And you thought I was boring before.

Since I am leaving for a tour of the Highlands tomorrow morning, I should probably update this with spring break happenings now. They were myriad and slightly more exciting than what I've been doing for the last week.
Lena came to visit from March 20th to the 29th, which was absolutely brilliant. I can't really describe the feeling of having an actual friend to hang out with and talk to after 3 months divorced from everything that I considered real life back in CA. Making friends is one thing, but it takes a long time to actually get to the level of comfort with one another where you can just have fun. So that made everything that we did that much more enjoyable.
As for what we actually did, there was first the trip to St. Andrews to visit Lena's Cal friend Elizabeth. St. Andrew's is an adorable, tiny (only 3 main streets) town, and I'm definitely going to look into going to grad school there. The school has a museum studies masters program, and my grandmother (and father) would be super thrilled. I'll probably go back there later this month or early in May to meet with people in the art department and see what exactly the grad program entails.
After that, there was a ton of Edinburgh sightseeing. We did Craigmillar Castle, which I'd never seen, and Edinburgh Castle, which I had. I really love castles. It's so easy to imagine what life may have been like when people actually inhabited them, whether they be complete or in ruins. They're fun places to let your imagination run wild (also, I've seen too many period movies/read too many period romances). We also went to two of the main museums in Edinburgh, the National Gallery (art) and the National Museum (natural history/culture). Free museums never stop being awesome. However, as far as I saw, the National Gallery has no Caravaggios. Unforgivable. It's also arranged like a typical nineteenth-century art museum, which, while interesting for me as a study in the changes that have occurred in museum display over the years, makes the whole place super overwhelming for the typical patron (I assume). The National Museum is a lot of fun with some really interesting displays and juxtapositions within the Early Peoples exhibits especially. Enough about that, but seriously. I could write a paper on that place. Maybe I will. It could be part of an honors thesis topic.
On the less cultural front, we did some clubbing, which hahaha. I am awful at that scene, but it's always entertaining anyway. I don't even know what to write about it. I feel that Brits tend to do the clubbing thing when they're younger (say 18ish) and then graduate to flat parties and stuff by the time that they're 3rd years and up. It's very much a younger crowd at the clubs here. Pubs, however, are a mix of all ages. And older Brits go clubbing, too, so it's a weird mix of 18 and 40 year olds. Plus a bunch of international visitors and travelers of all ages, of course.
At the end of her visit, Lena so graciously gifted me the most awkward night of my life sharing a couple of mattresses on the floor (they follow me wherever I go) with her and a French guy named Julien. We went to Glasgow to see the city/visit him (someone met in a club in Budapest), and a series of misunderstandings and cultural faux-pas followed. It was a good time, no doubt. I just suck really hard at interacting with the French. It mostly has to do with my complete American-ness and how the French are so similar to us in mentality, just French. They expect everyone to adopt their cultural affectations when they're around (not in a rude or mean way, but still), and we expect everyone to be familiar to and receptive of the American way of doing things. So handshakes are out, kisses on the cheeks are in, etc. I have a personal space bubble, and I often seem really rude to Europeans. I know this, but if I'm not thinking, it's really hard for me to not offend people (the French especially). I really admire French culture etc etc, I just don't think that could ever be me haha. The most I can manage is a happy medium between American and French. I have yet to discover what that is. But yeah, Glasgow. It's a city, plain and simple. Big (relatively), dirty, and ugly. There are good parts, but I have no interest in living there. That's for sure. Glasgow sort of terrifies me, not least because I can't understand a word that the inhabitants say. I may visit again, just to see some of the more famous sites, but it's not somewhere to spend any long period of time. Unless you want to be a violent football hooligan, that is. Then, all you have to do is support Rangers or Celtics (definitely not both), and you're well on your way.
Other than the things that required leaving the flat, Lena and I downloaded and watched a lot of movies and just generally tried to save money while still enjoying our time. I introduced her to all sorts of Scottish delicacies (haggis included), and we ate lots of ice cream. A mostly relaxing break, as all breaks should be.
Since she left, I've been sitting in my flat watching V.Mars and various movies. My favorite has been Shoot 'Em Up, which I now consider the perfect movie. It was basically written and directed with exactly me in mind. It's totally creepy, actually, how much of an ideal audience I am for that movie. There are all sorts of little things that I really enjoyed, besides the obvious violence and sex that I am all over in any movie. So yeah, that = what I would make if asked to make a movie.
As mentioned previously, I'm going to the Highlands tomorrow. It's a USC trip, so free everything. Spectacular. We're spending two nights on the Isle of Skye. Other than that, I have no idea what the itinerary is. I also don't care. All I know is that I have to meet the bus at 8:30 tomorrow morning, and then I'll be whisked away to the gorgeous Scottish countryside. Good enough for me.
And now, back to mainlining V.Mars before I leave.

