F is for friends who do stuff together

well hellooooo sexy readers!

today's blog post is all about the letter F. F is for fashion, friends, and frolics through fields.

I have noticed that the hip happenin fashion choice of all the cool cats at stirling uni is to wear funky tights with shorty-shorts. thankfully, i have yet to see any obese persons attempting this fashion trend, as that would be horrifying and potentially life-scarring. in fact, it looks quite cool on normal-weighted people and i regret not having brought both more shorts and more tights. i gave it a go for about an hour on tuesday and felt very silly and had to change my outfit, but i think that i will try again, perhaps with different tights. it can look quite cool if done properly so i'm hoping for the best. another startling trend is the crazy hair trend. for instance, i have never seen so many men with hair far past their shoulders. like these dudes have loooong hair (and yes the extra o's are there for emphasis to prove just how looooong their hair is). and lots of people have their hair dyed interesting and often vibrant shades of red, while others have some of the strangest haircuts i've ever seen. this one girl has all of her hair buzzed at the top and a ponytail in the back. extreme mullet makeover? it's quite cool though and a very exciting change of scenery from PC. and to all you hipsters out there, my english professor is one of you, complete with the v-neck and cardigan and the blingy gold watch. groovy man.

i have also been seeing lots and lots of people from home's scottish twins. it is quite disconcerting to be sitting in class and look over and think you see someone from home only to remember where you are. like in biology today i saw matt orck's gay twin whispering sweet nothings in the ear of the scottish version of sam bailey. scottish anna russell is in that class as well. it is bizarre! (and to those who i just mentioned, if you are reading this, i mean no offense, you just look a lot like those people in my class. just coverin my bases here.)

the sun is actually out today, not like last time when it was just brighter than normal. i can see a blue sky and a bright yellow glowing ball up there, which thus indicates the sun being out. this makes me want to, you guessed it, go on a frolic through a field, though i probably won't because i don't want to look silly. there's my third F thing.

and for other, non f-related news, kevin green is coming to visit me today, all the way from lon-don! and i went to the doctor today for my mandatory check up to get registered and what not, and it took a grand total of 10 minutes from the time i stepped in the building to the time i left. america, step it up. i got indian food for the first time last night and it was delightful. sweet nan bread is maybe my new favorite thing ever, and it is HUGE. like significantly bigger than my head, which is the best way to measure things i think. i also got chicken curry and it was delicious as well. and i got leftovers! hooray leftovers! i am going to start watching dr. who since apparently all the cool kids do it (including my film professor who looks a bit like michael foster and michael stiles' love child). and other than that i have nothing exciting to tell you. sorry for the lack of pictures, i have none relating to this post. i'll take some this weekend and upload them in my next blog post.

xoxo,
natalie

scotland: where sheep are sluts and fries are chips but chips are crisps.

i have had a blog topic request from you, my faithful readers, aka my parents for a blog post on the similarities and differences between scotland and good ol' marietta georgia, as well as what has surprised me the most about being here. well, you asked for it, and i lurve lists, so here goes:

similarities:

1. everyone is very polite and helpful. i have yet to meet a single rude person, and literally everyone wants to help or at least try/ be nice. it is lovely. i don't know if its my charming good looks or if everyone is really just this nice, but i'll take it either way. feels like home. :)
2. it is february, and it is cold. now i know y'all have a weird warm spell going on right now, i've seen the facebook statuses about wearing tank tops and shorts, but typically speaking, it is cold in february, and it is certainly cold here. but it was to be expected so i like it. plus i like sweaters and slippers and cozy things of that nature.
3. everything is in english. (thus it is better than china, which is how i base my new and improved world view)
4. ketchup is a condiment that is often used on things. so is salt.
5. people love fries, aka chips.
6.  and fried food.
7. we all watch the same movies, mostly the same shows, and listen to about the same music. in the clubs/stores/around campus, the music is about what you would hear in fraternity court on a regular night. "...because baby you're a FIREWORK!!!!" and so on.
8. everything is closed on sundays.
9. when it is warm, apparently everyone flocks outside and lays out in the sun and has barbeques.

and i'm sure there are more that i can't think of right now. this may be a running blog post.

differences:

