picture this....since i can't physically take a picture to show you, i will describe what i am so desperatly wanting to take a picture of!! It's the most beautiful day in Glasgow today. I fell asleep last night to rain, thunder and lightning and knew that could not be a good sign of what the next day would bring but i was wrong! As i sit in a coffee shop looking out over the River Clyde and the Kelvingrove Park, the sun is shining brightly (where are those sunglasses when i need them?) and the air is crisp and clear. No need for an umbrella or wellies today, it's just a scarf and some uggs and I'm comfortably walking around this city in awe. I love days like these. It's why I suffer through the long winters of rain and dark skies. When you get to days like these, it makes you appreciate them THAT much more.
Although I am working tonight (5 till 11pm!!), I'm glad to have the day to myself to wander and be lazy. I swear, if i would have been stuck inside the cafe working today, I would have curled up and cried. Our big store front windows that look out onto Byres Road usually show us how lucky we are to be inside a warm, dry cafe and most days we're standing there making fun of people and their "run-away" umbrellas and we take bets on how long it will take for the Glasgow winds to take over and turn that umbrella inside out (about 8.6 seconds we've averaged) but today would have been torture!
Speaking of the cafe, my hands are really dry. haha. that only has to do with the cafe because al this manual labor (who needs it!?) and dish-washing has gotten my hands to the point where they closely resemble crocodile skin. I've invested good money into moisturizing hand creams and all that, but nothing seems to work! Has anyone got a rememdy? HELP!
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
merry christmas...glasgow style!
Merry Christmas everyone!!
I'll try to sum up what's been going on in my life over the past few weeks since I haven't had time (ok, i just havn't felt like it) to blog. As the christmas season neared, work got busier and busier. With that, i got more tired and more tired, wishing that everyone would just chose to stay home and not come to a cozy cofee shop all day long. But what can ya do? I didn't even try to brave going into town to search for presents this year which was a good choice I think. My sisters and I decieded to just spend our money on a big trip somewhere when i return to the states...whenever that may be. Many of you have been asking when I will return, but to be truthfully honest, I'm not ready to face the fact that I may have to leave after my 6 months is up, which would send me home about the end of April. I've enjoyed my time here MORE than i thought I would. I've made Glasgow my own home away from home and made so many great friends in and outside of my job, it will be a hard place to eventually leave. But I do feel like my journey has just begun. It feels like i've been here alot longer than 2 months, but that's really all it's been. Probally because for so long I've felt settled and at home here that my "adjustment period" only took me a couple weeks.
So let me think of whats been going on with me the last couple weeks.....
The week before christmas my plans got switched around from going up to the Isle of Lewis with kevin and his family, to staying in Glasgow and working over the holidays. Not the happiest change of plans, but I made due. My new friend Erica, a fellow American and north-westerner is living in Glasgow now and even though we'd just met up once before, she was kind enough to invite me over for christmas. I went over there on Christmas eve, with all my presents in tow, ready to spend the night with a few other foreigners. We stayed up late and ate lots of junk food (courtesy of the best cook under the ago of 40 that I know- ERICA!) talked about holiday traditions, and then curled up into bed and fell asleep. Everyone besides Erica slept in till 11 (that never happens in my house on christmas morning so I welcomed it gladly!) and we woke up with yummy coffee and muffins before we started opening all our presents. To my surprise, Erica had stockings laid out for us girls filled with bath bombs, socks, and toothbrushes(her dad's a dentist) Then the girls also bought me lovely presents! Bath products and picture frames! It was the sweetest thing ever! After we had torn open everything under the tree, we started making food and eating food, and making more food and then eating more food. That went on for the rest of the day, until I dragged my full tummy home late christmas night. What I thought would be a sad christmas where i would sit around feeling sorry for myself that i couldn't go home and missing my family terribly (although i do miss them!), my christmas in Glasgow was nothing short of amazing and unforgettable. This christmas was not about the presents, because there were far less this year than years before, but it was about the people around me and adapting to a new way to look at christmas. It's made me appreciate the little things that much more!
The day after Christmas is also a holiday in the UK. It's called Boxing Day, and basically it's just another reason for everyone to stay home from work and everywhere to close up, except for the shops and the coffee shop I work at! Go figure! :P I worked all day, and what looked like a quiet day, the familes and kids came pouring in around lunch time and it didn't stop until I went home at 5:30. Don't these people have left-overs to eat i wondered!? Aren't they too tired and full to leave their homes and come drink coffee and cakes?! I guess not!
All in all, it was a great christmas! Thanks to everyone who sent me presents and cards( especially Whitney who made the best calendar ever- filled with pictures of my family over the last year!) and who surprised me with phone calls on christmas! Those are the best presents ever! I'm looking forward to a few restful days and then gearing up for New Years!! Don't know what I'm doing yet...i have a few options...I'll let you know.