No idea.

This post is going to be full of nothing. Seriously. It's the point in the semester where I'm falling into a routine, so nothing new has really happened in the past week. That's not entirely true; there are lots of little things and plans that are in the beginning stages. But not the stuff of an epic post, that's for sure.
Mostly I've been trying to figure out what's going to happen this summer, both with me and my baggage. I have a somewhat large suitcase that I don't want to cart around when I go traveling, so I've started looking into what options I have. Those are: excess baggage shipping or short-term storage. There are lots of boring details, but yeah. No decision yet. Shipping is moderately expensive, but it's also less for me to worry about. But that's still in the future, and it's the boring part of planning the summer.
So far, I know that Lena is coming to Scotland for spring break, which will be tons of fun (obvs). I have to look into what day trips are possible from the home base of my flat. There are a lot. Scotland's a good country for staying one place and seeing lots of others.
As far as the summer goes, I have very, very preliminary plans with people to see: Belgium (with Ashley), Sicily (with high school friends), Dijon (sort of a homecoming trip with Ella), Zurich (to visit a friend who's on co-op there, if I can ever get in touch with her), and then Eastern Europe with Lena before Kate arrives for our grand tour. That's a lot of traveling, actually. And I still don't know the actual dates of my finals, so I have to wait and see how this all shakes out. Also, how much money, now that I have a little bit more at my disposal, plus a tax refund.
This weekend was mostly uneventful, really. Thursday was a WOLS (whisky) meeting, with a representative from Glenmorangie. It's a really big distillery here, and the whisky is good, but slightly sweet for my taste. Whisky, like wine, can be fruity, believe it or not. I know, I owe 'SC Winos a whiskey post. I'll get to it eventually.
Friday: I woke up somewhat early to walk over to Princes Street for breakfast. I've been living without a mug for these past 2 months, which means no tea or hot chocolate at home. That wasn't really working for me anymore, and McDonalds is having a "buy a breakfast meal, get a free mug promotion." That's my sort of bargain. So I went to the mall, got money for the week out of the ATM that I use for free thanks to my bank, and got breakfast. I had pancakes, if you're wondering, because I've been craving them. They were actually really good, as they were sort of thin and not super cake-y or anything. It was less than 3 GBP, which is about what I would have paid to just buy a mug on its own somewhere else. I'm all about the bargain. After that, I took a long walk through a part of the city that I haven't really explored much, and then it started raining. It was a nice walk, though. I also got 10 GBP for participating in an international students focus group for the university. That was sweet.
Saturday: I went to dinner with the large group of SC people who were up from London and elsewhere in the UK for the weekend. We then saw Equus, which is an awesome play, though disturbing. And I have seen Lily Allen's little brother naked, for a prolonged period of time. Not too shabby, I must say. After that, we went out on the town, which involved going to a club, deciding the cover was too much, and then taking a taxi somewhere else. The somewhere else was a "club" that was more a multi-level bar. It was kind of cool, and drinks are reasonable if you don't think about the exchange rate (which I've learned not to do), so it was a successful night.
Sunday: church and nothing.
Monday: class. I even went to my 9am lecture. I also went grocery shopping and decided on eggs as my lunch foundation for the week. It's an exciting life I lead, as I've said before.
Um, other news. None. I'm probably going to enter that NYT contest, mostly because Stephanie's entry pisses me off so much. I just need to figure out how to make my sordid sexual history something entertaining and profound. And I have to write 2 2,000 word essays besides that, due March 20th. Basically, 6,000 words in a month, both voluntary and mandatory. Considering the fact that I wrote 20 pages in a night, I think I'm set. I do need to go to the library and make copies of the sources for my papers though. Today or tomorrow's task.
And now, I am going to make eggs and pancetta. Life actually is pretty exciting, from my vantage point.

