The week in summary

Is not terribly epic, but it's been good.

I just got back from lunch--potato, haggis, and baked beans. Yup.

I've mainly just been working on my essays/work...went out last night to the union and the beach. William, I have updated my personal info on Facebook so that in the categoy for "Religion:" it says "nuke gay baby whales for jesus". You are my God. Dammit, now I have to update it again. Would I be a Williamist or a Williaman?

Tonight's Halloween. What will I be up to? I honestly haven't a clue.

Thats all for now.

UPDATE: Just had rehearsal. Interesting. I'm getting a couple of things evolving. It will probably be a family piece, where there are two major events which loom over the family. First of all, the invalid father upstairs. Second, what has happened to one of the daughters. I'm writing out scenes now to see how they work, feeding them to the actors during rehearsals.

The Weekend

Another weekend gone...ah well. Next weekend I'll be frantically writing my IR essay. This one I took a bit of a break from essays in general (just focused on coursework reading)...Robbie's away again, in Stirling visiting his girlfriend (He gave me instructions that his parents were not to know. Lovin it.), so I have had the room to myself. Yesterday was mostly taken up with rehearsals--for my show and (finally) for the one I'm in. I'm feeling pretty good about it all. Then Saturday night I went out with people from the main hall who I knew a bit, but had never done anything with before, so that was a good change of pace.

Today has been interesting. The annexe and the main hall sandwich a Scottish Episcopaleal Church, whose yard I go through at least 3 times a day for meals. And, call me crazy, but I thought, "what the hell, I've been to a mosque, I've never been to a regular church service," so I talked to some Christians and went. I'm afraid I'm a bit more culturally familiar with churches so this post won't be as long or full of me being suprised and interested...to be honest, it was a bit dull. Right. You could have told me that. But it was fascinating in a few respects. Numero Uno: Jesus. Poor kid. Is he God's son or God incarnate or what? I listened to a really good lecture on the evolution of Christianity on iTunes U, where the guy said that, originally, Christians were far more "God" centric, and it was later on, through the Renaissance that the focus turned to Jesus. The duality (trinity) of God/Jesus must make sense somehow.

It was really interesting comparing it to my mosque visit. There, everyone sits and stands and prays in a big open area facing Mecca (Well, approximately. Also: the earth being a globe means anywhere you turn is facing Mecca), and the call to prayer and general worship is very communal with everyone facing the same direction, doing the same thing and seemingly united in purpose. Two people stood out--the man who chanted the call to prayer (facing the same direction as everyone) and the guy who gave the 30 minute sermon. In the church, on the other hand, the pews reminded me of a stage. Lots of individuals from the congregation came forward to read--a very Western "spotlight" on the individual. There was a choir onstage who knew the songs and, while everyone "sang", they were really the "performers". I suppose the reason the Mosque surprised me as much as it did is because this is what I expect religion to be. Duh. It's what's in movies, it's what I hear about.

A couple fairly stereotypical elements gave me the sense that the church was certainly an entity designed for community as much as worship. There was some hand-shaking-of-neighbors-and-saying-"God-be-with-you", and coffee afterwards (hall coffee is disgusting, I needed it) with lots of friendly, only slightly creepy people. One question I did ask a few people was, "what is your/British attitude towards fundamentalist Christians in the US? What do you think of Bush talking about God openly?" I think it made them uncomfortable, although of course overriding hatred for Bush won out. But talking to them I just thought..."Some people have Rugby. Some people have music. Some people (me) have theater/debate, etc, etc, some people have religion." Whatever it takes to meet people.

Afterward I went to a playwriting workshop, which focused mainly on character but gave me some interesting ideas to try out in my piece. I cooked myself what ended up being a Korean-looking dinner. Got a pack of "chinese stir fry" fresh veggies and a some chicken, cooked them in a wok with lots of water, some sugar, some honey, and some soy sauce. It was a little bland, so I just ate it with the flavoured water as a soup. Not bad for my first time *really* cooking for myself.

