He looks like a friendly sort of chap, eh?
I’ve been quite busy since I’ve arrived! The flight over was fine, I was stuck in the middle on the long flight from Newark to Glasgow, making it hard to sleep. The fellow on my left was from home (Durham, NC), the fellow on my right was from my new home. As I got off the plane I thought HA! This time I’ll just wave my passport and visa at them and they’ll say OOOOH welcome Ms. Bergmueller, and roll out the red carpet. HA! Joke’s on me.
For some reason every time I come through immigration here it’s a game of 20 questions, and when you’re half asleep and can’t remember your own name, you tend to fail. This time it was a little easier but at first my finger prints weren’t reading. Tuesday was spent taking care of householdy type chores like getting a sim card for my cell, figuring out bank accounts, grocery shopping.
Wednesday in the afternoon we went downtown to pick up a few shopping items and met up with the lovely Mark and Gemma at Butterfly and Pig. Afterwards Stephen and I headed to the movies. One of the cellphone carriers here, Orange, has “Orange Wednesdays” where you can get by one get one free movie tickets and pizza. So we took advantage of this to see Scott Pilgram vs. The World and get some pizza.
Thursday we spent a good portion of the day in the park. The weather has been stunning, sunny and 65ish. It seems every time I come over I bring some nice weather with me. Not sure how long it’ll last so I’m trying to make the most of it. Store enough Vitamin D to get me through the long, cold, rainy winter months…or even October. Thursday night the lovely Clare came over and we had a BBQ in the back garden which was nice. Later that night puttering around the kitchen Stephen and I saw a giant fox in the garden. Guess he smelled the meat and came to investigate. One of the cats that lives here was eyeing him and actually managed to scare him off, till his interest in the left over smells got the better of him.
Yesterday was a bit of a hard day for me. I guess I didn’t prepare myself mentally very well, I had the mind set of oh I’ve been there and been fine for 2 weeks before and by the time my 2 weeks are up I’ll be in school and too busy to be homesick. Yesterday though I had several hours of “Oh God what have I done?!” along with feeling homeless.
I’ve been staying with Stephen which has been great and I think a smart way to transition, but knowing I don’t have my own space in the States and I don’t have a place here that’s truly mine leaves me feeling out of sorts.
It’s also a bunch of silly little things you take for granted living in the same area, or the same country for so long. In the States, regardless of what state I’m in I’m relatively confident I could find a grocery store that sells bread and milk. Here it seems that there are so many little specialty shops/groceries, it makes it a little more tricky to navigate. I used my Google Maps to look for grocery stores on my way back from the park yesterday. Ended up in a hardware store. Then backtracked to where I had been and ended up in a sort of Indian Market, where they fortunately had milk. In terms of diversity it’s fantastic, in terms of finding a Food Lion for one simple little thing it’s a little harder.
The roads also throw me a bit. One of these day’s I’m sure to get creamed…but at least I’ll have free health care! Rock on NHS!
Yesterday evening was a bit better, we went over to Clare’s where she cooked us a fantastic dinner and I got to play with her cats a bit. Fuzz Therapy can do wonders.
Feeling a bit more myself today, trying to stay in the present and not think too far ahead…and remind myself that what I’m doing is difficult but an adventure so enjoy it. How many times do you get to live abroad?
Anywho another beautiful day here so I think I’ll go make the most of it!
Cheers!
Was another beautiful day in Glasgow.
I am finally done!
All the pieces of the puzzle have been put together and the finished product looks like me, standing in front of a castle, drinking whiskey, eating sticky toffee pudding, and peaking up kilts on August 31, 2010. Just a little over a week away.
I’m not sure if it’s just been incredibly good luck, or if this is one of those times you’re allowed to say “I guess it was meant to be”, but this whole process has been relatively easy. It’s involved a lot of waiting which I think has helped me to let go a little (a VERY little) and let things fall into place naturally.
Sometimes being Type A does nothing good for you.
There were a few little quirks I came across getting all the parts together for my visa, but I think I’m going to dedicate another post to that. Even that, once it was sent and out of my hands, went off with out a hitch.
The next 3 days are going to be long ones, and the week or so after will be tough. Today I finish up my job temping with Carolina Public Health Solutions which has been lots of fun. I’ve enjoyed getting to spend some more time working with Francesca, and the other ladies in the office are wonderful as well. Tomorrow will be my last night in the apartment, doing some last minute frantic prep work, and Sunday I move. The following week will be spent cleaning up the apartment, moving any left over bits and pieces, and saying goodbye.
In terms of my 365 project, I decided to take a short break until I leave. I was finding myself getting annoyed with being so busy and having to cram in a photo every night. I also decided it would be great to document my entire year abroad, so it makes sense to start the 365 project over again, perhaps as early as the 31st when I leave. Stay tuned for 365- The Scotland Edition.
I think it’s interesting to rebuild the domino path that brought me here, see how decisions or events helped shape this opportunity. I feel incredibly grateful and lucky to be able to undertake this journey, surrounded by a lot of love and support, and I look forward to what the next 365 days bring.
Soon I’ll no longer be the occupant of good ol’ LL10. I wish I could take this apartment with me.
