Katie's Birthday!

Yesterday was Katie's birthday. Lindsay, Ashlee, Lucy, Molly and I decided we would suprise her by taking her to Pizza Hut for dinner. Then she wanted to get a fried Mars Bar, which is a candy bar. We went to 2 different places. The first one wouldn't do it, so we had to walk in the rain to find another place. Luckily, the old scottish man was cheerful and said yes. A fried Mars Bar has to be the most unhealthiest thing one could possibly eat. We also got Irn Bru, which is what the scottish LOVE to drink. Its orange and tastes like a mix of cotton candy and bubble gum. It's pretty disgusting.

2/3/09

It's been a decent day. Got 800 outta 2000 words for my english lit essay. No English lectures this week, so 1 class today, none tommorow. I tried to go to the library, to get a bigraphy on Emily Bronte for my essay, but out of about 15 books, there were absolutely none there. But I think I have almost wrote as much as I can on her, the other half of the essay is gonna have to be about another piece of literature, maybe The Importance of Being Earnest? Got an email saying my scot lit essay isn't due monday, its been pushed to the 16th. Thank goodness, cuz i haven't actually accomplished anything since 5pm today. I really meant to but I got sidetracked:
April came over and shared her pics from this weekend when she went to Sweden. And I shared my pics from Italy. It took an hour and a half lol!
Then I went to finally eat dinner, turns out Becca, Emma and Debbie were in the kitchen. It must have been pick on me day, cuz Emma was like why are u wearing flip flops in Glasgow? says the girl wearing a hoodie with the sleeves cut off and the hood up in the kitchen. I was like um cuz they are plaid and flip flops are awesome. Then she was like jk, I like them! Then, all I ever really eat is pasta, and they were like what are u eating today? I was like I bought chicken to eat today! They were all suprised, but then it turned out not to be too much chicken and I had a few peaches and they were like is that all ur gonna eat? Then Emma and Debbie went on and on with a list of things I could easily cook. I was like well I don't have a potato peeler or skillet or all the utensils I'd need to do these things, and they were like no don't give me that, u can use our stuff.
Tomorrow is Katie's bday, and we're (the Americans) trying to suprise her, but its proved difficult. I don't really like some of the Americans, no particular reason why...I don't know what my problem is...anyways, so I'm letting them sort it all out. But I do like Katie, Ashlee and Molly. So I made Katie a card. I cut out letters from a magazine to write Happy Birthday Katie. And on the inside I wrote: I wish you love, luck and freedom! (a random woman said that to Derek in Italy when she overheard it was his bday...she didn't speak very good english, or she was drunk, we're not sure but it was hilarious, Katie and I tried so hard not to laugh)
I'm pretty sure Paula is still mad, she hasn't spoken to Emma. She did talk to April and I and Becca. So I thought I'd leave her alone and go for a walk. I didn't make far, only to Becca's door, where she, Emma and Debbie had a black rubbish bag taped to the door and they were drawing on it using white out. They asked where I was going and I told them a walk, and Emma was like in flip flops?! I said, no I don't have flip flops on! Do ppl not wear flip flops here?? Paula walked by going to futbol and didn't even look at them. Serves 'em right! They were pretty mean to her. But now I feel bad...I let them in our room. :(
Then I was gonna leave, but they went for tea, so I of course had to join them! Then I stayed in the Kitchen and talked to Becks. She told me she's lived in France, Switzerland and now Scotland, she's from Germany. I told her i was impressed and jealous. We ended up talking about how Europeans say Americans are stupid. She told me about a tv program she watched where they gave Europeans and Americans tests and American's got 40's whilst Europeans got 90's. I totally believe it. The education system is so much better here, I feel stupid, I really do. I have had my eyes opened, the world is so big and everyone is so different, yet so much the same. It is a shame that Americans (maybe becuase we're so far away from Europe and Asia and Africa) are somewhat self centered and blind. At least that's how I feel, or felt. I am still in awe of the world, I just can't believe I've been alive for 20 years, and just right now, I am seeing the world, and different people. If there is one thing to do with your life, its travel, and not just for a week, go and live among different people, see the world thru others eyes, it will change you forever, in a good way.
I finally left the kitchen, and Becks says, you have your rape alarm right? I was like what? and she said oh never mind, you'll be fine. and smiled a nervous smile. I just looked at her and said, ok. If there is one thing I haven't gotten a grasp on, its safety. Why am I not afraid of the world? I think I should be, I can't trust everyone. I think I'm due to get a reality check. But it didn't stop me, I still went out and walked the dark streets of Glasgow at 9pm. I'll give ppl the benefit of the doubt. If you smile, or even just look at me, I'll trust you for life.