Now I've got callbacks for the schools improv troupe, "Blind Mirth". I doubt I'll get in (not a tradgedy either way...although maybe I should really give imrov a try outside of a CCHS context), but it should be a laugh. And then tommorow is a new week.

Saturday Morning Update

Not too busy over the last couple days...lectures, tutorials, further writing for Philosophy/planning for IR--I've got essays in each. On Wednsday night went to a lecture by the head of the economics department about unusual uses for economics....and slept through it. That post-dinner, pre-night period is still the very bottom of my body cycle. Apparently he talked about single children staying closer to home (hah!) and pressures around being with parents as they got older, and how the government is going to have to pay more for health care etc etc. Tying economics into "everything," sure, but a bit boring for an ''event' lecture.

Thursday night I went with some of my academic family to see a play called "Only The Men" at the Byre, about a man who comes back to the farm he was raised on to tackle his past, particularly his thorny relationship with his father. Very play-ish, with 2 characters, dead father and son, and all sorts of dramatic angst, but done professionaly and quite good.

Then last night my hall had a Halloween party, which was the usual dress-up-and-get-free-booze event. I had no costume until dinner, when Jesse suggested a cereal killer, which I hadn't (consciously) seen or heard before and thought was brilliant. So I came in my long black coat with big spoons in my pockets and ripped boxes of cereal. Hillariously done-before. So that was alright.

Before the party I had a really good rehearsal. In my room, for lack of another space, but my room's big enough that it worked pretty perfectly. We started talking about responsiblity (which is coming up in IR and Philosophy right now and which is a subject I've never given terribly much thought to--what does it mean to be responsible for something or someone?), then I had them walk, examining objects in the room. I wanted to get words into it, so i started having them read outloud out of books I had around so that their reading was overlapping, which had a cool effect. They did various things with the books in terms of reading, and from there I had it split off with people telling stories without reading. I gave them very simple first instructions: "tell a story starting with a description of a glass of water." "There are a mother and daughter in a market in Deli. Go." (this to the Indian girl). The stories and the books then got interwoven into the broader context of physical action and "story arc" of the rehearsal. And at the end, I wasn't completely exhausted.

Exhausting

God holding rehearsals is exhausting. Directors must have them at night usually so that they can go home and sleep. Cheolseung....how? That is all.

Today wasn't bad. Missing one person, just played improv games for an hour--about the right length of time, although it could've been 30 minutes longer. Started with group stories (each person contributes a sentence, then a version where each person can only contribute one word). Then did debates (2 people, each given arbitrary opposing positions--baldness and hair--argue in short speeches the merits of their position). Then zip zap zop and soundball to get energy up a bit. Then a few basic improv games...Freeze Tag (short 2 person scenes, players can freeze the actors and take their places to start a new scene at any time), Taxi (a taxi picks up various characters and everyone in the taxi has to become that character--usually boils down to stereotypes, and its really interesting seeing what the stereotypes here are), Dubbing (two actors pantomime a scene, two others provide the words), and Panel of Experts (another character one, this time in the format of a TV show). Some interesting results but nothing too great...next rehearsal I think I'll return to Cheolseung style, and go back and forth between rehearsals...might even try to do a bit of both in one. We'll see.

Nothing too exciting today. Philosophy and IR lectures. Writing an essay on personal identity. Etc.

Realization

Had my philosphy tutorial again just now with a different tutor because the regular one is off doing something or other, and I came to a realization. I don't hate the tutorial entirely because of the tutor; no, its the other student's fault too! So now, for my own sadistic pleasure, I'd like to try and draw a caracature of the other students:

1: "Hi, Oim American and I believe in Freedom! With a capital F! And enthusiasm! Besides, I look and sound like a cartoon animal!"

2: "Like, oh my god, I'm the only girl in this clath. I fulfill every thtereotype of American airhead that there is. Determinithm? Totally deep!"

3: "Hi. I talk slowly. Forgive me. I'm a theology major. I'd rather be talking about God. Really, I just took philosophy because I thought it was like theology. My mistake."

