I haven't really updated in a loooong time....There's almost in point in summarising the past couple of weeks. So long story short, Kristine, one of my best friends and roommates from back home, came to visit me for six days and we basically had a blast. That's a pretty cliche way to put it...but it's true. I had forgotten how much fun the two of us can have together. We went up to the Edinburgh Castle; I took her to the Elephant House, where JK Rowling wrote the first two HP books; the Scottish Museum, which is free, and where my friend Calum works (Kristine knocked over a child, it was hilarious); and we did some serious shopping--mostly vintage shopping. Oh, and we went to a poetry reading that was raising money for Haiti. It was three hours long! I was a little exhausted, aka ready to eat some food by the end of it--and Kristine was about ready to eat her hand off from boredom. The poet's were mostly Scottish, there was one at least that was Irish, some Welsh, and some English. After the poetry reading we went to the Library Bar on campus for dinner with my friends Calum and Andre.
Hmm...let's see...i wrote three essays for today. So i spent a little too much time in the library....oh, and I went to Kelso!
Here is a brief summary, or an email that I sent to some friends/family:
"today, i realized why usc is THE greatest university in the world. now, for all you bruins--give me a minute here to explain.
today usc paid for me and about 15 other students to go down to kelso today. kelso is a smallish-city on the boarders between england and scotland, so it felt a bit more like england, as opposed to 'scottishness.' our lunch was paid for (fish n chips and ice cream for me)...we were also supplied with wine. and then the director of our trip gave us all ten pounds and said, "may the force be with you and go bet." im sorry but i think that i need to repeat this. USC GAVE US MONEY TO GO BET ON HORSES. do you have any idea how satisfactory it felt to waste that money? dad and mom, aren't you pleased to hear what your money is going towards? they gave us the money in order to 'enhance our cultural experience.'
on a cultural note, it was a very fascinating day. first off, i realized that myself and my fellow americans stuck out like thorns. the majority of people in attendance were scottish, but im assuming there were some english people in attendance, simply because we were so close to the border (they refer to this area of the uk as the 'boarder lands'). many of the people were older, middle class to upper middle class. they wore tweed EVERYTHING. i honestly dont know if i can explain it....it felt almost as if i was in the 1940s or something. the men wore tweed jackets with matching tweed pants, with tweed hats and wellington boots. and many of them waltzed around with canes and hunting dogs and pipes. and the women wore those funny hats that look like birds. and there was a plethora of burberry.
in order to bet, you say '2 pounds on 2 (or any other number) to win/place." 2 pounds was the minimum bet, so i stuck to that. then the second number is the number of the horse, and then you either say 'to win,' meaning youre betting that your horse will win, or 'to place,' meaning that your horse will come 1-3 or 1-4, depending on how many other horses are racing. i won one race! it was very exciting. also, if you dont use this lingo, the people get very agitated and annoyed.
before the race the horses parade around a paddock, so that you can look at the horse before betting on him/her. this was quite the spectacle--everyone gathers round and expertly studies the horses. sadly, even after 6 years of riding under my belt, i really had no idea how to 'choose,' the right horse. THOUGH, apart from one race, my horse always came in at least second!
the races in and of themselves are actually quite exciting. you stand in the bleachers (unless youre a member, then you have special bleachers with better views), and as the horses close on the finish line, people actually get quite excited--they start calling out their horses name, or at least thats what i did. several times the jockie would fall off their horse, but the horse would keep running! that was a little scary, simply because there was a chance that the jockie could be seriously injured by another horse.
the people there are also very into drinking. usually at sporting events in the states, they limit how much you can drink, or there is a certain point in the game where you can no longer buy alcohol. not so here. people were boozing it up the entire day and walking around with their alcohol.
all in all, a very interesting day. people here are really very, very class conscious. the older people at the event very much into propriety, and all that. and its clear that the way one dresses defines their class. although this is true in the states, it is truer here to a much higher degree. people here literally deck themselves out in tweed, wellies, etc, in order to purport a certain image of themselves. ive started noticing it with the students at my uni as well--though not to such a heightened degree. the students here are much more artsy, and are far more concerned about how tight their pants are or if their hair falls to a certain angle, as opposed to worrying about tweed and all that nonsense.
but they do bring it up occasionally, and when they do, i just keep my lips sealed because i dont really want to say the wrong thing. half of the time it seems like they want to express how wealthy they are; the other half of the time they want to downplay their class, almost saying theyre not of the middle class (when i know full well they are)."
I'm really enjoying my time here in Scotland, and it's sad that I know it's going to end...in merely a couple of months. I've been toying with the idea of returning here for graduate school and pursuing a masters in English Literature. At times, though, it can be lonely. I mean, being an American, sometimes you can't help but stick out. Many of my friends here are American, but I have many who are Scottish or English as well. Since I've started to get to know some of the British students, and actually become their friends, I feel like the 'divide' between us is shrinking. But there are moments where I can't help but feel like the odd man out, like I'm unaware of social norms, etc. Sometimes I'm worried that I've stuck my foot in my mouth, or that I've violated some unspoken code. Sometimes I feel stupid, like the people here are far better educated than myself.
The other night I went to a pub quiz with the lit society. I was shocked at how much more knowledge they have on writers, novels, poems, etc. And I thought that I knew a lot...
At one point in the evening I was standing with my friends Calum, Andre, and a girl from Glasgow. They were talking about Scottish literature, and I had nothing to say. I stood there for a while, and the large amount of cider (coupled with it being after 2 am and me being exhausted), I suddenly felt very, very far from home. I felt foolish, stupid for having noting to contribute. I know nothing about Scottish lit, or, ok, I know a littttle bit, but not enough to sustain an actual intelligent conversation. I stared away from the group for a while, and I won't deny, I felt a bit miserable/lonely. It wasn't until Calum surreptitiously tapped my leg with his foot and smiled at me that I felt like smiling at all. I felt better, and I pulled myself together, delving into a conversation regarding the relationship of romantics to poetry to emotion, blah blah.
And that's all I have to say now. Ta ta.
Love this stuff!
11 years ago
