Finally Settled.

     After what was possibly the longest and most stressful journey EVER, I finally arrived in Glasgow yesterday! The trip over was exhausting. My flight from Vancouver to Heathrow was delayed four hours, then it was late arriving, so I missed my connecting flight to Glasgow, and the flight after that was canceled. Airport workers were sending me all over the airport to rebook my flights and find accommodation, and I was getting super frustrated because no one was being very helpful. I finally found the customer service for rebooking British Airways flights and the line was huge. I ended up waiting for probably about an hour and a half. Luckily I got a voucher for a free night at the Premier Inn by the airport, plus a free dinner and free breakfast. I caught the shuttle to the hotel, which took about half an hour, and by the time I got there it was past 11pm. I had some dinner at the restaurant downstairs (spiciest chicken curry I've had in my life), then skyped Cyrus for a bit which was nice. I went to bed around 12:30 and had to wake up at 4:40 to catch the shuttle back to the airport for my 7:50 flight. It's a good thing I got downstairs early to wait for the shuttle because it was really crowded and some people had to be left behind. There were no delays with my flight this time so I ended up arriving at the Glasgow airport around 9:15am. The views of the landscape when the plane was touching down were incredible. I'm so excited to explore the Highlands, Loch Ness, Loch Lomond, etc.

     I caught the bus into Glasgow city centre and got into the city at around 10. Lugging my bags to the school was so tiring and I was so relieved to check in at the accommodation office and finally get my keys. It wasn't too difficult to find my flat, and when I arrived I met two roommates. One wasn't actually one of my roommates because she was only there for first semester and would be leaving the next morning. The other, Michelle, is from Canada (Toronto area) which is awesome. About half an hour later, Kirsty (another one of my roommates, from New Zealand) arrived. Next was Bethany (also from Toronto), and then Anna (from New Zealand as well) came in the evening/late afternoon. There's five of us in total and we've been getting along really well!

     After most of us were arrived and settled yesterday, Michelle showed us around the city a bit, and took us to Primark, where we bought towels and duvet covers, and also to the grocery store. After stopping back at the flat to drop stuff off, we went out for dinner at a place called the Counting Room. They serve a range of meals including traditional Scottish food, but I was feeling tired and not particularly adventurous so I just got a burger. I did try haggis though, so that counts for something haha. I just had a bite, but it actually didn't taste bad at all.

      We got back to the dorm around 8:30, and I stayed up until about 9:30 then just crashed because I was exhausted. I ended up waking up around 2am because of the jetlag and just talked to people on facebook until about 3. I slept again until 8:15, took a shower/had breakfast, then went to the welcome meeting for international students with my roommates! I still don't have my courses completely sorted out but hopefully I'll get that done tomorrow. I did get my student card though so that's good. I also bought a few school supplies and explored the campus a bit. I went to the clubs fair at the Union building, and I think I'm going to join the campus chorus! It sounds like tons of fun, and apparently we'll be learning Man in the Mirror and Seasons of Love, which are two songs I love. They rehearse on Monday evenings, then hang out/go for drinks after, so I think that will be a good way to meet more people, and hopefully some Scottish students. Tonight my roommates and I are going to a pub night which has a different country theme each week (tonight is Scottish night). I'm going to make some dinner now then probably head out with them at around 9. Still feeling a little sleepy but hopefully I'll adjust to the time zone within a few days!

                                               First view of Scotland from the plane!

                                                           Part of Strathclyde campus