4: "I'm chronically bored. I know determinism is the answer, so why are we talking about it?"

5: "Hello! I'm just too posh to live. Daddy certainly has a lot of money. God philosophy is deep. I actually might be somewhat intelligent, but I'd really rather just be posh instead. Do you like my (entire) wardrobe of pink shirts and sweater vests?"

6: Me.

So that's that.

Little weekend update as well: Saturday I spent all day at a debate thing, Sunday I squandered luxuriously! The debates were between 4 teams consisting of an experienced debater paired with a new student--20 teams total, 4 debates. We debated 1. "Should Britain directly elect Prime Ministers?" 2. "Should dentists be forced to practice under the NHS?" 3. "Should we boycott the Bejing Olympics?" and 4. "Should Britain have manditory military service?" Aside from an always appreciated chance to argue and a bit of an activity, doing debating here has set me in good stead as far as current affairs and Brittish politics go, which is nice if I'm to be living here.

Ah well, off to my psychology lab.

1st Rehearsal

Ahhh today. I only had psychology, but then is afternoon I went along and looked at props/costumes that they have avaliable (not that much, or possibly just not that well organized), auditioned for the improv troupe (they do auditions the same way they do for plays where you walk into the room, they sit there, one of them does 2 improv games with you, they say "thanks very much, we'll send you an e-mail about callbacks." Huh.). Then I went and signed up to be treasurer for the Fresher's debate, which is basically a debate run and organized by Freshers. I've got £100 for my show, I want to see more money! Basically the job is arranging payment for guest speakers' flights and accomidations, which I figure will be really useful and interesting experience without TOO much work.

But onto the title. My first rehearsal was good, I felt, an hour long total, which was about right for me and for Friday night. My cast came in within the space of about ten minutes, and we chatted a bit as they came in--just the usual "what are you studying? what hall are you in?" crap. When everyone was in I felt a bit odd springing wierdness on them all at once, so I started with two "starter" games I found online. I had them line up (they had naturally formed a line anyways) in order of height, shoe size, age, health (physical and mental) and hygiene. Then I had one start walking, another follow trying to walk the same way. Gradually got everyone in there, started music, and began the Cheolseung-ness. Had various actions, eventually culminating in the group of six forming three pairs each doing independent actions. Ended up with a little mini love story, and a story of persecution, again in good Cheolseung fashion. Love story was easy enough, the persecution one started with me asking them individually to make a face at the others and giving the others different reactions. The ending was good, and then I had them circle up and talk a little. One girl has done a "movement-based modern piece which didn't turn out too well" and was very cynical (funnly enough, also the best one), and one guy is, just from how he acts, a bit skeptical of it all, but it's good enough.

Next rehearsal I'm going to turn this one on its head and spend the entire time playing comedy improv games. Then the one after that I want to pair them up and have them do groupwork. I've got an interesting mix...an english girl and guy, a scotish girl and guy, a german girl, and an indian girl. Good stuff. We'll see how we all get along.

But it's Friday night. So...

Busy, busy

God this is just turning into a journal, isn't it.

Three classes and two tutorials today, all really good. Mostly Marx in IR, randomness (non-determinism) of subatomic particles in philosophy, lusting after your parents like a good Freudian in psychology. So that's that.

Afterward I went with my academic dad to "Question Time Europe", a debate with five guys from various parties in either the Brittish or European Parliment talking about Brittish-interest topics in Europe ranging from the Euro to Turkey to the new European "constitutional" document (can't remember the name), to the effects of Scottish independence. Brittish politicians are more vicious, funnier, just as old and about as slimy with a pinch of added pomp. But very educational, I feel the full weight of my america-centric worldview's ignorance when I have to do a mental check of a map to remember where a country is, or learn a new fact (Turkey is occupying Cyprus? What? Since when? Where, exactly, is Cyprus again?). I hope to continue to go to things like this and have some clue in hell as to what is going on in the world.

