That first day was long. I didn't sleep on the plane and I didn't nap that first day in an effort to avoid the problems of jet lag. Andy led me around and we saw some of the city's sites. Now, I should say I remember only bits of that first day. I think I said "I'm tired" a minimum of 100 times before noon. Honestly, I'm not exaggerating. I don't think my brain was able to say much more at that point. I know we made it to the City Centre and toured some buildings at the University of Strathclyde. Then we went down to the BBC Scotland studio where Andy did an interview for NPR's Here and Now, which I very much recommend you listen to if you have the time. The interview was about the Independence referendum, which took place the 18th. More on that in a bit.
That first day was also my first journey to the Park Bar, which I imagine could become something of a regular place (I've been here for a week now and I've been there twice already). So the night went and I met some of Andy's and Stephen's friends and then eventually I made it to bed and sleep finally set in. Sleep is a good thing. A very, very good thing.
I've wandered back to the city centre by myself now, trying to get my bearings over my surroundings. I've never lived in a city, so all this is new to me - using public transport, tall buildings, lots of people. But my initial impressions are that I could very much get used to this type of life. Don't get me wrong, I love Mount Pleasant and smaller towns, but there's something quite nice about having the ability to just walk somewhere new every day. I like walking everywhere because its good for me and also free. Who wants to pay for a bus when they've got to perfectly good legs?
The Referendum
Looking back on 18 September, it ended up being a rather depressing day. The vote came out to be 45% to 55%, where the majority of Scots did not vote for Independence. Until those votes were counted though, it was electrifying to be here. The Yes supporters were everywhere in Glasgow, waving flags, singing, and generally being happy. There was clear excitement in the air, excitement that led to voter turnouts that I think are unlikely to ever happen in the US. I stayed up watching the results all night, which came in so. very. slowly. It would have been amazing if Yes had had more votes, but unfortunately it was a series of depressing announcements. But! I, in my rather uneducated opinion, don't think Scots should be disheartened. They had massive turnouts, showing that people cared about this. They also have hopefully energized those who were once apathetic about politics to actually care about the running of their country. Finally, it was not the Yes campaign that was rioting in George Square on the night after the Referendum. It was those people that had won the vote, turning up in a strongly Yes area to simply be ass holes. For an article describing the events, click here or search for yourself and see the number of articles and images that come up.
While these riots were going on, I was enjoying my time at the Park Bar, reading news reports slowly come in about flag burning and general douchebaggery. When we left the Park, though, we simply got on a train and headed back to the flat. Before going home, though, we had a stop to make. At the end of my street is a wonderful place that makes wonderful things known as munchie boxes. We got one, brought it back to the flat and ate it. I had never had anything like it. It was a mixture of Donner meat and fried things. That's the best way I can describe it, but I can only say it was amazing. I had heard stories of these, never believing they could possibly be as good as people said. I was so wrong. I'll have to be careful to not indulge too often though, as it is a heart attack in a box. A delicious heart attack that even Paula Deen would think was a little heavy on the grease.
I've done some other things that I'll save for another post, because if you've read all this, you deserve a break! Just know that Glasgow is an amazing city, and I'm very grateful that I have the chance to spend this much time here. Also, if anyone wants to help me open a place to sell munchie boxes in Michigan, I would be very happy to be your business partner. We'd make so much money in a college town!
Cheers!
Looking back on 18 September, it ended up being a rather depressing day. The vote came out to be 45% to 55%, where the majority of Scots did not vote for Independence. Until those votes were counted though, it was electrifying to be here. The Yes supporters were everywhere in Glasgow, waving flags, singing, and generally being happy. There was clear excitement in the air, excitement that led to voter turnouts that I think are unlikely to ever happen in the US. I stayed up watching the results all night, which came in so. very. slowly. It would have been amazing if Yes had had more votes, but unfortunately it was a series of depressing announcements. But! I, in my rather uneducated opinion, don't think Scots should be disheartened. They had massive turnouts, showing that people cared about this. They also have hopefully energized those who were once apathetic about politics to actually care about the running of their country. Finally, it was not the Yes campaign that was rioting in George Square on the night after the Referendum. It was those people that had won the vote, turning up in a strongly Yes area to simply be ass holes. For an article describing the events, click here or search for yourself and see the number of articles and images that come up.
While these riots were going on, I was enjoying my time at the Park Bar, reading news reports slowly come in about flag burning and general douchebaggery. When we left the Park, though, we simply got on a train and headed back to the flat. Before going home, though, we had a stop to make. At the end of my street is a wonderful place that makes wonderful things known as munchie boxes. We got one, brought it back to the flat and ate it. I had never had anything like it. It was a mixture of Donner meat and fried things. That's the best way I can describe it, but I can only say it was amazing. I had heard stories of these, never believing they could possibly be as good as people said. I was so wrong. I'll have to be careful to not indulge too often though, as it is a heart attack in a box. A delicious heart attack that even Paula Deen would think was a little heavy on the grease.
I've done some other things that I'll save for another post, because if you've read all this, you deserve a break! Just know that Glasgow is an amazing city, and I'm very grateful that I have the chance to spend this much time here. Also, if anyone wants to help me open a place to sell munchie boxes in Michigan, I would be very happy to be your business partner. We'd make so much money in a college town!
Cheers!
Hello Katie! Glad to see you're enjoying yourself. :) Make sure to have a fish supper for me. It's been so long since my trip, and the fish and chips (despite my amazing relatives) is the thing I miss the most. You just can't get it that good in the States. Love the blog.
ReplyDelete-Nate