Saturday

Stuffing Paula's pants into a waterballoon.Putting the waterballoon in the freezer.

Debbie and Emma pointing to uni, hard to see at midnight...

Me and Becca

Our drinks were green, called Emerald something...i dunno i just drink what they give me lol

Me and Emma

Me and Debbie

Becca trying to shoot pool

Emma and Debbie

Emma

Debbie

Me after Beck's got done with me. I don't like the makeup thing, I do like the hair.

I didn't accomplish much, schoolwise on Saturday. I went to the huge cinema in the city centre and saw She's Just Not That Into You. Then I went to Primark, the cheapest clothing store here, and got some plaid flip flops and some club clothes! When I got back, I had dinner and tea w/Becca, Emma and Debbie. Then they invited me to go to Queen Margaret's Union with them that night. I wanted to wear my new shirt and shoes, and I went to ask Becca and Becks if it looked good...I ended up in their room for over an hour as Becks did my makeup and my hair. Then we went to the Union for drinks and played pool. I learned that Pool has only two different coloured balls, they were red and yellow; while Snookers has the multi colored balls. Emma and Debbie played first, Emma won. Then Becca and I played and I won, only cuz Becca shot the 8 ball in the pocket lol. Then we went to another pub and just chilled for a while. They told me about the Americans from last semester and said they were kinda snobby and stuck up and didn't really talk to them until xmas. They blamed it on the fact that they were Californians and republicans lol. Paula is gone for the weekend, and when we got back, Emma took all her "pants" and hid them, putting a few in a water balloon and freezing them in the freezer. Paula is gonna be mad. She and Emma really go after each other. Emma is only doing this cuz the other day in the kitchen, paula poured an entire bottle of water over Emma, and she was steeming mad.

I'm going to try to work on yet another essay today.

For Grandpa

Italians singing Johnny Cash?!

I am declaring myself productive

I am so glad this week is almost over. I had an essay due Monday - check. I had an essay due Wednesday, which I only started Monday - check. I just finished my presentation on Wuthering Heights for tomorrow, which I only finished the book Wednesday - check! Plus I read a book for Scottish Lit, started and finished yesterday in time for tutorial today - check!!

In the midst of doing all that school work, I was also socially productive! Let's see...I uploaded all my Italy pictures to facebook and wrote a blog w/pics about Italy. I participated in pancake day and multiple tea breaks. Yesterday was a terrible procrastination day all around. I knew I needed to work on my presentation, and I needed to read my scot lit book. But after dinner, which I had tried to eat in my room so I wouldn't get stuck talking to someone in the kitchen, I felt brain dead. So I went to the kitchen, where it turned out Debbie, Paula, Emma, Becca and Becks were all sitting making a task list of things they wanted to do (yeah, everyone is a procrastinator). I made myself some apple pie and custard (<--my new favorite that has replaced cheesecake since I can't find any here) and sat down, again I was being all assertive and just sat down, didn't say much but at least I was there. Next thing I know its 9pm. I sat in the Kitchen with Emma and Debbie and we decided we want to go to this one club next wednesday (they say its really good and won't tell me about it) but they want to play some game b4 we go, then they want to come up w/tasks for everyone that night (ex: Debbie has to kiss a guy). So we made a sign to hang in the kitchen to say what we want to do. It looks like a ransom sign. Debbie and I cut letters out of magazines and Emma glued them on.

Becca wanted to go out to the clubs, and no one else would go cuz they had essays, except Paula, and they kept bugging me to go, and I was like no I really gotta finish this presentation. Of course it doesn't take much convincing of me to do something sociable. So I said yes lol. We left at 11pm. Paula of course disappeared within 5 mins. to find Fabian, so it was just Becca and I. Standing in line, Becca was talking to a girl in front of us from CX who said she had forgot her ID and had to go back for it, 5 mins. later Becca realizes she forgot her ID. (this is typical Becca.) We had been talking to these 3 guys behind us and they asked to ride along in the taxi with us...it was a little odd, but we agreed. We finally made it back to the club, where it was headphone night and everyone got their own headphones and could listen to whatever music they wanted so everyone danced to their own beat. If u took of the headphones, it was hilarious to hear everyone singing to their song! Becca is highly entertaining, and the rest of the night was crazy on her part. Needless to say, we got back around 3:30am. Luckily we had missed a fire drill at 2am, Debbie said they stood outside for 45mins. apparently there was actually a fire this time! Debbie and Emma heard us come back last night, and they of course wanted me to catch them up on everything that happened.