After that I went and had tea and biscuts (read--candy bars) with my academic dad and we talked about the debate, the world's current political/military standing, and a lot of military history. He's a fourth year modern history major with an emphasis on World War military, and my god he can talk about them forever. So, at this point, I'm feeling very in- and out-of-class educated.

One thing that was true in the US and is giving me an edge here are my efforts through this last year to learn about Islam and the bits I've picked up about Asia, as well as Latin America tidbits. Although Europe seems to be very general knowledge for everyone here, beyond it is almost as much of a mystery as anything outside the US is for people in the US. Someone in my IR tutorial suggested "a secular government" as a solution for conflict in Iraq, and I just buried my head in my hands.

Now that I'm elsewhere I'm listening to a series of Berkeley lectures on iTunes U about American History since the Civil War, which so far I'm finding really interesting. I realize that with all the conceptual stuff in IR and Philosophy I'm missing some of the clear (or muddled) narrative history can provide, though I think I can get that out of the lecture theatre easily here. I'd also like to visit some of the churches here, since there are about 5, and there all about 200 years old at least, and I walk across one's front yard to get to meals every day anyways. I figure if I've been to a mosque once, I should go to a church for a regular service once. Fair treatment.

I've got my first rehearsal tommorow night and I honestly don't know what I'm gonna have the actors do. Ah, well.

Decent Day

Good lectures this morning. My psychology professor continues to get really excited everytime he mentions torture. In IR we talked about Machiavelli and Hobbes with regards to their views on power.

Went again to the debate training this afternoon. Not so great for me this time--the topic was "This house believes that parents should be allowed to vote for their children while their children are minors". I was arguing against, trying to point out which parents this would further enfranchise. I was trying to say that lower class people are likely to have more kids but be more negligent of them, while the middle and upper classes have fewer kids but would be more likely to vote. Aaaaaand apparently "lower class" is one of those phrases you just DON'T use here, because as soon as I said it everyone ghasped and made out as if I had argued for taking the vote away from the lower class. So it's okay to make fun of "neds," "chavs," and "the working class" to a degree, but not to say the word "LOWER class". That would be unaristocratic of us!

Hah. But enough of that.

Tonight has been good. I cast my show and got £250. Hooray. The £250 was from a scholarship reception which I went to tonight, and the callbacks were tonight as well. I'm quite happy with my cast, as I took all the people who others didn't love as "actors" and I loved because they weren't actors. My first rehearsal will be Friday, so hopefully that goes well. I've got to figure out what I want them to do. Ah, and I get £100 pounds to spend on the show. Since I'm not exactly planning on set/props, I figure it'll go for cast meals/drinks. Hooray!

P.S. William, thank you for "The Castle". I had to struggle a bit to get through "The Trial", but I think "The Castle" may just be the best book I've ever read. Maybe--I'm only halfway through. But I did that in one sitting, in which I usually read about 20 pages.

Bad Day

Today has been my worst day so far. We had a bit of a party last night in our room, and this morning my keys, which had been on my bedside table, were gone. My chapstick was knocked under the bed, but the keys are nowhere to be found. I'm hopeful that someone picked them up by mistake and will return them--but probably not. So thats a headache.

Then, being the utter genius that I am, I figured that, until I get replacement keys, I could just prop the window to my room open a tiny bit, open it from the outside, and crawl in that way. While rigging the thing I put it up as high as it would go and discovered, to the vast amusement of my hand, that it doesn't lock in place at the top. Fwoosh.

One thumb later (it's still swolen, but entirely usable now), I headed off for my tutorials today.

Make that yesterday.

Somehow, I had imprinted firmly in my mind that my Monday tutorials were on Tuesday. I had it written down correctly in my planner, but even in the e-mail with work I sent my tutor last Friday I said "see you Tuesday!" I've e-mailed both tutors and, since tutorials happen through the week, I can attend another one, but that's not to say I didn't completely panic.

So this afternoon, which I thought I would spend in tutorials, I've spent icing my hand and reading "The Remains of the Day," a novel required for IR about a godawful horrible English butler whose life is slightly more interesting than bread mold on buttered toast, but has a worse aftertaste.

