Idle hands

So, I've been here about another week and not much has happened. There was a whole other week of Freshers events (like parties and bar nights and stuff like that) that I wasn't all that interested in. I tried to tie loose ends of settling in. I got a bank account, FINALLY, and I dealt with my registration and enrollment questions. But other than that I've been having a pretty laid back time.

On Thursday a bunch of us went to a "Post-Graduate Student Association" meet and greet event, which we thought would be a great way to get introduced to the PGSA and its upcoming events, leadership, etc, and a great way to meet other post-grad students. However, the event was a total bust. There were maybe 30 of us in the room, and they didn't introduce anyone or talk about the PGSA at all. They did, however, make us play a horribley juvenile ice breaker game. That was it, once the ice was broken the event was over, people just got up and left and we had just gotten there 1 hour earlier. SO Stephanie and I went out to a pub with some friends of ours, James and Blake. This ended up being FAR MORE FUN than the PGSA event. We sang and danced in our booth and Steph tried to flip James' hat onto his head, which she couldn't do, but James could do it to Steph every time. Then Karaoke started, which we didn't even realize was happening. It was brutal and hilarious until Blake went up and sang "My Girl". He actually had musical ability, and he was taking it pretty seriously. I think props are due to his music teacher mother.

(I have a picture of Blake singing karaoke, but he requested they not be put on the internet)

On Saturday morning Stephanie, Jeanette, Kate and I went to the St. Georges Market. Its the farmers market in town. It was built in the early 1890's and has been voted one of the best and oldest markets in the UK and Ireland. I got some fresh veg and a loaf of bread and I tried to buy a few delicious macaroons, but the generous vendor gave me 12 instead! I ended up putting the macaroons on a plate in my shared kitchen so that I wouldn't eat them all.

Saturday evening Steph and I went to this pub downtown called "The Washington Bar" which had this really poorly done American theme. We only went because Saturday night was advertised as being 25+ and playing 90's music which we thought would be awesome. It wasn't that awesome. Instead of being annoyed by the drunk under-clothed 18 year olds we were annoyed by the drunk under-clothed 40 year olds, which was just sad. We might've been the most clothed, most sober, youngest women in there. However, we did hear some classic Tiffany, GnR, and Whitney Houston, so it ended up being worth it.

Sunday and Monday were kind of a bust. I did some laundry, and made dinner at home, etc, which was nice but nothing of note.

Earlier in the weekend I got homesick out of nowhere. Not to actually be at home, but to talk to somebody. When I was in Calgary or Leth I could just pick up the phone and call my parents, or Jordan or whoever and just talk about nothing, or complain about my day, or whatever. And I can't do that in the day here. My Glasgow & Cannock friends have daytime jobs and my daytime is your middle of the night/early morning. But I dealt with it by having a big long Skype with my parents on Sunday night and by talking to Chantel on the phone on Sunday as well.

Tomorrow is my first class. I'm both excited and nervous. I'm glad to have a schedule again, and to have work to do. Being idle has been more exhausting than working full time in undergrad. Also, I love to learn so I'm excited to actually begin my studies! (NERD!)

To all my friends/family getting engaged/married this year - KEEP ME POSTED! I want to see photos of dresses and updates on plans etc. I might not be able to attend or help, but I don't want to miss out on your big days!

Love you all!

Ashleigh

First Blog!

Disclaimer: Because this is my first post and I have been here for 2 weeks, this one is kind of long. Bare with me, or skip over it and just look at the photos. I don't care.

So, I have been in the UK for nearly 2 weeks and I have already fallen way behind in my facebook updating and correspondence with everyone I love back home, so I have decided to give this blogging a try. I was initially against it because it feels self-centered, lazy, and impersonal, but there aren't enough hours in the day to live my life and then write everybody emails about what happened. Sorry.

So the first week I was here I spent 2 days in Glasgow with AJ and Chantel and 4 days in Cannock visiting Christy & Shaun.
I immediately loved Scotland, right off the plane. Its beautiful! I almost regretted not going to a Glasgow Uni instead. That first night we all went out for Curry at a restaurant in the Shawlands (an area in Glasgow), which was delicious. Then Chantel and I tried our very first "IrnBru" which is pronounced "Iron Brew" and is like orange pop or cream soda or something and is VERY popular in Scotland. It was disgusting. That's why I'm making that face.

The next day I travelled to Cannock via rail. It was great to see the coast and parts of England I haven't been to yet. I love their rural areas. They are so green! And its weird to me that their coast is a meter away from a field. Back home we have Coast, sharp rocks, hilly areas.... THEN fields.
Christy picked me up at the train station and we went for dinner in Birmingham. That Friday Christy and I went to Lichfield, a town not far from Cannock where she works. We went into the Lichfield Cathedral, the only medieval cathedral with 3 spires, which represent the Holy Trinity. It was breathtaking to see, but it was more awe inspiring the history of the place. To listen to the tour guide telling us about the history of the place, and the items was incredible. It was basically a fortress that got conquered and reconquered during the civil war, so the cathedral was smashed and desecrated and then rebuilt. Stone masons are still renovating it to its full glory today.

