Clubs and Bars

Clubs and bars seem to be about the same thing here mostly and I'm sure that almost everyone will disagree with me, but I dont care what they say. What seems to be the main difference is that bars dont change as much for beer, but of course the markets sell beer for even cheaper. Markets although tend not to be as socailible as clubs or bars. Clubs normaly rob you for beer and also rob you for anything else they can get away with. Lets get one thing straight the clubs here are small like a mid to small size CVS building with lower ceilings. Most clubs have no door charge and just charge up the nose for a beer. But anyways the club that a group of fellow American's and my self went to last night was one of the few clubs that had a door charge, also a coat check charge. The club will remain unnamed because I hate it for many reasons. One it had a 5 pound door charge AKA about 8 dollars, but that wasnt that bad. They basicly forced you to check your coat because if the bouncers find a coat they throw it away and its mad hot inside and crazy cold outside. They charge a 2 pound check charge, but that wasnt the bad part. I gave the girl a 10 pound note she put it into the right hand side of the cash drawer and she gave me back 2 pounds and pushed me aside. Being American I was wicked pissed and went back and asked her whats up cause even if i gave her a five she owes me a pound at that point. I went back said I gave you a 10 you gave me 2 and she goes into the left hand side of her cash drawer and pulls out all the 5's and is like oh theres no tens here move aside (she is a bad word begining with B). But the night was good other then some very agressive people on the dance floor that made it known that they will be dancing where you are standing no matter if you are there or not.
Most bars have live entertainment at least one time a week. Many of them have student discounts on food. Oh and there is any where fron 1 to 5 bars on each block, making Scotland perhaps the best country ever. Most bars also have sports on tv all the time which is nice and alot of bars have NFL sundays which is sick and very popular among all of the nationalities. The DJ's over in the UK for the most part are just straight out bad. Like they play music that is just undancable and repeat the same group of lyrics for minutes at a time. They also play alot of strange songs no one has heird of, even the locals. Also the europians dont grind as much as Americans which actuly makes every thing abit funner, less grimy night club feel to it. But it is weird to see younger 18 year olds getting hammered and walking around.

Burns night

I had no idea what it was, but yesterday was Burns days in Scotland. Which as far as I can tell is to celabrate the Scottish poet Burns. But it is also to celabrate all things that are Scottish. What the celabration includes is drinking heavly and eating haggis. I know what your thinking. Your thinking "isn't that Scottish people do every day?" Thats only half true, they dont eat haggis every day its a celabrational meal. But they also read several poems from Burns after the dinner. Including one poem that is very long call An Ode to a Haggis. But since my flat mates and my self are students are students and will do anything to get out of reading anything we didnt read any of the poems.
Before I knew all of this I had no idea that the day was a holiday. I woke up went to my classes and only when I went to the market after my last class did I notice that there was a large self of haggis at the corner of one of the lanes. I had a look at them and there were smaller ones to serve about three people and then the full sized sheeps stomachs one that served like 20 people. The market also had a sale on short bread, but that might have been unrelated because I walked in there this morning and it was still on sale. I think they are trying to push it before it goes bad.
Anyways that night not knowing anything about this holiday I made my self dinner early, then kinda just sat around for about two hours not knowing where veryone had goin. I fell asleep and heird a ruckus from the kichen. So I went over and there was about a half dozen people cooking up a storm. So I sat with them while they filled me in on what Burns night was. Then ended the night watching that guy cut off his arm in 127 hours with that group while sitting on a small bed with six other people who were all smaller then me. Merry happy Burns night everyone!

Visiting Edinburgh Castle

I went with a group of friends today to Edinburgh castle. The castle is only eight blocks away from my campus and easy enough to walk to. Most of the students my age dont ever go there because it costs to much at about 15 pounds a visit (about 24 dollars). To avoid this fee me and the other Americans I was with opped to become members of the Scotish historical society for 32 pounds and be able to walk into any castle that we want to for free with your cards.
Edinburgh castle isnt a royal castle but a army strong hold. The castle is still an active army fort that houses a Scottish gaurd platoon that just came back from the middle east and are also bad asses. But they were not there. I wish they were because there awesome, wear kilts and are ordered not to talk. But some parts of the castle have been around for 5000 years. The castle also houses the Scottish crown jewels which are needless to say awesome in their right. There also different from any other crown jewels because this set includes a jewel incrusted claymore.