Dinner will hopefully be a non-disaster, and I can succeed in going to the one of a few talks on tonight and the philosophy society meeting without a one ton anvil falling from the sky onto my head, I will have reason to be thankful.

UPDATE: Alisdair took my keys! Thought they were his until he tried to open his room door. Caught. So I've got those back. And no anvils as of yet.

Fiction!

I finished my homework early this weekend, so ive had some time to read fiction!

I went to bed early-ish last night and for whatever god-forsaken reason got up at 5:30 this morning. I finished Murakami's "The Elephant Vanishes", went for a walk, and read a hundred pages into Kafka's "The Castle". I can see why people would call it and "The Trial" companion pieces, for the idea of the helpless individual in mutant beaurocracy.

In a strange way, I see Murakami, Kafka, and Keroac (I've been reading "On the Road" at a slow but steady pace) as very similar authors in some way--"sharing the table" as Cheolseung describes it. All three deal with the strangeness and utter inexplicability of life, albeit in very different ways. Keroac seems to have an approach that is almost "Fight Club" in its chaotic, destructive enjoyment of life, the complete submission and celebration of its arbitratiness. For Kafka, on the other hand, it's a terrifying thing, a weight of mindless beaurocratic, machine-like inhumanity that destroys his characters, as optimistic and full of fight as they try to be. Murakami is both the most complicated and simplest. He does not revel in the strangeness, nor does it destroy him. He rather has an uneasy truce with it, an uncomfortable comfort like a man sitting at a fireside reading a newspaper who realizes that his dog at his feet is actually a wolf--but a full wolf.

This weekend has been nice and laid back, and I'm looking forward to classes starting again.

Guess I haven't updated in a while...

But everyone's off watching the rugby right now (England v. France...awkward. The English contingent will be supporting England, the Scots will all support France, since they're playing against England, and the Scots support ANYONE who plays against England.) and I figured I might as well update.

Nothing of significance continues to occur. I really like my IR tutorial--extremely confident, dark-humored female Russian PhD student teaching it, very interesting. I am disgustingly on top of my work and feel like I should be doing more. I'm sure that won't last long.

We've had two days of auditions and seen lots of people who should be good to work with. Callbacks were supposed to be today but the e-mail failed to send so we waited for an hour while no one showed up and went back home. Ah well. There's a bonfire tonight after the rugby, so that should be good.

Robbie's away in Glasgow this weekend getting stuff sorted out, so I've got my room to myself. It's honestly a bit lonely, seeing how big the room is.

I've been making an effort to meet people from other halls, which has been going fairly well. Earlier this week I was quite discontented with the shallow relationships everyone has, but I'm getting over that (the shallowness, and the discontent...). So...

So far...

Lectures this week are really good, in general. We are actually talking psychology in Psychology, from human nature (lots of fun pictures of torture...) to, now, how we can quantify a persons personality. Hooray for the objectification of everything that is real and good!

IR is good as well, good lecturer this week (they change every week). We're mainly just talking about ideas of sovereignty, the nation-state, and globalization. This is especially interesting with tensions on all sides running high about Scottish independence--while its all very conceptual, it does feel like a turning point.

Philosophy is moving on to free will/determinism next week, which is great because I'm fed up with identity. More on that later, maybe. Suffice it to say I feel like everyone is talking about different things and formal logic is just miring it all down in a cess pool.

Tonight I have my tutorial for IR, which will hopefully be good, and get to audition people for the Freshers Play. I look forward to passing judgement from on high.

Until later,
Me.

Meh

Not a great day, but not bad. Good morning--didn't have class until 11, but still got up at 8 for breakfast and spent the rest of the time reading and talking on IM. Both classes today were excellent, getting in-depth in philosophy and a new lecture with something of a torture fetish in psychology (who starts their lecture with slides of abu grabe? Well, it got our attention.). Then a bad lunch and my first philosophy tutorial, with two other americans, three english guys, and a dutch grad student who is one of *those people* who gives very wordy explanations which don't answer your origional question. Great. Then I got really lost on the way to my psychology lab (all statistics/experimental methods at the moment, but a good lecturer, this time from Denmark) and arrived 20 minutes late. Now I'm off to dinner. Hooray food as a mood alterer!

