Football (Both Kinds)

In the U.S. "football" is used to refer to that game where people tackle each other a bunch to get a ball into the endzone.  In the rest of the world, "football" refers to what is known in the U.S. as "soccer," a game played with a two-toned ball where the aim is to get the ball into a goal net.  A lot of people will say that "football" makes more sense when applied instead of "soccer" because in soccer, is played with the feet.  The original term for both, however, comes from the idea that the sports are played on foot, instead of say, on horseback.

I digress.  February 5th, my birthday, held a great deal of football, as both the Superbowl and a Rangers' game were held that day.  

Rangers' Game

The Rangers were facing off against a team from Dundee, which was supposedly a match favorable to the Rangers.  You can read the match report online if you're interested so I won't go into it here, but the short of it is that the Rangers lost 0-2.

Still the experience in itself was fun.  There wasn't really a narrator, or any kind of show like in baseball.  However, the fans for each side more than made up for it.  Each side had a dedicated section where fans sang songs, danced, and shouted chants to cheer for their team.  They were so loud you could hear them from outside the stadium.  In recent months, police have been trying to crack down on it for fear of violence breaking out, but I didn't ever feel threatened by the chanting so I imagine outside of "Old Firm" games it's probably relatively harmless.

I didn't find out until later, but that game was a Scottish Cup match, and losing it meant the Rangers were out  of the Cup.  The Rangers have also been having some financial problems so in general it's just not a good time for them, poor guys.

I mean to go to a Celtics game at some point - as sacrilegious as that would be to some people - to see if there are any differences.  But I'd definitely recommend a match for anyone coming to Scotland as it's good fun and doesn't take up much more than an afternoon.

Superbowl

It took us a while to remember that the Superbowl is shown live in the U.S. and thus, "starts" five hours later here, so I only got to see up until halftime.  It was playing at a bar in the fabulous Queen Margaret Union, right next to the university, so my friends and I popped in and got a few pints.

There were of course, a lot of Americans there.  A few bars in the city were hosting similar events, so while not a huge deal, it's big enough that people feel the need to advertise for it.  

The bar tried to make the experience as authentic as possible.  There were people who were slightly too drunk who kept yelling "U.S.A" at the television (and I believe they were English, or Scottish, not American).  There were even "hotdogs," served on baguettes  that were surprisingly popular.  

Unfortunately, because Britain sucks when it comes to getting U.S. television, we had to watch the game on BBC, which meant no commercials, thus defeating pretty much the entire purpose of attending.  We did get to see the half-time show, but the jury is out on whether or not that was a good thing.  

Still, watching the Superbowl in a bar with a good amount of Americans was a nice little slice of home in the middle of the term, and overall pretty fun.

Classes!

Got my schedule worked out and I have finally been to all of my classes.  I'll get to the actual schedule in a moment, but first, a look at the differences between Scottish and American education.  There are nuances I won't get into here, such as the focus on a single subject, degree program, etc. because they don't really affect me right now.  What's most important is how the classes are run.

First, it's handy to note that 60 Glasgow credits are roughly equivalent to 15 US credits when converted.  I'm not sure how that translates to the old, "One hour of class time = three hours outside" or whatever that formula is supposed to be, but it gives you a general idea of the workload.  Second, all my courses are equivalent to first-year levels, because I'm lazy and didn't want to write 4,000 word essays when I could be visiting castles.  The way classes work change as you get higher up, but again that's not really relevant.

So I have four classes total, with one being at the School of Art, and another being a sort of Visiting-Students-Acclimation course.  The remaining two are normal classes, structured in a lecture-tutorial format.  This system is pretty unlike the one at Bethany: for the lecture, a professor gets up and talks for an hour and then leaves, usually without discussion or questions.  The lecturer isn't the same every time, and may or may not make an effort to clarify their ideas.  The tutorial, in contrast, is a small group where the entirety of the one-hour session is focused on discussion.  In the one tutorial I've had, the professor was there only to guide the questions, though I suspect that might change later on when we have more background knowledge.

Those of you who're in college might note that on average, time spent in-class is a little bit lower in relation to the equivalent credits.  Whereas normally I'd expect three in-class hours per three credit class, I only have three hours a week for a five credit, and then what works out to be .5 hours a week for a 2.5 credit (photography is weird).  This is because, supposedly, you're expected to do more work outside of class.  No one really seems to do so, but that is the theory.  There's less busy-work overall: fewer tests, no quizzes, no homework.  The majority of my grades rest on essays and the final.

Anyway, enough on that, here is my class schedule:

Monday:
1000 - 1100 Scottish Literature Lecture (20cr)
1200 - 1300 Asian Traditions Lecture (20cr)

Tuesday:
1200 - 1300 Asian Traditions Tutorial
1400 - 1700 Black & White Photography (10cr)

Wednesday:
1000 - 1100 Scottish Literature Lecture
1200 - 1300 Asian Traditions Lecture
1400 - 1600 Exploring Scottish Culture (Every fortnight, 10cr)

Thursday:I 
1200 - 1300 Asian Traditions Lecture

Friday:
1200 - 1300 Scottish Literature Tutorial

Glasgow Living: Dorms

For reference.  Will take a picture of my room when it is light!

First night in Glasgow, first night in my own "flat"!  It was dark, raining, and incredibly windy when we got here (wind speed topping off at around 55mph in the city), so it's hard to find the place "pretty" as everything is a bit dreary at the moment.  However, all the necessities are here: desk, armoire, bed, sheets, and a pub around the corner.  The closest city super-market is about a 10min walk, and a larger supermarket supposedly isn't too far by public transit either.  Plus, my 1/2 of my program-mates are living in the Kelvinhaugh/Caincross area, so most of us are quite close.

Living in student accommodation in Scotland is a bit different.  Typically, people only live in university housing if they are a) first years or b) international.  Housing also seems to be much less dorm like, with many of the options offering single or "en-suite" rooms, which are essentially the size of a very small hotel room, with the latter having a bathroom attached.  My flat has five residents, each of us with our own room, and we share a bathroom, kitchen, and dining area.  I have met two of my roommates, both female, international students studying as an exchange for a semester.  The remaining two I have not met yet, which I hope means that they are, if not Scottish, at least long-term residents.  One of the other girls in my program has one female and at least two male international (Asian, in her case) roommates, so there don't seem to be the qualms about co-ed dorms that exist in the U.S. either.

Either way, it seems when students get to their second year, they're familiar enough to rent their own apartments.  With education in Scotland being free for Scottish students (along with healthcare, coincidentally), I imagine they have a bit more money to spend on things like rent, making it an easy decision between the slightly dated student accommodations and more trendy options around the city.  For me, it's a roof over my head with everything I need close to where I need it to be, so it's perfect!