Cold and busy, but.. whiskey.

Hello everybody!

It is about time I gave you a little update on my life here in Glasgow.
I have done lots of things in the meantime, so here is just a summary of what I’ve been up to.

Uni etc
Essays essays essays.. nothing new. I just have to write a lot of them, although less than I first thought. This weekend I will start on an essay about The Kingis Quair, a story I really do not like to be honest, but it has to be done. Scottish Literature is fun but it is the most work of my courses, lots of assignemtns and a lot of reading. Anyway I will survive. The problem is that I read a lot of books that I am not supposed to read at the moment, but I like it so much! I have become very interested in Robert Burns, for example. A few days ago when I was in Edinburgh to see the Twilight Sad I went to a bookshop and bought a very old Robert Burns poetry bundle (from 1904) and was given a long lecture by the owner of the store. He had been a teacher when he was younger and for some reason went on and on about William Golding’s Lord of the Flies and symbolism, and when I told him I was interested in Scottish Lit he recommended me a couple of books, plus told me about a couple of tv-series I’d never heard of and he replied: “Oh you wouldn’t know them, they probably do not broadcast them in America.”

Many Scottish people seem to think I am either American or Irish, which strikes me as very odd because they do not sound like each other (maybe it is my freckles or hair or something?). Either way I really want to change my accent but it is difficult because I am surrounded by international students most of the time.. I am really trying to avoid getting a French or Italian accent though.

About the Twilight Sad, the concert was amazing!!! though very short.. I will see the Black Keys and We Are Scientists in Glasgow soon :) luckily for me I have neighbours who are very eager to come with me to whichever concert so I won’t have to dance alone.

By the way I am trying as many whiskeys as I can, though taking it easy for budget-reasons. However, next year you can all come to me for whiskey-advise okay =P the best one I’ve had so far is Highland Park, of which my mom took a big bottle home with her when she was here to visit me! It was a short visit but a good one and I even got to eat pepernoten woohoo. I am really sad that I am going to miss out on Sinterklaas though.. On the bright side there will be a Robert Burns Day here some day wooohoooo! Unfortunately this is not until late January but I hear it is great fun: People eating Haggis and drinking whiskey all day and night, while reciting Burns poetry to each other… Lolz.

I am very excited about some trips I am going to make in November, one of them will be to Loch Lomond and one to Manchester and Liverpool. It is great that the International Student society here organises so many trips (actually there is one every week but it would be very pricey to go to all of them, so I’ve postponed my visits to Loch Ness and The Ilse of Sky to next year for example). Oh by the way I was in Belfast (on a trip) a couple of weeks ago and it was very nice! But I swear Belfast is a lot smaller than Groningen (I just didn’t expect that) and I went on a tour-bus to see the city and a lot of Titanic monument things of which they are really proud.. Building titanic museums and all.. Erm.. I’ve never even seen the titanic, only bits, but shh don’t tell anyone.

I am also very excited about next weekend when my boyfriend will be here and I will visit Edignburgh AGAIN ^^ maybe I’ll go to the bookshop again to see if they have Robert Burns posters. I think I am a fan already, although I still have to use dictionaries to translate his poems most of the time. Really, I should write my dissertation about him, but ohhh the thought of the dissertation drives me CRAZY!!! I am not allowed to think about it until after Christmas but the idea just kills me. I am so worried. What is a dissertation anyway? AAHHH.

Ohh and I am looking forward to HALLOWEEN! My flatmates and me already bought lots of candy and decorations, and we will buy pumpkins and carve them and go to parties woohoo and Nina will be here :) So the rest of the month is going to be quite busy, but it a good way!
And now to the weather.
It has become really cold here now, I really should find some warm boots because my toes are freezing most of the time. It is not very rainy yet though, for which I am grateful. However if you do not hear from me again in a couple of weeks I might have frozen to death on the football field. I am pretty sure it freezing every night now boo-hoo but maybe I should stop complaining and just have a bit of whiskey. Cheers everyone! Xx Mathilde