Its was more then we could see in a day and other then getting a talking to for trying to take a picture of a wooden ceiling in one of the buildings, it was a good time. It was a wooden ceiling! It didn't even have paint on it, I mean come on.

A weekend in Shap

I have just come back from the town of Cockermouth (real name) where I have spent the last weekend. My entire study abroad program has to do it at some point in the next couple of weekends. About 20 of use went this past weekend to the area around Shap in England. It used to be part of Scotland but that was a long time ago and everyone has forgotten. Also only half of the English people I have met so far know about hadrians wall. You would think all of them would have heird about it or have seen it at some point seeing how it is still about 6 feet tall, cuts Scotland and England apart and is 84 miles long. Any ways my point is that Shap is close to Hadrians wall and not many people who lived there knew what I was talking about.
I stayed in a house with four other guys from my study abroad program. It was a pretty cool place mountian ranges every where with a town nessled into the valley. Sheeps every where aswell with big paint spots on them so you can tell which sheep are up to bat, if you know what I'm saying (if you dont knowthose where the sheep that will be turned into lamb chops in the near future).

While staying there, we went out and climbed a small mountian over looking the small village like town below. It was one of the coolest hikes I have ever goin on. At the very top we could see the lake below and around a dozen other moutians as the sun was setting. Later that afternoon our host family took us to a pantomime which is like a play but you can yell at the actors. The play was Cinderella and was perhaps the funniest plays I have ever seen. This past week was the best I have been fed since I have been in the UK. Mostly I have been cooking for my self and not wanting to spend to much on food my diet has been consisting of grilled cheese and buttered bread. I geuss they shouldn't be called grilled cheeses or that what the English guys said because I fry it not grill it. But really dont care there grilled cheese in my mind. But we had meals in cockermouth about every three hours, which was cool, but I might have gained like five pounds in a couple of days. Over all it was a great weekend and I'm looking forward to more traveling.

Things that I like so far about Edinburgh

*The first night I was in the city me and a couple of other students were walking around at night and there wasnt that many people on the street. We went to the front of Edinburgh castle and were walking back. Right as we were walking by this wicked nice old big church this women runs across the street in a b-line right at me. She was extremly attractive so I stopped and she started talking to me in what I geuss must of been english im not quite sure. After about 5 to 10 minutes of her talking and me saying ya every so often, did I mention she was very attractive. Anyways after she had stopped talking she handed me a red peice of paper and said do you think you can stop by? Of course I said yes, she said cheers and went off. The paper was a flyer for a strip club, with a line at the bottom of it saying that hen parties are welcome. We didnt now what ment untill the next day. You know those dumb Americans, with are airplanes, elevators and theory of relalivity.
*Every thing is made of stone. I'm not kidding, like everything. All the buildings almost all the streets, the roofs of the buildings. Its just cool.
*They seem to be all about the radiators. There every where; small ones, big ones, fat ones, skinny ones.
*The drinking age is 18 and kids under 18 still make fake ID's. Those children would die if they lived in the states.
*There really isnt any "light" beer to speech of. In the states I consider the light beer to be the crap beer because it taste like water and is also gross. But even the crap beer here is pretty good.
*For a larger city the people are very nice. I was walking behind and older couple and they were taking there time and I was in no hurry. They were taking up the whole sidewalk and we were walking for perhaps a block and the lady turned around slowly and asked "sonny would you like to get by?"  I was so taken a back that I just stared at her and said oh no I'll just go around.
This is just of couple of things off the top of my head.