1. um, the money. i'm still getting used to pounds, specifically the little coins. i feel so silly trying to figure out which one is which, i may have to make flashcards.
2. you can drink any day of the week, at any time of day, and it is perfectly acceptable.
3. chips vs. crisps. still getting used to that.
4. obviously, they drive on the wrong side of the road over here. i keep thinking the bus is going to run in to the other cars...
5. it is cold and rainy most of the year.
6. you walk everywhere. or take a bus or train if its far enough, and taxis are easy to come by if necessary. it is quite normal to see people with groceries on the bus.
7. you can check out your school books in the library.
8. scotch tape is sellotape.
9. sheep are like everywhere. and the sheep are marked with colors so they rub up on each other when they mate, so the slutty sheep are tie-dyed. groovy man.

surprises:
1. it isn't nearly as rainy as i expected. rainy to me means a downpour, as in you need an umbrella or you'll get soaked. its more drizzly than anything, and it is off and on all day, as in the ground is usually wet but its not going to flood the campus or anything like it does when it rains at PC.
2. there are pubs and clubs on campus. i know i already mentioned that in a previous blog post, but it was still surprising and thus makes the list.
3. everyone doesn't necessarily wear dark colors. there are plenty of cheery colors and floral prints hanging about, its just most coats and things are darker b/c thats how they are made. but you don't look weird if you wear a bright color as I was told you might.
4. they have hot dogs. and instead of a hot dog bun it was put in like a baguette. weird.
5. you get chips (fries) with chinese food, often instead of rice.
6. they gave us alcohol at our reception! i know that was mentioned before too, but the aforementioned point still holds valid.


and once again, i'm sure i'll think of more, but thats all for now folks!

p.s. i went hiking yesterday, and it was a bizarre, freezing, but beautiful experience. woooo! pictures to come soon.

Another Thrilling Blog Post for my Beautiful Readers

Classes have started and school is officially under way. I went to my first Biodiversity class yesterday and I must say that it will likely kick me in the booty, then curb stomp me when I fall down. I mean, this class is going to be a struggle for me. Biology has never been my strong suit, but I am taking it to fulfill my gen-ed requirement and it is going to be a lot more work that I had expected. For instance, I have to write a 1000 word essay on carnivorous plants, but we can't use quotations or anything. We just have to learn the material and then formulate opinions... and summarize/cite official sources of course. But no quotations?!? I love quotes! What is this rumpus?!? It is also the biggest class I've ever been in, though I have no idea how large my other classes are. Luckily I got my schedule changed so I no longer have class on fridays, meaning i get wednesdays and fridays completely free. It is so strange coming from a campus of 1200 to one of 11,000 that claims it is a small school. I call your bluff Stirling University--you don't know the meaning of small! Though the opportunities that it presents are much groovier since it is so much larger, so it all works out I guess.

It is also weird to me that there are bars and clubs on campus, two of which are in the Union, which is connected to an academic building. It's awesome, but a vast change from everywhere that I am used to. And on Wednesday all of the study abroad students went on a bus tour of Stirling which ended at the mayor's house where they provided us with a lot of free booze! The school just gave us booze at our welcome reception. Frickin' sweet I say.

There is a travel agent on campus too, and he helped us find a place to stay in Dublin for St. Patrick's Day weekend. We couldn't find any rooms anywhere for the actual night of St. Patrick's day but we found one hotel for the rest of the weekend and it is a 4 star Hilton at the airport (it was also the only place that had room for 8 people) so that will be nice. We had wanted to go to Cork, but our flight leaves super early on Sunday morning so it is going to be too difficult to get everything worked out. I think we are planning to go to Italy and Paris for spring break too. Holla!

And today the sun is kind of out--i.e. the sky isn't quite so dark grey as normal, its just a lighter cloudy grey with less mist/rain. Everything is really pretty in this light though, not depressing at all like some people said it would be. I'm thrilled they are wrong. boosh. :)

hope all is well back in the states! send me updates and things!

xoxo,
natalie

star wars, star trek, and sandwiches.

i have now met all of my flatmates, and i must say they are some of the coolest people i know. anywhere. everyone back home would love them as i do, i am sure. when my parents come to visit, they are bringing grits so i can make them some, since they've never had grits and everyone should try some good grits in their lives, right? on my second night in stirling, we watched star wars: a new hope and the first episode of chuck and i knew i was at home. then later that night, my flatmates and their friends got in to a huge (to me) political/theological debate that spanned over about 5 hours. i went to bed after 4 hours of it when i realized it was 2 a.m., but it was so enthralling and awesome that i had trouble tearing myself away. i thoroughly enjoyed being a spectator at that debate. we have also enjoyed bashing fox news (cough mimi cough) and glenn beck, and i am becoming acclimated to both scottish lingo and politics. the accents aren't bad to understand at all, in fact i often haven't noticed them until someone says something particularly scottish. (my favorite word being murder--so many nice r's to roll).