- C

Now with added links:
(For clarification purposes, as I often forget that all of the pieces of my life aren't actually fully interconnected yet.)

• 'SC Winos
  
• NYT Modern Love Essay Contest
  

I might as well be Polish.

Before I get back to the matter at hand, which happens to be the football match, I'd like to express a sudden desire that I have: to go to Poland. Totally random and weird. Mostly, it's because I've rediscovered a love of Polish food, and I think it would be a fascinating place to go. And what led me to this realization was pretzels. In Tesco, I looked high and low for pretzels. British people eat crisps (potato chips) pretty goddamn exclusively. They love LOVE their crisps and have more flavors than I would even know what to do with. Fortunately, I've given up potatoes for Lent (seriously), so I don't have to tackle them yet. Flavors like prawn cocktail and pickled onion and steak. I can't even begin to approach the strangeness of British crisps. But pretzels, yeah. They don't eat them. But, in searching the Tesco, I found some- in the Polish section. What? Are pretzels Polish? I thought they were German. Anyway, I've since fallen in love with the Polish section, because I can also find things like sesame sticks and chocolate covered gingerbread filled with strawberry jelly there. Poles are brilliant. And my love of Polish food isn't completely random, as I had a Polish babysitter when I was really small. This old couple who were the parents of one of my aunt's best friends from high school (complicated, I know) used to watch me, and I loved them, from what I'm told. The old man died before I can really remember, but I saw the woman a lot up until a few years ago, and we all called her Ciocia (Polish for aunt) Helen. She used to make kielbasa and sauerkraut, which was my absolute favorite food for a long time. Unfortunately, no one in my immediate family makes it ever. Maybe I'll teach myself, since she died a few years ago. Also, chruscik (which are sort of cookies, and my favorite ever [I ate a whole box of them when I went home for Christmas]), pierogies, and stuffed cabbage (which isn't only Polish, obvs). We eat a lot of Polish food in my family, I've just realized. Right, so, Poland. Anyone interested? Mainly you, Lena, since that makes the most sense.
Also, I am so grateful for Blogger's auto-save function. Really.
On to the matter at hand, which happens to be the football match on Sunday. I met Glenn outside a bar/restaurant sort of halfway between our apartments (his is off the street that I live on), which he chose. Except I've realized that to get there, he had to walk the opposite way of the way that we actually had to go. His flat is closer to the stadium than our meeting place was. So he walked out of his way to meet me there, which is sort of odd, but it's not like anything here is that far away. We walked to the stadium, which is over in New Town. The walk was super pleasant and sunny, so that was nice. It's adorable how much Glenn misses the sun, and you can sort of tell he's absorbing it whenever it happens to be out. He's one of those people that'll just stand with his eyes closed, face up to the sky. Also creepy how closely I observe. God, whatever. He was in charge of directions, and there was a moment in the middle where he was fake exasperated at the fact that one spot here can have 3 different street signs designating it. It is totes confusing. But we found the stadium without having to do a huge circle like at the British Museum, so points for us. Once we figured out how to buy tickets, and I did that because he didn't