Bed Sheets

For some reason the Scots don’t believe in bed sheets. You have the fitted sheet that goes on the bottom of the mattress and then the comforter. There is no sheet in between you and the comforter. Instead, they make removable sheets for the comforter and you wash that sheet instead. It’s like a duvet. I don’t really like the concept because sometimes the comforter is too warm, and you just want to be covered by a bed sheet. Plus, changing the sheet on the comforter is so much more complicated than just putting a fresh sheet on the bed. Hermmff. Grumble grumble.

St. Andrew's Day

Yesterday was St. Andrew’s Day, and I didn’t even know it till I got to my usual Wednesday evening Zumba class. (Our friend from Edinburgh, Scott, does Zumba btw!) Our instructor reminded us that we had come for a special St. Andrew’s Day Zumba and he disappeared into the back and started playing some pipe music over the speaker system. For those of you back home, traditional Scottish music is pretty much the same as traditional Irish music, very Celtic. After a bit, “Sandy Zumba,” our instructor, emerged in a kilt and sporran (Gaelic for purse). Scottish Zumba…It was good crack!

If you’ve never seen a proper kilt, they are quite heavy! Loads of material wrapped round and round saving space for a bit of middle age weight gain. Scottish men typically are given a kilt at their 18th birthday and they wear it to formal occasions for the rest of their lives. Midway through Zumba, Sandy was getting quite warm, I could tell. As you probably guessed, a strip tease ensued. Off came the kilt to reveal some very pasty white legs and a pair of Scottish flag short shorts (like really short and really tight, cerca 1960s basketball shorts). All in all it was good fun. I really do appreciate how Scotland has kept enthusiasm for one of its oldest traditions in modern times, when let’s be honest, how much more feminine can a skirt and purse get? Although, I think certain lines between masculinity and femininity are less clear here as I once saw a man on a British reality show straightening his hair…
Surprisingly enough, I knew in advance that yesterday, was going to be strike day before I knew it was St. Andrew’s Day. I feel a little bad for Scotland for that. Apparently, St. Andrew’s Day is supposed to be the national holiday. You know how every other country always celebrates an Independence Day with much vigour and national pride? Well what does Scotland have? They never really got away from the English…O well they have ceilidhs!

Didn’t really follow the strike too much, just knew it would be a day off from class! It was a public sector strike, only not really. It was planned out in advance, and they kept a 1/3 of public services open. Their hospitals obviously had to keep running for emergencies and some dentists stayed open as well. Most kids didn’t have school though. I guess the Royal Mail isn’t public sector? I sent a package yesterday. Anyway, from what I gather it didn’t do a whole lot. What can you expect from a half arsed strike? I’m not even sure everyone in the public sector really wanted to strike. I don’t actually know, shouldn’t be commenting on it…But yah… Happy St. Andrew’s Day!

Xscape!

Went to Xscape the other night, it was the coolest place/entertainment centre I had ever seen! Imagine every single thing you do outside or any sort of entertainment activity and this place has an indoor version. I’m assuming the reasoning for bringing it indoors is because it rains a lot and you don’t have the seasons to worry about to ruin your plans.

For example, the main attraction is an indoor sky slope. It’s like a bunny hill size equivalent, but you can ski here anytime of the year! It’s not even that expensive either, I’m coming back as soon as I get some ski pants, or I should say, trousers. We went for bowling, but there’s also a movie theatre, mini golf, laser tag, bumper cars, a high ropes course and rock wall, an arcade, restaurants, shopping all in one gigantic centre. I even saw carnie rides out front. It has everything, downside being the ever presence of NEDs (Non-Educated Delinquents). They’re basically little punks who are annoying and usually up to no good. They also speak another language; I don’t even think it can be classified as English.

Still, I reckon Xscape is one of the most unique epicentres I’ve ever seen. You could spend a whole day there without stepping out. Maybe even a whole week! That was the one thing I didn’t notice, no hotels; they could really market the ideal of a family fun destination for out-of-towners. Oh wait, I just remembered the advert for the Great Wolf Lodge in Wisconsin (or is it Canada?). No indoor water park I’m afraid…But there is a Nando’s, which is amazing.

Erin Visits

Literally two hours after my Dad leaves, our friend Erin, whom we met in Chile, arrives. Erin is in the midst of further traveling, on a sort of around the world trip before heading back to South America. This time instead of Chile, she will be heading for Colombia! I am a little jealous she gets to go back to South America, and I think Marc is too. We always talk about how much we want to go back. Life is just simpler, and you rarely seem to stress out there, upside-down, on the other side of the world.

There’s a cheese shop in the west end (where I live and go to Uni in Glasgow) where Marc had forbidden me to let him go. The reason he is not allowed in this cheese shop is because once he ended up spending over 100 quid on cheese…in one visit…which only lasted him a week! Nobody should be consuming that much cheese…I don’t care how delicious. Anyway, because Erin was here I let him go and we had a lovely Scottish brie.