last night we watched star trek 4--the one where they go back in time by traveling around the sun to save the whales. it was hilarious and awesome, and i'm not even a trekkie. i also learned that all the swans in the UK are the property of the Queen. she has called dibs on all the swans, so killing one is a hanging offense. and swans are HUGE. i have never seen a bird that big in person in my life. it's head came up to my armpit when one was standing on the bridge (his name was davie). i mean wow.

im going in to town for the first time today to buy a cell phone, and this morning i have joined the bank of scotland and the medical services on campus and whatnot. im hoping to walk to the william wallace monument soon and to see the castle on campus. because there is a castle. on campus.

and we made a list of all the scottish foods i need to try while i am here, and i must say i am quite excited about them all. mmmmm haggis. and vegetarian haggis as well. yum. :) especially because i have eaten a plethora of sandwiches since i've been here. though they have all been exceptional so i don't mind. :)

xoxo,
natalie

I Made It! Great Success!

I have arrived in Och Aye land safely and without any problems. (apart from the creepy guy at the airport who followed me around and just stared and leered. ugh.) I have met three of the four flatmates: Aiden, Rona and Hollie, and they are quite cool. They listen to all kinds of music, mostly stuff I know, and Aiden likes chuck and star wars and firefly and such and Hollie likes glee! and i can find it online holla. They are all in to politics and quizzed me on my political affiliations and life in the South. I met some of their friends last night, all of which were cool and very nice. Everyone has been very nice to me and made me feel very welcome and at home. Campus is beautiful and big but definitely walkable. I’m getting used to the accents but the lingo will take some time. luckily people have picked up on my confusion and helped me out when i don’t understand. I made friends with the people I rode with to campus from the airport--two are twins from North Carolina, one is from Texas and the other from Chicago. And today I made friends with a french guy and a cool swedish girl. So all is good here, and I will post this as soon as I get internet! 

xoxo,

natalie

update: airport edition

(more from the airport)

first off, i had decided to go to the bar for some lunch and a beer or something, so i saunter down there with all of my luggage. well, first off, its a real fancy bar. like i wasn’t sure if i needed to be seated and served or what. so i kind of linger around outside to watch if people to in. then no one is going in, so i walk in and pick up a menu. well i can’t afford the food there--i just wanted a sandwich really, and all they had were fancy pants sammies which cost like 17 pounds! for a sandwich! garbage i say. so i walked out and had a healthy and nutritious lunch of trail mix. yum. while delicious, its not really very filling. the gate opens for my flight in 40 minutes, and since my last post i have read my cosmo and done some more people watching. I saw a guy wearing his girlfriends fur coat which was wayyy too small (ho ho ho hi-larious!) and a kid in an indiana jones outfit. and by kid i mean a 15 year old. he was missing the whip, but i think that it was probably confiscated because i can’t imagine a whip being allowed on an airplane. i also saw two twin girls with matching PENGUIN SUITCASES. they had suitcases that looked like penguins! how much cuter can you possibly get?!? several people have asked me about the wi-fi situation, then smirked at my accent (grr) or asked me for the time then laughed when i struggled with military time. not maliciously, of course, but i am far too tired to deal with this nonsense. the heathrow security vehicles make a very annoying sound as they periodically make their laps as well. its like pshpshpshwhrpshpshpshwhr. 

i know i am rambling. one and a half hours of sleep on a plane combined with jet lag do that to ya. so bear with me folks! 

and dad, you said you wanted more blog posts. here are TWO in like a 5 hour span. boosh. 

And I’m Away Laughing on a Fast Camel

sorry this is a little late, i wrote it in the airport. 