I'll try to sum up what's been going on in my life over the past few weeks since I haven't had time (ok, i just havn't felt like it) to blog. As the christmas season neared, work got busier and busier. With that, i got more tired and more tired, wishing that everyone would just chose to stay home and not come to a cozy cofee shop all day long. But what can ya do? I didn't even try to brave going into town to search for presents this year which was a good choice I think. My sisters and I decieded to just spend our money on a big trip somewhere when i return to the states...whenever that may be. Many of you have been asking when I will return, but to be truthfully honest, I'm not ready to face the fact that I may have to leave after my 6 months is up, which would send me home about the end of April. I've enjoyed my time here MORE than i thought I would. I've made Glasgow my own home away from home and made so many great friends in and outside of my job, it will be a hard place to eventually leave. But I do feel like my journey has just begun. It feels like i've been here alot longer than 2 months, but that's really all it's been. Probally because for so long I've felt settled and at home here that my "adjustment period" only took me a couple weeks.
So let me think of whats been going on with me the last couple weeks.....
The week before christmas my plans got switched around from going up to the Isle of Lewis with kevin and his family, to staying in Glasgow and working over the holidays. Not the happiest change of plans, but I made due. My new friend Erica, a fellow American and north-westerner is living in Glasgow now and even though we'd just met up once before, she was kind enough to invite me over for christmas. I went over there on Christmas eve, with all my presents in tow, ready to spend the night with a few other foreigners. We stayed up late and ate lots of junk food (courtesy of the best cook under the ago of 40 that I know- ERICA!) talked about holiday traditions, and then curled up into bed and fell asleep. Everyone besides Erica slept in till 11 (that never happens in my house on christmas morning so I welcomed it gladly!) and we woke up with yummy coffee and muffins before we started opening all our presents. To my surprise, Erica had stockings laid out for us girls filled with bath bombs, socks, and toothbrushes(her dad's a dentist) Then the girls also bought me lovely presents! Bath products and picture frames! It was the sweetest thing ever! After we had torn open everything under the tree, we started making food and eating food, and making more food and then eating more food. That went on for the rest of the day, until I dragged my full tummy home late christmas night. What I thought would be a sad christmas where i would sit around feeling sorry for myself that i couldn't go home and missing my family terribly (although i do miss them!), my christmas in Glasgow was nothing short of amazing and unforgettable. This christmas was not about the presents, because there were far less this year than years before, but it was about the people around me and adapting to a new way to look at christmas. It's made me appreciate the little things that much more!
The day after Christmas is also a holiday in the UK. It's called Boxing Day, and basically it's just another reason for everyone to stay home from work and everywhere to close up, except for the shops and the coffee shop I work at! Go figure! :P I worked all day, and what looked like a quiet day, the familes and kids came pouring in around lunch time and it didn't stop until I went home at 5:30. Don't these people have left-overs to eat i wondered!? Aren't they too tired and full to leave their homes and come drink coffee and cakes?! I guess not!
All in all, it was a great christmas! Thanks to everyone who sent me presents and cards( especially Whitney who made the best calendar ever- filled with pictures of my family over the last year!) and who surprised me with phone calls on christmas! Those are the best presents ever! I'm looking forward to a few restful days and then gearing up for New Years!! Don't know what I'm doing yet...i have a few options...I'll let you know.
Monday, December 04, 2006
new flat and new friends
i'm soo sorry. I've been a bad blogger. shame on me! The last week here has been busy and inconvienant for blogging - as my new flat doesn't have internet. :( why did I think that would be ok? Well, it has other amenities that make up for it, but more on that later.
I'll start with last weekend. One of my supervisiors at work, Becs is from South Africa and she's lived in Glasgow for 4 years. Within that 4 years she's been home twice! She hasn't been home in 2 years, so in a few days she leaves to go home for Christmas for 3 weeks. Because we all love her and are going to miss her, we got all our friends from work together for a night out on Friday. A true Glasgow night out!! We went to a really swanky, trendy bar for drinks and then to a club to dance. It was all so new to me because even though I've been dancing before, I didn't know any of the music they play over here since it's mostly British singers (except for J.Lo...that was a big hit!) It was nice to go out with a group of girls (and a few guys) for a change. It made me feel a bit more at home and reminded me of a night out with friends in Seattle. At the end of the night, on the way home we got chips and cheese ( thick cut french fries with cheese on top), which is a necessity for a Glasgow night out. Everyone was asking me what Americans eat after a night out and I think either we make a stop by Jack and the Box or we go to someones house and make nachos!! You gotta have some greasy food after a night out drinking, right?