I of course woke up around 8am (and i thought I had lecture at 11, but apparently not...I was mad) cuz I needed to finish reading my scot lit book, and I did! But I've been exhausted all day and still managed to attend lecture, seminar and a film screening, then finished writing my presentation, which turned out to be 1000+ words! I feel so productive! However, I realize I have very little food and clothing...guess tomorrow will be grocery and laundry day.

It's 11:30pm, I think I'm going to go sleep now...

Pancake Day and Tea Breaks!!

Today was Pancake Day!! We had pancakes for dinner! We made pancakes, but they were really watery, or i guess milky, and were as flat as tortilla bread! They put lemon juice and sugar on them, and had this really good toffee sauce that was really sweet. They put it on the pancake, then rolled it up like a tortilla or fajita...and they made me eat like 8 of them! Apparently Paula likes to cook and she just kept making more and more and they wanted me to keep eating them since it was my first British Pancake Day!
I finally finished my 2000 word essay for Film and TV studies today, and I'm almost done with my book that I have to make a 10 min. presentation on on Friday. I've been going to the library, but I really hate going there, there are a million ppl, never any computers and I haven't a clue as to how things work...yesterday I got my ID card stuck in the photocopy machine...don't ask.
Emma knocked on my door today and asked if i wanted to have tea with her, Becca and Debbie...this is the first time they've invited me without Paula being here!!! I'm really glad cuz last night I knew they were in the kitchen and i just kinda went in and made some hot chocolate and sat with them, of course I'm not very talkative, so i felt awkward but I stayed. So today reaffirmed that they actually like me lol. We had 2 cups of tea each and sat in the Kitchen for an hour...procrastinating on all the work we know we have to do. Then I had another cup of tea with them after pancakes...I fear I am becoming addicted, I actually really like it!
I have kitchen duty this week. All I really have to do is take out the rubbish (trash), but I find that disgusting, since I am quite a germophobe...

ITALY!!!

"Conversion of St. Peter"(?) Carvaggio

We climbed the spanish steps to the Medici Villa in Rome

A fountain that supposedly if u throw in a coin backwards and make a wish you will be destined to return to Rome one day.

The first Hostel. I broke the top bunk on the left

Vieew from the Vatican

Climbing down the Vatican

Our first Pizza's

Sistine Chapel

Top of the Vatican

Climbing up the Vatican, very narrow

Top of the Vatican

Hole in the Pantheon

Next to the Vatican, this is where Tom Cruise ran in Mission Impossible

our tour guide pushing the world

The Forum in Rome

Arcs, and Colosseum in background

The track where the Romans had Chariot race, Circus Maximus.

The Pantheon

This was Benito Mussolini's palace.

Orange trees!!

Gellato!!

The Colosseum!

I wish we were in that tour group

Our first Gellato!

Romans loved to drive their scooter/motorcycles

Big Statue Foot

Heads...plus Katie

"The fallen Gaul" (?)

Florence!

Looks just like my cat!

Actually backpacking in Florence!

Lemon Tree!!

Leaning Tower of Pisa!

Katie is holding it up.

Under the Tuscan Sun.

Mary Magdelene...had alot of hair.

The David...was HUGE!!!

Venice costumes!

Helioball!!

Me, Derek and Katie in our masks

Drag queen beauty pageant...bizarre.

San Marco Island in Venice was packed

Venice!

Katie and Derek

There was an entire island for a cemetary.

Mask Vendor

Gondola!

Another cat that looks like my cat!

Italy was amazing!