Sitting in Heathrow airport, it is currently 10:37 am. Which is 5:37 am Atlanta time, and I got about an hour and a half sleep on the plane despite my taking two benadryl and drinking some red wine with dinner. fail. however, I MADE IT! i successfully navigated the mess that is heathrow airport (well, as far as i can at the moment, i am so early that my flight hasn’t even showed up on the flight lists yet. wahoo). I sat next to a lovely couple on the plane. they barely spoke, and she was reading pregnancy magazine while he read a car magazine. they were cute. the customs people were very nice, though I’m not sure they think I am totally sane because of all the obvious questions I kept asking like which line do I take when it turns out there is only one line etc etc. Hey, I’m sleepy! I am going to stay awake all day though, fighting that jet lag. Not really sure what to do in this time, I can’t find internet that I can use (sorry mom and dad, i typed this on pages and am posting it as soon as I get internet). I’ll probably read more Diana Gabaldon to get me in the mood for Och Aye land! I cannot believe that I am actually going to be in Scotland today! I was lucky enough to pass the time in the Atlanta airport chatting on the phone with SB, and then Emily and Kristin, so it was lovely saying goodbye to all of them. I saw a lady on the tram wearing five inch stilettos and a knee-length fur coat, which was quite a site. Not sure why she chose that for traveling, but I guess I can’t talk as I am wearing my hunter rain boots. they are my heaviest item so it works really well! Food on the plane was decent, for dinner they served us beef brisket with mashed potatoes, a salad, bread, really yummy cake and the aforementioned wine. they also served us breakfast, which consisted of a dan active strawberry drinkable yogurt (which reminded me very much of china, except that I didn’t get a straw for it. sad day), a weird seed cake thing, some raisins, and an ice cold muffin. not awful, but not the best i’ve ever had either.

 I was skeptical at first about the plane--everything was that aged yellow that old things that were once white get, and the tvs were tiny and the seats were really close together. however, once everyone got settled in, It wasn’t too bad. I was able to take off my boots and stretch my legs out in the aisle (next to the seat in front of me so I wasn’t blocking the way of course) and there was only one crying baby and she only cried for like 5 minutes. I watched megamind, but they had several channels to watch movies on and they did it so that certain movies showed on the channels first, then there was a break, then different movies showed next. When I woke up I watched the marvelous misadventures of flapjack so that was fun too. I think that some of the other movies showed were 127 days (which i chose not to watch because I was trying to fall asleep), due date, the switch, never let me go, red, and some other movies I hadn’t heard of. the couple next to me chose red and were laughing at the same time periodically which was presh. watching on two different screens and still in sync. aww. 

also, weighing my luggage at publix totes saved my piece of mind. I may have looked like a bit of a doofus, but my luggage was (amazingly) under weight. hooray mom and dad for getting me a weightless army duffle! now we only have to hope that it makes it to edinburgh when I do. People watching has provided me with less thrills than expected--I found Kevin Green’s gay hot twin on my flight (we were wearing the same watch is how I know he was gay, for all who were wondering. except his was white, though it also had rhinestones I think...) Everyone is pretty well dressed, and I feel like I stand out as a giant blinking sign that says AMERICAN AMERICAN! which isn’t all bad, as I think it makes me look friendly but also a bit dumb. the creepy old guys checking me out trend has continued, while I have yet to find anyone my age at all in the airport and other than gay kevin on my flight no one was college aged either, which is garbage but i’m not worried. people watching has provided me with a lady just walked by me wearing a jumpsuit with belt, heels, and a turban. it was an interesting look, to say the least.  I have successfully now passed half an hour and will try my bestest not to take a nap like the people on the chairs behind me are doing. 

hugs and kisses,

natalie. 

footnote: away laughing on a fast camel, along with the phrase “och aye land” are from the georgia nicolson series by louise rennison. the first one is entitled “angus, thongs and full frontal snogging” for all who are interested in hilarity and some (kinda) culture. :)

packing and all its glory

I have about 5 days left until I leave,  so I am obviously starting to pack. First of all, it is a pain in the butt to get everything ready. Getting money so that I can start a bank account abroad? Sounds simple, but apparently the bank thinks that I am a) incompetent and therefore won't let me make decisions and b) won't listen when I say that I want to buy some travelers checks and also to purchase some pounds so that I have some money when I get there. My mom had to go with me so that they would listen, and even that was a struggle. It's very irritating. Also, according to every store in America other than Lands End or L.L. Bean it doesn't rain over here, thus there is no need for a raincoat with a hood. What? Raingear that doesn't get your head wet? Hah! I did eventually find one that is affordable at Lands End, so fear not. I have also made a number of lists containing everything I am planning on bringing in each bag, and tomorrow I am going to do the rest of my shopping. The fun never ends! If anyone has any packing tips or suggestions for things to bring that I wouldn't have thought of, please let me know. :)