have enough cash (I am owed 4 GBP, ensuring that we'll have to hang out again sometime), we went into the stadium. I wish I had taken a picture of the ticket booths, because they're so goddamn shady. Think an amusement park, but with plywood structures to walk through that are barely person sized. And then you have to go through a revolving metal thing, like at the exit to some subways, that is also barely person sized. As Glenn said, "There is no way that somebody who is overweight would get through that." It was basically the hardest thing ever, and I annihilated my heel (not on the foot that hurts now, randomly). Aside: I am referring to this as a stadium, because it is called Easter Road Stadium and holds 17,000 people (hah), but you'd really never know it. Granted, we were on the side that hasn't been redone yet, but still. It is tiny. This is mainly because the Hibs (like the Hearts) are abysmal. Seriously awful.
We got into the stadium and looked at the food stands, and they don't jack up prices at sporting events here like they do in the US. It's thrilling. And as to what foods were available, I saw pizza, chips (w/ or w/o curry, I have no idea), delicious-looking burgers, and meat pies. All of which can be, and is, eaten with brown sauce, the condiment of choice for Brits. I was curious about this brown sauce when I got here, so I bought a bottle. It is A-1. They put steak sauce on pizza. Never will I understand their eating habits.
As for the match itself, awesome. Football matches are incredible, even when you're watching a team as dismal as the Hibs. There were chants, many of which used the word "bastard" (I think one was actually "You're a bastard") and one of which was to the tune of "Lord of the Dance." I couldn't understand the words to most of them, but everybody else sure knew them. There was this guy standing in front of us (because nobody sat in the side of the stands that we were in, the seats were just stood on by people) who was the stereotypical old football hooligan. I have no problem believing that he's stabbed somebody for being a fan of an opposing team. He was terrifying and totally amusing at the same time. Football matches are very much a male pastime, though there were a few women there. No children younger than probably 10 or 11 though. Which, the amount of cursing being taken into account, not surprising. Not really the place for small, impressionable children. The guy sitting next to Glenn, who had no front teeth, was there with his son, and their bonding involved screaming curses at the opposing team/fans. Sweet.
All said and done though, the Hibs won. It was a fairly exciting game, for how poorly they played. Both Glenn and I were yelling, and he hi-fived me after all of the goals ahaha. I love enthusiasm for sports, and he's certainly got that. It's infectious and, again, adorable.
And there you have the football match. I would love to do that again, because it's such a good way to pass the better part of a day.
Other than that, nothing exciting has happened in the last few days. The fire alarm went off at 5am today, so we all had to evacuate and stand outside in the cold, waiting for the firefighters to come. That was thrilling, let me tell you. It only lasted like 15 minutes though, so not too bad. Still, an unpleasant way to be awakened from a deep sleep. I don't know why it went off either, probably someone upstairs burning food or something. And my apartment no longer smells like chemicals, so I'm not going to die from poisoning or anything.
Now, I really have to do my reading for tomorrow. No more procrastination tonight.