First day of classes

For some strange reason I dont have any classes on monday so when the first day of classes came around I had nothing to do. Oh ya and I had no internet since I had moved in three days earlier. So other then a nice very confusing hour and a half phone call with the tech center my day was completely clear. My flat mates didnt lke that fact very much.
The next day I tryed to go to my first English lit class ever and could not find the class. I searched the entire building where my class was supposed to be in. Also I sat in on a class that I thought could have been my class but was relabled. But when the dude started to talk about the UK goverment system I started to think that this might have nothing to do with english lit. So I resorted to go see the english department director who then sent me to the english lit department directors an hour later. All I asked was where my class is during the different days of the week because the website had the wrong class room posted on it. The lady then went off, asking who I was missing class and how I should be smart enough to veiw the real website from the so called clearly fake university sponcered website. I had to defend my self in some small way, so I asked her who are her student sopposed to find their classes when the only classes that are posted are the so called fake classes. She didnt like that so I left (I think that she was mad because I interuped her two hour lunch break then minutes after it had ended, I'm the jerk clearly).
The rest of the day went off with out a problem. Other then getting lost every ten minutes, but luckly I had my trusty tourist map. Oh made a fol of my self when I came in early to my second class and introduced my self to the teacher while all 200 other students were walking in. All the guy said to me was oh well take a seat young man.

first night in my flat

This is a photo of Edinburgh castle and the grassmarket while it was snowing and I was walking.

I moved into my flat the morning after I took this photo. The building complex is three buildings all with student flats. There was three other American that moved in with me in the same Building complex that I have not seen since I have moved in, which is weird because my building only has about seven flats in it. My very abroad provider orientation leaders were completely right. I moved in and quitly felt alone and isolated (which was not fun).  I could tell if anyone else was living in my flat yet, all the doors were locked but there was snoring coming from some where. But to stem off insainity I desided to go out and try to buy some things I needed for my room: pillow, blanket, food, jelly, those types of things. So I went out walking, got lost a block away from my flat, 15 minutes later found myself and started to look at what the shops on the street had to offer. Half of the shops are like bike repair and small markets, that sell milk and Scotlands highest selling soda IRN BRU which is a mix of bubble gum and orange soda. I walked into some Americans from my group and together we acheived every little. We found and went to some shops and the only real buys that we all made was pillows and lined note books for our classes. After several hours of walking I returned to my flat just in time to meet one of my flat mates, then leave to go to an international students dinner shin dig. The dinner was a good way to get a free meal, but other than that nothing fantastic other then meeting a very attractive friendly fellow country lady of my sisters boyfriend. When I went back to my flat, my flat mate was hanging his head out a window calling my name to come meet people. I went up stairs and met about a dozen first year students all europeans. I spent the rest of the night talking to those guys proving the orientations leaders little graph wrong. Then I spent the night wearing all the cloths I brought with me because my room was a icebox.

Last few days of orientation 2#

The last night of orientation Edinburgh had a nice little snow fall, which in the north east of the United States is about nothing, like 3-4 inchs. The next morning it was like the country was under some sort of panic, like they had never seen snow before. Edinburgh is further north then Maine. There was no snow plows, people didnt have snow sholves, it was like we were in the twilight zone. The air port was shut down for about two days most of the streets were to bad to drive on, it was crazy.
But anyways the night it started to snow was the last night of our orientation, the Americans in my group decided to invade sevral of the closer bars which had music. So like twenty of us went to this bar across from our hotel. The bar had a bunch of locals and some returning studients, but mostly over the age of 45 local people. So the DJ was playing all sorts of weird American music that none of us had ever heard of from the 80's (80's music sucks). So my study abroad brethern start to request all the music and we thought that if we requested recent music that the old people would just play along. So we started requesting 1950's and 60's twist music and started to do the twist between the tables, cause the older locals were dancing to their "music" so we could alwell. No one was mad at us they thought we were drunk or something, what ever.
The night ended at about 2am with all American unable to walk a straight line (not like we wanted to anyways). Got a nice snowing photo of the castle but I have no idea how to get it off my phone. I have a good phone camera 5mp, so it is a good pic. If u dont think so (shut up).