We actually got lost trying to get to the train station in Glasgow, but that was my fault, I thought I could get us there taking a different road. The first few days were hard, for some reason I was, i guess just uncomfortable with the language difference and no one in the world is as nice as the Scots, so I was kinda homesick for Scotland. The hostels weren't that great. The first night, we got off the bus and a man w/an information badge on came over to us and was like do u need a hostel? here I can take u to ur hostel. We told him we could do it ourselves, but he insisted and I thought everyone in the world was kind and wanted to help us, but he took us the opposite direction and then left us on a dark street and said just 2 blocks that way, I don't have time to go all the way. Then he demanded 5 euros from us. We gave it to him cuz we were scared. We were then lost, cuz we had the wrong address, for 4 hours and didnt find our hostel until midnight. Then we finally get there and we have to sleep on top bunks of a 4 bunk room. I get up and the bunk breaks and I fall on the girl under me, who was asleep. I was like, I am so sorry...nice to meet u by the way. it was horrible. Rome was great tho, we saw the Colosseum, the ruins of the Forum and the Vatican and Sistine chapel.

Next we went to Tuscany. Our first stop was Florence. Again we had the wrong address and got lost for a while, but called the hostel and ended up staying at a decent, almost hotel like hostel. We had our own room, which was great. But the shower was in the only bathroom of the place and it had no curtain so the water sprayed all over the bathroom everytime we took a shower. Florence was just like the movie Under the Tuscan Sun. We went to museums and saw The David, which was HUGE!! Katie tried to take a pic, but she got yelled at. Luckily I got a couple pics lol. We also went to a street market and bought scarves, which was good cuz it was freezing in Venice. We took a day trip by train to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa...and it was leaning! It was crazy! We ate at a small family owned restaurant just cuz we saw an old guy all by himself and felt bad that he had no customers...we were the only ones there the whole time, and his family kept coming in and they kept talking about someone named Fabio, but we couldn't understand the Italian. I'm pretty sure they were either mad at Fabio and wanted to kill him or Fabio did something really bad... The old guy kept telling katie to eat, but she was waiting for my pasta to come. He told her 4 times, but he only spoke Italian, and I kept telling katie to just freakin' eat it b4 he kills us, but she was being stubborn and waited.

Finally we made it to Venice. We got off the train and had to catch bus #11, but there were two bus #11's and we couldn't figure out how to buy a bus ticket.

ENTER DEREK.

We were freaking out when Derek comes up to us and explains everything. He was staying at the same place we were, so he got us to the Camping place we were staying. He was by himself and asked to hang out w/us, so we said yes and he stayed w/us all 3 days, and even walked us to get on our train when we had to leave. We stayed at a camping place in a cabin/camper, our neighbours were 2 old guys from Holland who loved to watch for us to come back and then we'd get stuck talking to them for 10 mins. They were so nice tho! Venice was beautiful! Islands and water and gondola's and ferries and masks! We went to the Island called Murano, where everyone makes glass, its known for glass making, so I of course had to buy some lol! Then we made our way to the main Island by ferry. EVERYONE, adults and children, were dressed up. Most looked Victorian or Renaissancey (not sure, but spectacular costumes!!) and everyone was wearing masks and ppl would just stand there so u could take their pictures. I got a mask that I haggled for from a vendor, it was originally 18 euro and I got it down to 10 euro!! Someone actually stopped and took my pic and said thank you! As the sun went down, they had a helioball that was like a huge ball filled w/helium and a girl was attached to it and did flips and they played music while she kinda danced in the air. At night was weird, they had a drag queen beauty pageant, guys dressed elaborately as women. I have never felt so confused and just weird...so we left. It was Derek's 23rd bday, so we bought him a Gilatto (italian ice cream) and we made him a card, he was feeling homesick and lonely.

Italy was fun, I will die happy if I never have to stay at another hostel again. One bathroom just doesn't work for me, its disgusting, and we didn't have room to pack towels and there were none. I am pretty sure my immune system is great now. My back hurts so bad from carrying a backpack all the time. I only had 2 pairs of jeans and 5 shirts for the week. I have never felt so grungy, wearing the same clothes all the time. Altogether, Katie and I had 22 Gilatto's! I ♥ ice cream! Katie and I got along really well, I'm glad we did. I love just being able to turn off my cell phone for a week, I have been weened off being dependant on my phone and I love it! We left the hostel in the morning and wouldn't return until after 9 at night, so we would walk everyday all day. The pizza in Italy: they give you your own pizza to eat by urself! The pasta is fantastic!

Italian words:

Grazie: Thank you

Prego: Your welcome/May I help you/next in line (prego was used alot and we couldnt figure it out lol)

Uscita: Exit

Servici: Toilets