- C

Absolutely fantastic.

I've watched every episode of Doctor Who and Torchwood in existence, so now I have to come back to this. Okay, wait, that's not true. I've watched all of the new episodes of Doctor Who. Because actually, that show started in the 60s (?), and there are approximately 30 series. I've seen the entirety of the new series, which are the last 3 seasons. Basically, when the Doctor was played by Christopher Eccleston and then (now) David Tennant (who you may also know as Barty Crouch, Jr., or, alternatively, my new future husband). Shut up, I'm moving on from Heath. And this is why I try not to keep a blog; the world at large becomes audience to my insanity. But really, David Tennant is brilliant, and so is the show. Torchwood is also good, though a bit more melodramatic and weirder (yes, weirder than a show about an alien who travels through time and space in a blue box). Also, the wearing of Chucks with full suits may be the most charming fashion statement ever. But as nobody else is watching either of these shows, I should move on so as not to bore you.
In case you were hoping to hear about my life of late, that's what the first paragraph was. Also, I've discovered that the BBC, like the major American TV stations, has an internet player for already broadcast shows. It's more efficient in that shows are available as soon as they've aired, but you can only watch the shows for a week after they've aired (unless you download them, in which case you have 30 days or a week from when you watch it). It's a very complicated DRM system, but whatever. I can watch the new season of Torchwood on Wednesday nights, and Doctor Who in the spring, and I don't need to buy a TV or a license. Which brings up another point: to own a TV here, you have to buy a TV license. It's about 140 GBP for a color TV and 50 GBP for black and white. So double that to get the price in dollars. You buy the license for a year, and it covers all of the TVs in your household. I have no idea why they do it that way, except that it may or may not help to pay for the BBC stations, which are all publicly funded.
Right, my life. Enough about TV shows. I also do exciting things like go to the library to do readings for class. And go to class, of course. When it isn't canceled. Which has happened, so far, twice, because the professors were sick, and then I didn't have Buddhist Art this week or last because the professor went on a delegation to China. Yeah, my schedule is much easier than yours, probably. But when I was in the library yesterday, I did see some amusing graffiti on the desk at which I was working. British students, and European students in general, are very political. So there were lots of things like:
FUCK THE ENGLISH, REMEMBER BANNOCKBURN
which earned the reply:
no I wasn't born.
And then there was stuff like:
GALICIA IS NOT SPAIN
which I found amusing because we learned all about that in my AP Spanish class in high school.
Of course, there were some nasty things about Americans, one of which involved being able to recognize the American students from a mile away because of their "stupid-ass UCLA caps" (seriously, fuck those guys). But the very best, for a variety of reasons was (Dan, pay attention):
If all economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a conclusion.
Even the graffiti is cleverer here.
Something that may be of marginal interest to people, I realize, is food. I haven't actually talked about what I can and can't get here much, and that's something that always interests me, and maybe other people as well. I mentioned the American chain restaurants here, but besides them, there's a variety of food types and ethnicities represented. Within a two-minute walk from my flat, I can get: Indian (which is the Chinese of the UK), Chinese, vegetarian (which I think is an off-shoot of Indian), Middle-Eastern, African/Mediterranean, Thai, Italian, pub food, sandwiches, and whatever I want from the 4 grocery stores on my block or the next. Also, there are a variety of uncategorizable cafes and coffee shops and little restaurants, and some place called Elephants and Bagels. I find that place intriguing. There are also tiny ethnic groceries in the same area, as you would expect. And, my personal favorite so far, Greggs. In the simplest terms, it's a bakery/sandwich shop. However, it's better than that, because 1) it's damn cheap and 2) they have savories, which are a variety of (as the name implies) savory things wrapped in pastries. Delicious pastries. For less than 2 GBP, I can get a really filling lunch, with dessert.
If I leave the immediate area around my flat, I can find anything else, I think. I've seen an American style place with burgers/pizzas/salads, though done in an expensive, take advantage of tourists way. I've seen multiple Mexican places, a tapas bar, lots of take-away places with things like falafel/kebabs/fish and chips, and even a Nepalese restaurant. I'm particularly intrigued by that one. Plenty of new things for me to try while I'm here.
As for grocery stores, I can basically buy the same stuff as you'd get in the US, except better quality. Like most places in Europe, Scotland (and the UK) is big on homegrown things whenever possible. So there's a large variety of local meats and cheeses, and fruits and vegetables also to some extent. What I really enjoy are all of the different flavors of things. Juices here are phenomenal. They mix things that we'd never even think of in the US, often involving apples. I love apple juice when it isn't too sweet, which tends to be the problem with the available types in the US. Here, they treat apples sort of like we treat cranberries, for lack of a better comparison, and basically I'm in juice heaven. Apple/elderflower is my favorite so far, but apple/raspberry and apple/mango are also delicious. I'm going to miss the variety when it's time to leave.
Also, ridiculous weather. Today, it was raining early in the morning. Then, it stopped raining and was overcast. Then, it started snowing, like full-on blizzard-style. When I left for class at 10:45, it was sunny. When I left class at 1, it was getting overcast again. When I left for my other class at 1:45, it was overcast. Leaving that class at 2:50, I walked out into a blizzard (and to understand that, imagine the huge, fluffy kind of snowflakes that turn you into a snowman because they stick and 30mph gusts of wind [they're rarely more than 5mph in LA]). It did that for about 2 hours, and then it stopped and got overcast again. The best thing about the weather is the wind. It's awesome to be in the library, or indoors anywhere, and hear it whipping around outside. The snow was also spectacular, as I haven't seen real snow in a few years now. I've missed it.
I think the theme of this post is: variety is the spice of life. I'm thinking that it's impossible to ever really get tired of a place where so much is available and so much is different from hour to hour. Not in the few months that I have here, anyway.
My life is thrilling, obviously. You guys should definitely aspire to be me. That's all.

- C

How I've been spending my time.