Last few days of orientation

So I think orientation was only a like 4 days but I can't remember felt like more. Kind sucks I cant remember cause it was only like six days ago. My study abroad group were staying in the grassmarket right outside Edinburgh castle. This was the general area where J.K. Roling wrote out the plots of the Harry Potter books. It was kind of cool you could see all of her inflences in the area. So right behind my hotel there was a pivate childrens school in a old massive palace and all the little kids wear uniforms (wonder that place was in the Harry Potter books).
The day before our last day in orientation we had a Scottish police officer come in and give us the low down about the things to stay away from in the city so we dont die. Well it turns out their is about zero crime in the city. Going to college in the States between south Boston and Mattapan, I thought he was making a joke. ope he was completly serious. He told us the main thing we should look out for is unathletic people in athleteic clothing becuase those are the stero typicall looking criminals in the UK. Oh and also women with pony tails on the tops of their heads because they are bad news. He also told us if we thought someone had spiked your drinks that we were wrong because we most likly spiked our own drinks. We also shouldnt go see the police about those things because they have better things to do with their time then to listen to stupid kids with hangovers telling them that they had been drugged. I thought that was pretty funny because he was mostly directing that part to the women of the group, who were playing the "I have no idea what you arre talking about" card with the officer (they knew).
The night before my abroad groups were supposed to move into our flats our very very pregnant orientation leader (im talking over nine month or something, very pregnant) was nice enough to show us a graph of how we will feel now we will be on our own. The graph went alot like this; you are the happiest now in orientation, then you will want to kill your self when you move in to your flat, then in a couple of weeks it will get alittle better. Then when theres only a couple of weeks left in the program you might be (maybe) a little less happy as you were in orientation. Then of course when you get back in the United States you will drop into a huge pit of depression. But the really bad thing was that her face was completly seriouos the entire time (I think it was the hormones).

next couple of days

So I opened the shades to my room the next morning and bam there was a huge castle on a hill. Have no idea how I missed that, because that thing was huge also elevated like 250 feet above the roofs of the buildings. Any ways I met alot of other Americans in my group then very qickly forgot half their names, but they didnt forget mine which made it even more fantasic for me (sarcasm). Had some intro stuff, bla bla bla welcome to Edinbirgh everyone one loves you that type of deal. Then after that fun filled sesson the whole study abroad group went on a bus tour of Edinburgh. The tour guide was naturaly wearing a kilt which was awesome made me want to go buy one, but he was also a comedian slipping comments in there, telling us about completly abstract things not having with Scotland at all. But generally it was a good tour learned some things, like Scotland is the only country in the world not to have coca cola be its top selling soft drink. the top selling soda is called Iru Bru and is a mix of bubble gum and orange soda, its not bad after a while, pretty good.
The study abroad program also had a Scottish parliment member too come and talk to us. I thought he was a bit of a downer cause he was trashing the nationalist partyof Scotland. Which i thought was in Bad taste specialy because the nationalist party are just very much patriots of their country, but what ever politions are not normally the friendliest of types. That night of corse hit the bars again. Tried my Scotish acceint with the bar tenders which was more or less mumbling, pointing to taps and prettending I know what the money was that I was handing over. I dont know if my accent was any good or if I am just a give away as an American because everyone was staring at me. It wasnt that i feel evrone is looking at me it was that people were on the edges of the chairs around the corners of the bar staring blankly at me, maybe thats a good thing (most likly not). But my nights ended about 12pm each night do to the greatness of jet lag

Arriving in the UK

Left from New Jersey on the 4th to London. Ok flight I geuss, I was just trying to remember that my father told me not to worry about the plane going down because if it did the water in the North Atlantic would kill me in seconds or i would die on impact. So thanks dad for those wonderful words. When I got to London they made me go through security about four times, then i was "randomly sellected" to be sreened for explosives. What ever that wasnt to bad, but when i get in line to get my tickets for Edinburgh some 17 year kid was filming me with like a 3000 dollar HD camcorder and i caught him! but he just kept filming me. After an hour flight we got to Edinburgh and i met my not so social study abroad "mates"(not very talkitive or have humerious peole after a full day of flying. It wasnt lke they were flying, the auto pilot was, they just "tired" what ever!
So of course being Americans we went to the bars the first night and then every night after that. A small group of us study abraod guys went to this small under ground music bar and there was nothing but drunk 18 year old who were not very good at dancing but thought they were. We left after a very friendly girl that most likly out weighed me and was not speeking and English I have ever heard before, got very interested in me and another American in my group. Sad thing was we all fell asleep around 11:30pm after battling to stay awake all day.