Sunday was moving day! It was the easiest, least expensive and stressful move I've EVER had, and probally will ever have. Since I moved here with 2 peices of luggage and I haven't accumulated much more than that in my couple months here, thats about all i had to move into my new flat with. But with the lack of things to move in, came having to go out and buy all the home necessities that I left in seattle, such as towels, groceries, clothes hamper and all that other stuff. Thankfully my flatmate Linda and her brother Paul (who owns the flat ) have given me loads of sheets to use so I don't have to go out and buy that. I'll tell you a little about my flatmate now. Her name is Linda and she's a 33 year old Irish girl whose a physical therapist. My first impressions are that she's shy and a bit reserved. She loves to cook, is clean and tidy and quite close to her family, as her brother has been over a few times since I moved in. We even have alot of the same music, film and tv taste! As i was looking through the dvds and came across all 6 seasons of sex and the city, friends and films like Chocolat, Love Actually, and The Godfather trilogy. Even though I don't think I'd hang out with her much outside the flat, she's a great flatmate thus far. The flat is 2 bedroom, one bath with beautiful views of the city. It has a huge kitchen, with everything I need to make fancy dinners, and a cozy living room with cable tv. Even though i don't have internet, it's given me time to read, relax, and find some British shows to get addicted to! All in all, I couldn't be happier with the place I picked and I can't wait for someone to come visit me so I can show them what I mean!
Last night, Linda and I took a trip to Ikea. Every Ikea looks the same. Once you enter into the store, you don't have a clue what country or city you're in. I didn't over-spend, as I usually would in an Ikea, but I bought the necessities. As most flats in Britain don't have clothes dryers, everyone hangs their clothes up on a line. I bought the biggest clothes dryer rack I've ever seen. Its the big-daddy of drying racks. I think it could hold about 3 loads of laundry on it, and it looks like a spaceship. After our Ikea adventure, we came back home and decorated our Christmas tree! Its one of those fake, bendy-branch ones, but the ornaments on it are red, gold and burnt-orange round bulbs and tiny boxes of wrapped presents. With the sparkly lights on, I'd say it's the best tree in all of Britain! :) I'll take pictures soon to show you all.
Something I've grown to love and appreciate about the British is that they are extremely conscious of their health and our enviornment. For starters, everywhere makes you pay for plastic bags, which encourages people to reuse the bags they are given or put your groceries in those canvas bags. You know, the ones they sell at PCC in seattle, but i never got around to buying one, but i'm sure that once PCC and whole foods starts charging for thier bags, they'll sell alot more canvas re-usable bags, and really begin to save the enviornment. Even last night at Ikea I asked for a plastic bag, she told me they were 10 pence( about 20 cents) and instead of me paying that small sum, I realized it's not about them charging more money, but encouraging people to use less plastic and make due with what they have. So i carried the clothes drying rack i bought and shoved the candle and cookie jar in my purse. :) Also, at every electrical outlet in the flats here there are on/off switches. So when you're not using the lamps, cell phone charger, or computer, you can switch off the outlet, instead of wasting energy as, even though your lamp is not in use, energy is still flowing from the wall through the lamp, in case you do want to use it. It's simple, but saves soo much energy. Even at night, we turn off the switch with all the plugs for the tv, dvd, cable box, etc. because having that on would use up as much energy as if the t.v. was left on all night. Along with energy saving, the organic health food stores are in abundance here. In Britain, it's cool and trendy to eat organic and fair trade, which is an independent guarantee that disadvantaged producers in the developing world are getting a better deal for their products.
Today is a lazy day. I don't work until 3pm, so I rested in the flat this morning, as I'm trying to kick this cold that came on a couple days ago and then I came out to a cafe to read, use the internet and journal. As my camera broke soon after I arrived, I've been carrying a notepad around with me everywhere (that's nothing new, if you know me! ) and writing down images I see and beautiful things to remind me of this time, so I've been journaling quite a bit.
I'm looking forward to this weekend, as I have saturday off and I'm hoping to get to the cinema to see that new film "Holiday" starring Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet. Looks like a girly, rom-com with a Christmas twist - just what I need!
.