Since I basically have nothing to do with myself for a lot of the time, I tend to wander around the city. It's pretty awesome, as it's basically impossible to get lost.
Yesterday, I went out to lunch with the girl that I met from SC. I also got a Young Persons Railcard, which basically gives you discounted train rides through the British rail system. SC is reimbursing us for the card, so mostly I did it because it was free, and it will probably come in handy later. Lunch was at a chain Italian restaurant, called Bella Italia, which was actually fairly delicious. I was impressed. And to get the railcard we had to go to Waverley Station, which is Edinburgh's main (and I think only) train station. It reminded me a lot of Paris' Gare du Nord. There are shops and food stands and whatnot down by the platforms. European train stations are basically the same as airports, just less of a hassle to get into and less crowded. So more pleasant, really. I wish the US had such a developed train system.
Last night, I was going to go on a pub crawl with the Water of Life Society (which is the university's whiskey appreciation society), but the pub that they were meeting at first was way too crowded for me to figure out who the members actually were etc. It was a tiny little place, and very loud. So basically I had a nice walk through the city at night, and then went to a different pub, closer to my flat and way less crowded. I sat by myself and had a pint of Stella and played the one game on my cell phone, which happens to be an impossible version of soccer. It's like electronic foosball, mostly. It was way less pathetic than it sounds.
Today, I walked over to the main shopping street, Princes Street. It's ridiculous on the weekend, but only on the side of the street where all of the shops are. The Royal Scottish Academy, which is that museum that I took pictures of from up by the castle, is also on that street. I went over there to buy a belt, because I desperately needed one, and got 2 for £2 at H&M- definitely my favorite store for accessories, here or at home.
Also today, I walked past the church that I think I'll be attending. I need something to do on Sundays, and church is as good an option as any. I can't spend all of my free time in my flat, and church is generally entertaining and basically free. It's also a possible place for meeting people. Besides, going to church once in a while couldn't hurt, in the event that I'm wrong about my whole well-reasoned atheism stance. But mostly, it gives me a reason to get up and out of the flat instead of just sitting here and eating shortbread (ahah so good). The one I'm looking at is called Old St. Paul's, and it's the oldest Episcopal church in Scotland. I really like all of the history behind it, my views on religion aside. It's sort of like a living museum, which is my favorite kind of church. It even has an impressive website, if you care. Added benefit: my grandmother will be absolutely thrilled.
Another thing that may be of interest to you is the type of American chain places that exist here. I've seen: Subway (albeit with different sandwiches to cater to British tastes, i.e. Sweet Chili Chicken), Domino's, Pizza Hut, KFC (which was the only place I saw a black family ahah terrible), Starbucks, Gap... I think that's it. KFC has ads for these weird chicken-on-a-stick things called Firecrackers or some such. It's like three balls of fried chicken stuck on a skewer. I guess so it's easier to eat and walk. And very exciting for me, I've so far seen 3 Mexican restaurants. One of them looks like Chipotle, with all the shiny metal and light wood, so I don't have high hopes for that place. But one of them is probably at least decent. Maybe. I'll try them all with an expectation of disappointment and see how that goes.
Something that I forgot to mention when I was talking about classes is that all of my instructors are women. And none of them are Scottish. One is Chinese, one is Canadian, and the other is American, though she did her undergrad work at St. Andrew's here in Scotland. It's odd, as I thought that the academic field was male-dominated everywhere. Granted, art history is becoming a very female-associated field, but classics definitely isn't. I think every semester at SC I've had a majority of my classes taught by men. So this is something else new and different.
I talked to my mom for a long time last night. She called, since she always does lots of shopping on the weekends and didn't want me to call today or tomorrow when she might be out. It's not like I'm that much further away from my family now than I am when I'm in CA, but I think, to them, it feels that way. My mom worries because at least when I'm in CA she knows that I can figure out how to get help if I need it, or she knows how to use the existing governmental/whatever structures to get to me, but here, she has no idea what to do in case of emergency. I understand her concern, and phone calls are as good a way as any to pass some time. Especially when I'm just sitting home on a Friday night. What I miss most, right now, is having people that I can just call up when I want to do something.
However, I do enjoy having the flat to myself on weekends. I can't decide if that evens out the weirdness of having Marina's boyfriend live here from Sunday night to Friday morning, but it definitely helps.
I think I might go read or something, as I'm tired of spilling my guts at this moment. Enjoy your day, kids.

- C