This past Sunday I departed for Scotland with my Positive Psychology class. Each core class at DIS had it's long-study tour this week. Some of the destinations were Milan, Stockholm, Estonia, Berlin, Paris, etc. The Positive Psychology A class was scheduled to go to Glasgow and Edinburgh, Scotland. We met at the Copenhagen airport with a lot of luggage in tow. The plane ride wasn't anything special; we had a layover in London, ate airport food, and waited anxiously for our next plane to Glasgow (which was delayed). On the plane ride to Glasgow I was filled with anticipation, excitement, as well as a little bit of nervousness. I had gone on the short-study tour with this class and had an amazing time. Yet was still a little unsure about this trip. But it's safe to say that the trip to Scotland is currently my absolute favorite part of my study-abroad experience thus far. And there are many reasons, including people, places, experiences, and everything. It was absolutely the most fun I've had.We landed in Glasgow around ten I think and then headed to the hotel. We stayed at the Express Holiday Inn Riverside, it wasn't anything fancy but it was nice. Although we were worn out from the traveling, it didn't stop the group from going out. A number of us gathered together and explored the streets in the night. I was a little hesitant though because none of us really knew where we were headed. Luckily my classmates were much better with directions than me. We found a bar called "Maggie Mays" where we stayed for a while. At this point, I was still very unsure about this trip. I called it an early night and headed back to the hotel with a few others.
The next morning, Monday, we ate breakfast at the hotel. I was so happy to have scrambled eggs again. Danish breakfasts are different than American; they are much smaller and healthy. But it was good to know that the Scottish have fatty, unhealthy, and delicious breakfasts.
Our academic visit was canceled and although it doesn't sound good, all of us were relieved and happy about this. It gave us the chance to walk around the city, shop, eat, and explore. It was gorgeous day with blue skies and warm weather (which is unusual for Scotland). Most of us headed in the direction of the Glasgow Cathedral.We wandered our way around inside and eventually climbed our way to the necropolis. Atop the steep hill, we had a magnificent view of Glasgow. The necropolis itself was awesome. It was like a garden of ancient tombstones. It was a little creepy actually.Later in the day the group gathered for afternoon tea at the Willow Tea Rooms. There are a few Willow Tea rooms scattered throughout Glasgow and are very popular. It's an old-fashioned type of place with traditional British tea food and decorations. While there we ate delicious scones, tea sandwiches, cakes, and assortment of cookies. And of course we drank tea. I've actually become an avid tea drinker while being in Europe, especially "Bailey" tea which my host family introduced me too.
Afterwords we had the rest of the evening free. I did a little bit of shopping. Luckily Scotland is a little less pricey than Copenhagen. But the conversion from the dollar to the pound is difficult to calculate. Later in the night a group of us gathered in the lobby to find a place to eat dinner. I don't know how we got there because I was just following, but we ended up at a bar/restaurant called "Junctionbar." The food was good and things started to click for me. I was talking to people and beginning to feel like I fit in.While walking back from Junctionbar, we stopped at a convenience store to pick up some "beverages." It's funny how much we take advantage of the drinking age difference in Europe. But I suppose when in Europe... do as the Europeans do. Anyway, one of the drinks purchased was called "White Strike" and came in a two liter plastic bottle, like Coke. It was supposed to be a hard-cider. It was cheap and came in a big quantity but it tasted disgusting. I don't think I'll ever forget the awful piss-water taste of White Strike. We hung out at the hotel for a little, some of us drank, and played the all-American drinking game "Kings." After hanging out at the hotel, we headed out to explore the nightlife scene of Glasgow. It was a Monday night so many places weren't that busy. But while wandering around we met some extremely flamboyant Scottish club promoters who showed us the way to "Milan," a new club in Glasgow. The Positive Psychology DIS students literally brought the party to this empty club. It ended up being a great night. We danced like idiots and played twister on mats on the club floor. The club started to slowly fill with more people from around Glasgow. Afterwords when I went back to the hotel, I was grinning from ear to ear.
