Just the tip of the iceberg

Hello!

I thought I should post on this before people started thinking I got run over by an angry Scot. A distinct possibility here, since pedestrians really don’t seem to have the right of way. I landed last Friday morning with a surprising number of Americans. I think there are around fifty of us. One thing that is become clear is that this University has very much a sink or swim attitude. I think it comes from being built in the 1500’s. If you have trouble with their computers, course system, or department structure, you figure out a way around it yourself. There was about an hour tutorial that said to register with a doctor and not to get killed. Other than that we were pretty much left to our own devices. I don’t even think the dorm I am in comes with an RA. Speaking of the dorm…It’s strange. I live in a hut of four or so flats, which is in a circle of huts with the name Hector Boyce. The circle is off to the side of a complex of “dorms”. The complex houses around 1,500 freshman and international students. Yes, I live with freshman. AHHHHHHHHHH. I can’t say anything more accurate than that. I’ll post pictures of the dorms tomorrow hopefully, and a bit more about the journey here. They almost made me run at first site. In America they would be sketch, but here it just means they can’t be bothered to redue the paint every twenty years.

The school itself is something else. It is about a 15 to 20 minute walk from the complex. An interesting time, since I seem to have taken Minnesota snow with me over the Atlantic. All the Scots are complaining about the worst winter ever, and they don’t have any experience with snow shovels. Basically, its 20 minutes of four inch slush slogging. The campus its self is gorgeous. I’ll get pictures of that up, too. Everything is granite and gothic. The city itself is called the Granite City with the sidewalks, houses, and streets all covered with bricks of it. Hard as heck to figure out where you are, especially since the University houses 20,000 students.

I have so much that I can post I’m overloading. I think I’ll just leave you with a mashup of basic foods between the US and UK.

Soda (Any variety): I will be drinking water. You kind of get used to it after a few hours of drinking it quizzically, but my God this stuff tastes funny. It’s Coca-Cola and Pepsi, too. It is flatter, more bland, and sweeter, with a strange after taste. I cannot tell you what I felt when I tried Dr. Pepper. I have been trying to think up a good way to approach a Scot and ask if they know their soda sucks. If I try cherry coke, I may cry.

Peanut Butter: Yum. This was the cheap stuff. Yum. They don’t use a lot of oil or preservatives, so it’s all peanuts. The best thing ever!

Yogurt: This is a funny one. It’s less creamy more of a soupy texture, but it really tastes good. It has a tanginess to it that intrigues me and a nice light flavor. Defiantly try it.

Milk: Oddly comes in 1.5%. Very good. I think they must grass feed, because it has a nice creamy flavor you don’t get from corn feed. I feel so Minnesotan there. Yay, farm land!