Last week, I wrote my first paper at the University of Strathclyde, and, boy do I miss the Beloit paper turning in process. It is way too complicated here. You have to submit an electronic copy on myplace (Strathclyde moodle) and a hard copy in a box outside of an office. And, it has to have a cover sheet printed from some random place on myplace.
Off and on since I've been here, I've been battling a cold. I suppose that is what happens when you share a kitchen and bathroom with five other people. Tea, especially peppermint, has been wonderful in making the cold better.
On Wednesday night last week, we went to a Mexican restaurant called Driftwood for Jacquie's birthday. Though lacking some staples of Mexican food as we know it (refried beans, black beans, Spanish rice), the chicken fajita and margaritas were pretty good.
For class last week, my homework was to watch The Horror of Dracula, starring Christopher Lee. Though the film was enjoyable, I was slightly disappointed that Christopher Lee's voice in 1958 sounds way different than it does in the 2000s. It is not nearly so deep and booming as it was as Saruman. Nevertheless, Christopher Lee has a way with portraying villains.
One of my professors who looks like he belongs to the Weasley family said something funny during the Dracula lecture. We watched a clip of Dracula starring Bela Lugosi from the 1930s. There is a part where Lugosi is motioning to another character to come towards him. My professor said, "I've tried that move in the clubs. It doesn't work."
Last Thursday, I wandered with Jacquie to a new part of Glasgow across the freeway. Our original intent was to go on a tour of the Glasgow School of Art, but the tour was full. So, we wandered up over the freeway and saw some more Glasgow. There is a pretty cool walking bridge over the freeway. It was the first of a week of beautiful sunny days.
Since my 10 a.m. lecture last Friday cancelled, I went with Ashley and Anna to The Garage Thursday night. It turned out to be the best night at The Garage yet. It was not super crowded and they played most of Ashley's favorite music. Though we did not go in, they also had a hot tub, dunk tank, and massage room set up.
While we were in the bathroom, we ran into our bartender from the student union. I talked to her friend, who I discovered had not only been to Minnesota, but had been to Bemidji! I never expected to meet a Scottish person who knew where Bemidji, Minnesota is.
On Saturday, we went on a trip with the Strathclyde International Society to Blair Castle in the highlands of Perthshire. It was another beautiful sunny day and the castle and grounds were awesome.
Though we had to get up and be on the bus at 7:30 a.m., we had a fun day exploring the castle and grounds. Unfortunately, they did not allow us to take pictures inside all of the rooms--only in the ballroom, where they served us free (non-alcoholic) ginger wine.
Another part of the castle that I did not enjoy was that it had been revamped through the 19th and 20th centuries to fit the fashions. The castle was more representative of the Victorian era than earlier eras. Though I enjoyed the castle visit, it was not as fun as Dumbarton and Dirleton Castles.
After we finished up at the castle and ate our packed lunches, we headed off to the Famous Grouse Glenturret Whiskey distillery.
We learned a lot about the whiskey making process. Our tour took us through each of the rooms: milling, mashing, fermenting, distilling, filling, maturing, and blending. Glenturret is the one of few distilleries that does most of its work by manpower instead of machines. Again, we were not allowed to take pictures inside. The room where the whiskey matures had a comical sign:
At the end of the tour, we tried two samples of whiskey. One was of single-malt Glenturret whiskey and the other was of the blended Famous Grouse whiskey. I don't care for the burning of straight whiskey, but the flavour was good.
On Sunday, two exciting things happened. I found Mountain Dew in the grocery store (for some reason called Mountain Dew Energy). And most importantly, Ashley, Anna, and I booked our spring break adventures!
- April 3-6: Barcelona!
- April 6-9: Madrid!
- April 9-12: Paris!
- April 12-14: Milan! (where Anna will join Ashley & I)
- April 14-18: Rome!
And on our way back from Rome, we are flying to Liverpool and then taking the train up to Glasgow. It is going to be legen - wait for it - dary!
On Tuesday, Jacquie and I finally made it on our tour of the Glasgow School of Art. The building is really cool and I wish I could post pictures, but once again, they were not allowed. It was designed by Glasgow's famous architect, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, and had a lot of cool elements.
On Thursday, I made mojitos and we returned to The Garage. This week, we found the bouncy castle that we thought was going to be there last week. And, they had something called a gunge tank that looks exactly like slime time from Nickelodean.
Tonight, I am going to see The Decemberists with Andrea and Jacquie!
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