I'll start with last weekend. One of my supervisiors at work, Becs is from South Africa and she's lived in Glasgow for 4 years. Within that 4 years she's been home twice! She hasn't been home in 2 years, so in a few days she leaves to go home for Christmas for 3 weeks. Because we all love her and are going to miss her, we got all our friends from work together for a night out on Friday. A true Glasgow night out!! We went to a really swanky, trendy bar for drinks and then to a club to dance. It was all so new to me because even though I've been dancing before, I didn't know any of the music they play over here since it's mostly British singers (except for J.Lo...that was a big hit!) It was nice to go out with a group of girls (and a few guys) for a change. It made me feel a bit more at home and reminded me of a night out with friends in Seattle. At the end of the night, on the way home we got chips and cheese ( thick cut french fries with cheese on top), which is a necessity for a Glasgow night out. Everyone was asking me what Americans eat after a night out and I think either we make a stop by Jack and the Box or we go to someones house and make nachos!! You gotta have some greasy food after a night out drinking, right?
Sunday was moving day! It was the easiest, least expensive and stressful move I've EVER had, and probally will ever have. Since I moved here with 2 peices of luggage and I haven't accumulated much more than that in my couple months here, thats about all i had to move into my new flat with. But with the lack of things to move in, came having to go out and buy all the home necessities that I left in seattle, such as towels, groceries, clothes hamper and all that other stuff. Thankfully my flatmate Linda and her brother Paul (who owns the flat ) have given me loads of sheets to use so I don't have to go out and buy that. I'll tell you a little about my flatmate now. Her name is Linda and she's a 33 year old Irish girl whose a physical therapist. My first impressions are that she's shy and a bit reserved. She loves to cook, is clean and tidy and quite close to her family, as her brother has been over a few times since I moved in. We even have alot of the same music, film and tv taste! As i was looking through the dvds and came across all 6 seasons of sex and the city, friends and films like Chocolat, Love Actually, and The Godfather trilogy. Even though I don't think I'd hang out with her much outside the flat, she's a great flatmate thus far. The flat is 2 bedroom, one bath with beautiful views of the city. It has a huge kitchen, with everything I need to make fancy dinners, and a cozy living room with cable tv. Even though i don't have internet, it's given me time to read, relax, and find some British shows to get addicted to! All in all, I couldn't be happier with the place I picked and I can't wait for someone to come visit me so I can show them what I mean!
Last night, Linda and I took a trip to Ikea. Every Ikea looks the same. Once you enter into the store, you don't have a clue what country or city you're in. I didn't over-spend, as I usually would in an Ikea, but I bought the necessities. As most flats in Britain don't have clothes dryers, everyone hangs their clothes up on a line. I bought the biggest clothes dryer rack I've ever seen. Its the big-daddy of drying racks. I think it could hold about 3 loads of laundry on it, and it looks like a spaceship. After our Ikea adventure, we came back home and decorated our Christmas tree! Its one of those fake, bendy-branch ones, but the ornaments on it are red, gold and burnt-orange round bulbs and tiny boxes of wrapped presents. With the sparkly lights on, I'd say it's the best tree in all of Britain! :) I'll take pictures soon to show you all.
Something I've grown to love and appreciate about the British is that they are extremely conscious of their health and our enviornment. For starters, everywhere makes you pay for plastic bags, which encourages people to reuse the bags they are given or put your groceries in those canvas bags. You know, the ones they sell at PCC in seattle, but i never got around to buying one, but i'm sure that once PCC and whole foods starts charging for thier bags, they'll sell alot more canvas re-usable bags, and really begin to save the enviornment. Even last night at Ikea I asked for a plastic bag, she told me they were 10 pence( about 20 cents) and instead of me paying that small sum, I realized it's not about them charging more money, but encouraging people to use less plastic and make due with what they have. So i carried the clothes drying rack i bought and shoved the candle and cookie jar in my purse. :) Also, at every electrical outlet in the flats here there are on/off switches. So when you're not using the lamps, cell phone charger, or computer, you can switch off the outlet, instead of wasting energy as, even though your lamp is not in use, energy is still flowing from the wall through the lamp, in case you do want to use it. It's simple, but saves soo much energy. Even at night, we turn off the switch with all the plugs for the tv, dvd, cable box, etc. because having that on would use up as much energy as if the t.v. was left on all night. Along with energy saving, the organic health food stores are in abundance here. In Britain, it's cool and trendy to eat organic and fair trade, which is an independent guarantee that disadvantaged producers in the developing world are getting a better deal for their products.
Today is a lazy day. I don't work until 3pm, so I rested in the flat this morning, as I'm trying to kick this cold that came on a couple days ago and then I came out to a cafe to read, use the internet and journal. As my camera broke soon after I arrived, I've been carrying a notepad around with me everywhere (that's nothing new, if you know me! ) and writing down images I see and beautiful things to remind me of this time, so I've been journaling quite a bit.
I'm looking forward to this weekend, as I have saturday off and I'm hoping to get to the cinema to see that new film "Holiday" starring Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet. Looks like a girly, rom-com with a Christmas twist - just what I need!
.
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