The First Couple of Days

Things have been getting better around here. Most of the stress has subsided now that I've met people and have had time to explore while things were open. Yesterday Becca and I met up with her roommate and some other people from her rommate's school in Georgia (USA) for brunch. We found this adorable little cafe that had some very tasty mint hot chocolate. Becca and I had previously planned to walk into the city center to find Buchanan Street (fun fact: it's rated as the 6th best street for shopping in the UK). We shared this with the rest of the group and they decided to come along. It was only supposed to take about 34 minutes to walk there, except we had some detours. First we turned the wrong way on a street, then some nice old man stopped and talked to us for about 20 minutes about American authors we had never heard of. We finally found the mall after about an hour of searching and Becca and I got the towels we had set out to find. For dinner the rest of the group showed us these adorable little side streets that really resembled alleys except that all the buildings were so cute. They had light ceilings and a bunch of different shops and restaurants. We settled on a Spanish one with reasonable prices and it turned out to be a really nice little restaurant with these beautiful lanterns and pillows as the backs of seats.

An old building converted to have shops beneath

Today orientation started. First we had some programs with basic information about the international student support and other services that are offered on campus. After this we embarked on a bus tour of Glasgow. I really enjoyed getting to see all the different sections of Glasgow and hearing the corny jokes tour guides are obligated to tell. I learned a lot about the University as well as the city. We took a pit stop at the People's Palace which is in the center of one of the parks and holds a museum and a winter garden. Another fun fact: almost all of the museums, around Glasgow at least, are free to visit (I'm in heaven). After the bus tour we had a break where Becca and I ventured on a grocery shopping expedition. We went to three different markets to compare prices and finally decided on what we wanted to get and from where. The only problem is that we have yet to find any eating utensils or kitchen ware near us. We'll probably have to venture back to Buchanan for that. This evening the International Student Support had organized a little social thing where we could have some food and drinks and just talk to each other. Becca and I ventured out from each other and met some really cool people from France, Germany, Canada, the US, and Sweeden. We've made plans to meet before orientation tomorrow and to hang out tomorrow night.

The main building is GORGEOUS

Tomorrow is another day of orientation then on Saturday we have a trip to Edinburgh planned which I'm super excited about. Sunday is a day to rest and classes begin Monday so things are going to get really interesting very soon.