This week was probably the week where I got the most frustrated with being in a different place. The culture is different and sometimes the people don't always understand you. As I go through my updates of activities I will try and explain more. The week didn't start off with the best situation having Liverpool lose to Chelsea 2-1 in what might have been a better game if the ref understood the game. Needless to say Calvin and I were still supporting our team in our colours:
Noelle my flat mate who is such a blessing to have around with her continuous joy had a friend come visit her and a couple of us went to the Crafty Pig and the Bookclub. Two pubs that have great food and a casual environment:
My filming continued throughout this week and while I try to explore some newer areas I couldn't help but to stop and take a picture:
The weather this week panned out to be awesome with almost no rain and some sunshine, which meant one thing: Me. Myself. and my Hammock:
My french friends Martin, Claire and Lise once again outdone themselves with cooking myself, emma and Chris dinner. A traditional french dish called Crozets. I also learnt a new french sentence: comment ete ta journee? Yes my spelling is really poor but I understand it this way. They have a crack at my french because it is so horrible but I somehow am learning something.
I think because this is close to the end of the semester we all needed a little break from cooking and pizza was a must:
I don't have any exams for my finals but I do have three research papers. Now being in a different country things aren't the same as back in the States including the way we do research. Here we have to actually go into a library and find primary sources so I spent four hours in the Mitchell Library digging through archives and found my research for one of my papers:
While I was in the City Center I met up with a bunch of people in order to watch a Christmas parade, that turned out to be 6 reindeer pulling Santa in a sleigh. The gang went to a dinner place that had cheap but really good food which is where the frustration and misunderstanding part of my week comes in to play. The dinner was pretty great because I got myself some steak and egg. The whole gan was surrounding a half booth kind of table in the corner and I was on the outside next to a little table. There was a narrow gap for the person at the small table and myself to get out and I thought I was being polite. I was putting on my coat and just talking to the group while standing when the gentleman behind me started raising his voice and that is when I turned around to see what the commotion was. Apparently he was yelling at me, I still don't know what for, but he seemed very angry. I was confused so I asked him what I did wrong and he really had one of the thickest scottish accents ever. I am pretty good with understanding people here but for the life of me I swear he wasn't talking english. He continued to rant while I asked to speak slower so that I can understand, when the only words I could make out was "you're a prick, sit down boy". Obviously hearing this wasn't the best thing especially when I didn't know what I did wrong. He continued to say the same things over and over and then he stepped closer and got in my face, which at this point I could smell the alcohol on him. I tried to handle the situation as calmly as possible and told him that he doesn't know me and that he might have had too much to drink. After being shaken up I left telling him to have a better night. So that was the first incident, then I biked home and on my way home there were three guys walking next to eachother on the pavement when I politely said "heads up". The one guy started chasing me after I had passed them and I just kept pedaling because once again I didn't think I did anything wrong. I suddenly felt as if I was the one who did something wrong because this was two incidents in the same night. Moral of the story is there are different cultures and you have to be careful with your actions and words because someone might interpret it differently.
My friend Emma Dell who lived on my floor freshman year came to visit me this weekend and together we did some touristy things in Glasgow such as going to the Cathedral, walking down Buchanan Street, seeing the Necropolis, visiting the University of Glasgow, and seeing the Hunterian Museum in our Uni:
I notice that I save bible study and church always for the end of my blogs, and I think mostly it is because I want to leave off thinking about that the most. So this week bible study was short because many people weren't able to make it, but we still got to hear an amazing story from Mickael our french friend. He truly does not fail to amaze me with his constant enthusiasm and happiness no matter what the situation is. I am so thankful to have met him because an individual like this really makes a person's day 10 times better. Church was well needed like every week and ReHope genuinely makes it so awesome to be here and share our faith in a loving community. Not to mention free donuts, croissants and coffee.
