the country. He’s right.

My chaletmates hadn’t arrived by the time I finished unpacking, so I decided to take a short walk around. I couldn’t sit still knowing I was in a different country that just reeked of writing material. So, after some convincing (I hate adventuring by myself. I blame my paranoia), I managed to take a walk down the road a ways where I found a Co-op grocery store. Perfect. I was so hungry. I bought some essentials: bread, plastic utensils, Nutri-Grain Bars, Cadbury chocolate with caramel, orange juice, and Nutella. Then I walked back to the chalets, praying I wouldn’t get mown down by one of the crazy drivers.

Later in the day I took another walk, this time using a bit of navigation. (I’d found a map of campus and saw there were numerous footpaths to get to the University, one of which was literally right outside my chalet.) This second walk began by seeing a football (soccer) game in the sports fields. Then I walked up a short path and walked back down again. Nothing but business buildings. I decided to stroll past the soccer field again and take a straight road which I hoped would lead somewhere promising. I didn’t want to go too far in fear that I wouldn’t be able to find my way back so, at the end of the street, I turned around.

By the time I returned to my chalet, my chaletmates still hadn’t arrived. That made me a little sad, but I decided to spend some time beautifying myself. I tested one of the two showers we have. I was able to figure out how to make it warm after I had tried the first shower and unsuccessfully managed to twist the “nozzle” (which is really just a wheel that spins and gives no direction whatsoever as to what is the Hot side and what is the Cold side) to the point of immobility. Yes, I can’t turn it anymore. That might be a problem, but hopefully my chaletmates will be able to fix it! :)

After the shower I wrote in my journal for a while, talked to my Mom, and then decided to write this. It’s been a very eventful yet uneventful day. It’s still raining, but I find it soothing, not torrential in any way, which is great. Just like fall is supposed to be.

The only thing missing is communication with the outside world. Unfortunately, the area I am living on campus doesn’t have internet access provided by the school yet, and there’s no TV in sight. It might turn out to be a long weekend/beginning of the week before classes start, although tomorrow us International students have some group sessions to go to. Hopefully I’ll learn something about what goes on here and how to figure it all out before Wednesday...

I’ll write more later, and when I can figure out where the nearest computer lab is on campus, as I don’t anticipate getting a laptop adaptor until later in the week.
Missing all of you, especially now. But, despite the fact that I’m a little lonely tonight, I still love Scotland.

Hugs,
Kristen

*****
14 September 2008

Today was much better than yesterday.

The morning began by waking up at 10:45. I’d fallen asleep around 8:45 last night and was awoken from a recently-entered sleep by 10pm. My mom called me back (she had talked to me earlier in the day, but said she would call again in the evening). I think she called twice. The first time I thought it was my alarm going off (I’d set it for 10 the next morning), even though it was still nighttime. Anyway, I answered when my mom called a second time and told her I had been sleeping. The phone conversation didn’t last much longer after that, since my mom knew how much I needed my sleep.

Well, after that I stayed awake, tossing and turning, and listened to the boys whoop in their drunkenness. I began to really miss home and the sound of the fan going instead of these banshee-monsters’ howling. I eventually managed to sleep and, once I did, I slept well.

I woke up, as I said, at 10:45am (I’d reset my alarm for that time). Then I got ready for the day, determined to make it onto the university grounds to get oriented with the layout. That didn’t take me too long. I used the map the university had provided and found the building where two of my three classes will be taught. I then wandered across a bridge and walked along the Arthrey Loch. When I felt far enough away from humanity to start getting lost, I turned around and headed again over the bridge into an academic building where an information service was provided. I had a meeting somewhere in that building and so I decided to ask where it was, then sit somewhere to wait out the minutes before the meeting. I had about an hour. It was a very long hour.

As I sat I started feeling very homesick and simultaneously anxious for a good book. Well, It seemed I had no choice other than the sit and sulk. I could have sat in on a conversation the Spanish foreign exchange students were having with some American students a ways behind me, since I kind of knew the Spanish students (they were the ones from the bus yesterday), but I decided not to barge in on their conversation.

Eventually it came time for me to go to my meeting. The meeting was about Student Unions and why people should be active in them. It also involved a talk about the clubs and bars on campus.

Before all that, however, I found myself standing in a line waiting to get in to the meeting. I was one of the first to arrive. Soon there came a few more students, the two behind me of which I noticed by their speech were from either America or Canada, though I couldn’t decide which. I decided to engage in conversation. Turning around, I asked where they were from. “Michigan,” a guy with bushy strawberry hair and beard replied.