We also visited Edinburgh where we met Marc’s old flatmates for lunch. No trip to Edinburgh would be complete without a visit to the Edinburgh Castle, which was cool. I’m planning on visiting loads of castles this year so like the cool person I am, I got Marc and I signed up for the Historic Scotland membership. It gets us into every castle in Scotland for free, and we get discounts on English historical sites as well!

We had a wee walk around and found the café where JK Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter book! It had changed names since then (15 years!) so it wasn’t even really the “same” place, but still pretty cool. We didn’t go in, it was way too crowded and I guess the coffees there are like £5 ($7.50) so I wasn’t too keen. And it was getting late, so we needed to hope on the train back to Glasgow.

Erin was on her way to Norway so there ended our first round of visitors. It was nice though, having visitors. I was brand new to Scotland so I wasn’t the best guide, but at least Marc had lived in Glasgow for some time. Round one of visitors had finished, and I can’t wait for more! Come see meeee!

Dad's Visit

My Dad came for a visit! I had only been in Scotland for two weeks so it wasn’t like I was able to show him around, that was really Marc’s doing. Dad was stopping in Scotland for a few days on his way back from Afghanistan. He’d been six months without a drink, so he was pretty excited for that first “dram and a pint” with us! The place we were at was doing a polish night so we stayed for that and had a lovely meal. The next day I took dad around to see my Uni and that afternoon we visited the Glengoyne Distillery. I don’t think Dad was that impressed because although he was super excited about all the whisky he was to consume, he didn’t end up leaving the distillery with a bottle. That evening we had a really good meal at a sort of “gastro pub” which had been converted from an old church. The next day was dad’s last full day, and lucky for him it was a beautifully sunny day! So we took that opportunity to visit Loch Lomond, a beautiful lake just a half hour away. We spent the morning walking through cute little towns along the lake, and dad found his favourite scotch that he’d tried since he’d been here. So he decide to take a bottle home “for Karen.”

That afternoon we took him into the city centre and Marc took him to a great whisky bar that I think dad enjoyed very much  I enjoyed the free wifi… Our final meal was at a great little Scottish place called Roastit Bubbly Jocks. It was BYOB so we took some of our favourite Chilean wine. The service and the food were great! But by this point my liver was starting to feel like pate from all the rich food, but I recovered eventually. I was really happy Dad was able to visit. Hopefully we gave him a good impression of Scotland so that he’ll come back for a proper holiday next year! It was really nice seeing my Papa 

Glasgow

I’ve been in Glasgow now for about a week, which is just enough time for me to figure my way to Uni from my flat, and that’s about it... Glasgow is relatively small though, the underground is just one line, or circle rather. But the nice thing about that is you can go either direction in the circle; a plus when comparing it to the loop on the Chicago El. They call it the clockwork orange because it’s completely orange and well, it’s shaped like a clock.

There are two nice bits of Glasgow, the city centre and the west end. Well, I’ve only been to those two areas so far, and since I’m an expert in Scottish cities those are obviously the only nice parts of Glasgow…  I live in the west end where the University of Glasgow is. I really like it! All the housing is “tenement” style, which to me means they are all very old beautiful buildings, four stories tall, with 12 feet high ceilings and huge bay windows; really spacious and really nice. Three main differences would be the radiator style heating, absence of a garbage disposal/dishwasher, and the absence of a clothes dryer. Instead we have this awesome pulley-line system that runs along the ceiling of our kitchen. Knots in the “pulley-rope” hook the rope at different levels. So for example you would let all of the rope go and hook at the last knot to hang your clothes on the line, then pull the rope hooked up to a pulley and hook it on one of the first knots so that your clothes hang over head to dry.

My Uni is seriously Hogwarts, circa 1451 (I know Hogwarts wasn't around in 1451, but if it were, I would imagine it to look like my Uni). I’m not joking, it completely gothic style. But cool! It’s a pretty small campus, and unfortunately I don’t have any of my classes in the Hogwarts bit. But, I am in some old, grand, houses that had been converted into office and lecture buildings. I’m doing my Masters in Public Health or MPH, and I was surprised how small the programme is at Glasgow. It’s good for me because I’m pretty sure I’ll get all the help and guidance I need. There are only four full time students and maybe 10 students in total! I haven’t actually started any classes yet, just been attending a bunch of introductions to the programme and refreshers courses. We’ll see how it goes, it sounds pretty demanding doing the MPH full time in one year, but I’m pretty sure if I keep on top of things and get ahead when I can, I should be fine.

Inverness

Marc picked me up from Edinburgh airport and drove us to our flat in Glasgow where I dropped off my suitcase and packed a weekend bag. We were heading up north that evening to spend the weekend on the Black Isle (actually a peninsula) which is about 20 minutes away from Inverness; the capital of the Scottish Highlands. Also, home to the Loch Ness monster, which I saw! I took a picture with him too.

The drive up was nice; we stopped off in the cutest little town called Pitlochry for a “pit-stop” har har har. I saw lots of heather (a purple plant that covers the Scottish country side) and quite enjoyed the drive up while getting used to the narrower roads on the left and round abouts. Marc’s parents live up on the Black Isle and I was going to meet them for the very first time.