Then we walked around Lichfield and there was this Erasmus garden which was beautiful, and a duck pond, which was right up my alley, and we had lunch in this quaint cafe. It was perfect.
The next day Christy and I went back into Birmingham and I got my Mobile phone and we shopped around a bit, but I couldn't afford to buy anything, which was fine, I had enough luggage as it was.


After that it was back to Glasgow for a day with Chantel before I headed to Belfast. We tried to do tourist-y things but it never stopped raining!
Anyway - we walked around town and we went to the City Chambers, which are really impressive because they have staircases Marble and balusters made out of alabaster. Apparently the only other staircases that impressive are found in the Vatican. It was breathtaking!

Anyway, the city chambers are off George Square, where there is also a huge war memorial, which was incredible.Also, I don't know if this is a Glasgow thing, or a UK thing, or a political thing, but we saw many statues that had been decorated and clothed!

Then we stopped in a Starbucks to warm up, and made our way to the Botanic Gardens in the West End. Unfortunately it was still raining so we stayed in one of  the garden buildings, but it was also beautiful. It was kind of neat to be in the greenhouse while it was pouring. You could see the rain streaming down the glass, and it kind of felt like a secret hideaway. There were parents with their kids and locals with their dogs all taking shelter inside too so it also had a feeling of a refuge.

After that day I was off to Belfast! I was collected at the airport by University greeters, which was awesome, because the international airport is quite far from the university. Then I checked into my flat (which is very small, and full of very small things. Like the smallest shower ever, and an infant sized bed). I was supposed to freshen up and go to a free dinner down at a campus church but I basically passed out. The next day there was alot of registration/orientation stuff to do which took all day. I met some really great people through it though, and we have already become a bit of a "group". There is Steph from Boston, who is getting her PhD in Sociology; Louise from Canada/Ireland getting her PhD in Education; Jeanette from Denmark, getting her MA in .... Crap, I forget; Kate from North Carolina getting her MA in Terrorism.

Thats us in Kelly's Cellars a pub in town. From left to right, back to front: Me, Steph, Louise, Kate, Jeanette. Stephanie and I had been at this pub a day earlier (for dinner at 6pm!) and had some very nice wedding proposals from some VERY INEBRIATED Irish guys. We regretfully declined.

On Saturday AJ and Chantel were here to visit and we went with a GIANT group from the university to a Belfast Giants Ice Hockey game. We might have been the only people in there who knew the rules to Ice Hockey, and were getting fed up with the Americans who were shouting at the wrong times, but the Giants won and we had a good time! I have decided to attend these games regularly. If I am going to meet my husband in Ireland he will probably be there. I mean, Irish people who love hockey. These are my people.

 From left to right: Evgenia, Ryan, James, Kate, Louise, Mike (At the hockey game)

The giants are pretty good, and a majority of them are Canadian. For that very reason there is a Canadian themed sports bar in the arena called "Rockies" and it was ridiculous! There were hockey jerseys from ALL OVER Canada on the walls. And there was a mural of a Mountie and a Native, which is a ridiculous caricature of what Canadians are, and a whole wall devoted to Gretzky. We were taking pictures like MAD.

 Lethbridge Pronghorns the UofL Hockey Team!!!

Lethbridge Hurricanes, the Lethbridge WHL team

It's HOCKEY NIGHT IN IRELAND!

The Gretzky Wall

The Opaskwayak Blizzard - A Team from The Pas, MB, where Chantel is from. I'm not kidding - every Canadian team I could think of was represented, including police teams, etc. A definite visit for any Canadians visiting Belfast.

We saw a guy at the game wearing a Flames jersey and we talked to him and got a picture with him, but its on Chantel's camera so I'll have to add it later. 

Today AJ, Chantel and I slept in and walked around town and tried to see some sights. We saw City hall, Lanyon Place, the Thanksgiving Statue, etc. I'll include some random photos for your pleasure, but I will show you all if/when you come visit!

This upcoming week I have more registration stuff to do, try to get a job, keep settling in. I feel less stressed about things, but classes haven't started yet, so I am still nervous about that.
Thanks for reading, if you still are, and keep checking back to see what else I get up to. Ill try to post more often than once every 2 weeks so that they aren't so long, although I doubt that the upcoming weeks will be as exciting as the last 2, with all the travel I've been doing.

I miss certain things at home, like having my own full kitchen, and cooking for fun, and the SUN, but mostly I am too busy to really think about all the things I miss. Love you all!