“Minnesota,” said the girl beside him.

“Great,” I exclaimed. “I’m from Wisconsin!”

Sharing a smile, we started talking. The guy from Michigan was Kyle. The girl from Minnesota was Rebecca. Both had arrived yesterday and had rode over from the Glasgow airport to the university together. Apparently, they had had similar experiences with their flatmates (or lack thereof) and hadn’t really done anything the day before except unpack and sleep. I could breathe easier knowing that I hadn’t been the only one in this situation.

We attended the meeting together then decided to walk to the lecture hall where another meeting was, scheduled for an hour later. That didn’t take too long, although we got a bit lost in our venture. We headed back to the main building, got sodas from the vending machine, and seated ourselves at a nearby table.

A few minutes into our conversation another girl joined us. Her name was Laura, from Kansas. She had met Rebecca the day before. So the four of us talked. We walked to the next meeting together and, when that once threw, we walked to the building where our IDs were being handed out. Thankfully, that activity didn’t take long, and was in a computer lab, so, after getting our IDs, we went online to check email and Facebook. I was very happy to finally have contact with the Net world, managed to check email and change my status on Facebook, then jotted down when my opening lectures were, and signed off.

While we sat at the computers, talking, two other people arrived. One person had noticed Kyle’s shirt (it advertised that he played the bagpipes) and informed him that he also played. This guy’s name was Sam, who, after talking for a few minutes, went back to his computer. The second person to wander into our ever-growing clique was Sara. She had been on Laura’s bus from one of the airports to Stirling. She was from Wyoming.

The five of us stayed together for the rest of the night, went to dinner at a restaurant on campus, then up to a bar to talk for a bit. After that, we took a walk, intending to visit the William Wallace monument near the chalets where I live, but, by the time we figured our way our of the building we had eaten dinner, it was already started to get dark. The group volunteered to walk me back to my chalet, then make their way across campus to their own residence halls, dropping off Laura at the bus stop beforehand (she lives off campus).

When I got back to my chalet, I was prepared to meet my chaletmates, as the kitchen light was on, various bottles of alcoholic beverages strewn on the table, but when I opened the door, no one was there. I found myself alone, once again, but this time I didn’t care since I had already spent the day with people.

I started up my computer then plugged in my digital camera to the adaptor I’d bought at the store earlier in the day. It charged quickly, so I decided to try my luck plugging in the computer plug - I feared blowing out the connection to the computer, though thankfully nothing happened.

Well, after that, I decided to put the camera battery back in my camera. I went to disconnect it and the damned thing fell from the desk...somewhere. I thought it was in the garbage can, but couldn’t find it anywhere. Thus commenced the longest search for a camera battery I’ve ever taken. I had be have searched for a good thirty minutes before emptying the garbage bag and finding it buried beneath the folds of plastic. Crazy. I swear I took our every piece of rubbish, but apparently the little bugger stayed hidden and managed to avoid my ravenous searching tactics...

So...I went to bed around 11:30. The chaletmates hadn't surfaced from the bars yet, but I wanted to try to get to sleep in hopes of blocking them out until they were in more sober moods. Around 12:30 they staggered in, laughing and falling over each other. They immediately ran to my room, knocked several times on the door and whispered "Hellooo?" Unable to avoid them and thinking it best they saw me to sate their curiosities, I opened the door. A girl with dyed red hair and big watery eyes stared at me, then introduced herself.

"I'm Nuela," she said, extending her hand in an almost wistful movement.

I shook it, "I'm Kristen."

She then pulled me in to the kitchen area where I met her friend Nekola (NEK-o-la). The two had stopped by a food place to get something to eat and now had the Chinese-fried chicken pieces strewn over the table, with bright red sauce on the side. They offered me a piece, asked me a few questions and answered any I had, then let me go back to sleep.

Although, I didn't really sleep. I was kept awake by their boisterous, annoying behavior. Throughout the night they had about for or five male visitors. I think they were also smoking weed, given the sweet/sour smell emanating under my door and through the wall (might I say that the chalets suck in terms of their construction of walls and room in general?). Anyway, the noise ended around 4. I think my chaletmates ventured out into the darkness with a male companion, but I didn't care what they did, as long as they were quiet and I could sleep.

I woke up around 9. Stayed in bed listening for any sign of disturbance for 30 minutes, then got ready and was out the door, heading to the Uni atrium by 10. Rain greeted me. Another peaceful morning.