They were very nice folks, it was quite nice spending my first weekend in Scotland with a family being well fed. And I was well fed! Marc’s dad is French so we had French food; which confused me because I didn’t realise you get a salad and cheese AND dessert after the main course. It was so good, but I was stuffed by the end! All in all, a pretty great first weekend.

My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean

Well I’m off to Scotland today! For those of you whom I have not been in touch, I got back from South American in February, looked for a job, applied for grad school and after weighing my options decided to attend the University of Glasgow for a Masters in Global Health. I suppose there weren’t many options to weigh; I couldn’t find a job, and I got a full ride for this programme (not a spelling error, I’m trying out this British English thing). Plus my boyfriend, Marc, is Scottish so I guess I might as well give this rainy (but beautifully green!) country a try.

I realise the name of my blog no longer applies, but I don’t really want to change it…I’m just too lazy I guess. I did meet Marc in Chile and the chances of me going off to Scotland this year without meeting him are probably pretty slim. So I suppose keeping the Chile in the name is appropriate. But now that I have met him and have applied and decided to go, I’m so excited! Even though I generally don’t like being cold or wet or golfing or men in skirts I think this country sounds pretty promising

Apparently they make up for the shit weather by offering lots of indoor entertainment. Have you ever heard of indoor skiing?? You can do that in Scotland! And I supposed it would be a good studying environment; I mean, that is supposed to be my main reason for going over.
Marc and his pops are going to pick me up from the airport and we’re going to spend that first weekend up north in Inverness where his folks live. Maybe I’ll get a glimpse of the loch ness monster because that’s where he lives I guess! Then, it’s back down to Glasgow where I gotta start setting up my life for the next 12 months. Bon Voyage!

Just Living the Dream...

I’M BACK to the good ol’ US of A!!! Just living the American Dream, or so I tell myself. Two weeks back and I’m still trying to throw my toilet paper in the bin, and enthusiastically kiss every person I meet on the cheek (but feel awkward when I am not received in the same manner). Looking at it, we are really cold people with our formal handshakes… Anyhow, I’ve been trying to figure out what to do next…and let me tell you it’s not easy! It’s a tough job market, and when I think about how easy it is to find a job teaching my native language, in an exciting foreign country, I wonder why I would ever leave such a wonderful place to come home to such circumstances.

Well, it’s called the “real world.” But what exactly is the “real world?” Is our world in the US more real than say Buenos Aires, Argentina? I went out into the “real world,” yet somehow it doesn’t count. Was it because I wasn’t making a substantial living? Was it because I wouldn’t be able to settle and raise a family if I’m constantly moving about? All tough questions, but maybe it’s something to ponder over your morning coffee.

It’s pretty obvious I’m still trying to hang on by a thread to my former life in South America. I’m reading Che Guevara’s Motorcycle Diaries and watching foreign films like the Buena Vista Social Club and El Sectreto de Sus Ojos. (The Secret in their Eyes) But I’m sure this will pass. I’ll readjust to what I know best, especially when I get home to Naperville and can start up the life I left before South America.

So I’m not sure what I’ll do. Most definitely take a job, because let’s face it; I can’t live like I did in South America. To be poor in South America is fine; you can at least feed yourself and enjoy a new place! But to be poor in America downright sucks! You are pretty much stuck where you are because you can’t afford to put gas in your car, and you need your car because public transportation is pretty much non-existent in the burbs. So you’re pretty much on house arrest until you start making them dollas. But this is what everyone wants me to do!! Contribute to that greatly diminishing Social Security that the aging baby boomers are gonna need to draw from. Trust me I do want to work, but only if it’s something I deem worthwhile, and now’s not the time to be picky. I know this, so I will probably end up taking the first thing that comes to me instead of hanging out for a better opportunity.

But is that really that bad? I don’t think so. We are simple creatures motivated by what we think will make us happy, and for most that’s a fat paycheck! Hell, I don’t even need the fat paycheck, any paycheck will be make me happy. I’ve been used to living simply and I know I could stretch any paycheck pretty damn FAR. Really, it will be a means to an end. And as of right now the end is looking like graduate school. I’ve got less than two years to use this post 9-11 GI Bill benefit from my dad for higher education. I’ve always known I want to continue my education I just figured I’d do it later.

And here is the point where I bring in my ulterior motive. Yes, hate to admit it, but I’ve fallen in Love (notice the capital “L”). Gahhhh. Well the “Mr.” in question happens to live across the pond in this far away land where Scots reside. Get this! The men wear these funny skirts and blow into these weird looking pipes. Sound gay? To add to that, they speak what might as well be called a foreign language. GAY-lick I think… :P Well it turns out each of our countries aren’t very friendly toward each other, they don’t like to let just anyone work in their country (cause too many people want to immigrate anyway)! But the loophole lies in the form of higher education. If I go over to the UK, I can get a Master’s in HALF the time it takes to do it here and I wouldn’t be paying much more either. Which arguably so, if I’m back in the work force a year earlier I can be paying off my loans a whole year quicker. And after I graduate, instead of chucking me out the country, (like we do here) I’d be graciously given two more years to work in said country.

Well that’s the plan anyhow….but plans can change. I always like to have many options in order to keep my options open.