Weekend

Just a couple things:

I got into "Tis a Pity She's a Whore". The Friar's part, which is what they had me read for the most--good fire and brimestone and " no, thou shalt not fuck thy sister"-ing. Should be fun.

Last night (parents shudder!) a group of us hopped the fence by the sea and roamed around the castle (first built circa 700AD, this incarnation is mostly from the 1500's though). So there's my risk taking behavior for a little bit. And really, if one is going to go places one shoudln't, a medieval castle is not a bad place to go. Who hasn't wanted to storm a castle in the dead of night? Just thought that was soooo cool that I needed to share that.

The weekend is about to end and next week should be full-on classes and tutorials (seminars, which we havent had before). I've got two monday (philosophy and a psychology lab), and IR on thursday. Then the end of this week is auditions for the Fresher's Play, and I'll get to see how it is to sit on the other end of an audition table. I expect it to be satisfyingly sadistic, or sadistically satisfying, or something.

Just another post

300 is far less impressive on a laptop screen. Disappointing. Friday night has been utterly calm.

Which is not a bad thing, seeing as I woke up with no voice. And did an a capella group audition with said lack of voice. Interesting....

Only had one class, so I woke up late-ish and just ate the apple and cheese I liberated from the cafeteria earlier this week. In the afternoon I took a nap, went to the audition, and fished in the library for a bit. Took out a psychology book on beauty/aestheics to see if I could get some experimental stuff on it. I've skimmed it, but I continue to be disgusted by anything psychological to do with creativity/beauty/anything really subjective. Also picked up a philosophy book on possible worlds, which looks to be interesting and also talks about identity, which we are currently talking about in terms not quite to my taste in class. If anyone has recommendations for reading that denies the existence of the human consciousness or reality of the world independent to it, or the idea of identity as a social construct, I would be greatful. Or just something interesting and not so mind-body oriented a definition.

So, bed. Ahhhhh.

Thursday

Thursday is the day I have all 3 classes, at 10, 11, and 12, and then lunch at 1, all on opposite sides of the town, so that's a bit stressful.

Whats been going on? I just got all my books for International Relations and Philosophy on Amazon for around £30 pounds ($60, probably half the price the three would have been in the store. Parents, moneda por favor. Just kidding.) The last couple days have been cool. Classes are beginning to get interesting after lots of introductory stuff. Two cool things yesterday: I met with the theater fund about being one of the directors for the "Fresher's Play", which is a few freshman directors and all freshman cast in 20-30 minute shows. We've got quite a long time to put them up, and unless a one act play miraculously lands in my lap, I'm gonna work with the cast to create an origional piece. Should be interesting, and hopefully not absolutely horrible.

Last night I went with my roomate and academic dad (a sort of odd tradition which basically just involves calling half the student body family) to the school debate, which was in "Lower Parliment Hall." So named because at one point under Mary Queen of Scots the parliment met there! AMAZING room with a practical throne, and the debating society is ancient so there are all sorts of interesting/fun rituals. The peace-keeper guy carries a sword. They serve port before the debates. When the audience approves, it says "here, here" and when it doesn't approve, it says "shame". As people are speaking. When voting on issues, when hands are raised in abstention, everyone says, "liberals!". In the end as the debaters file out everyone sings a song in Latin.

Ahhh being in this place....

It's interesting. European politics are far more liberal than US politics. But I'm finding this place very tradition-bound (both a good and bad thing) as well as LOTS of hardcore Christians. As an ancient priest college with strong theology and divinity programs I guess it makes sense, as well as the fact that all universities in the UK are government run, whereas in the US you'd have specific religious colleges where you'd get the nuts and then other schools for the real people. Ouch.

Tonight

Today is "Boozeday Tuesday" when pubs sell just about everything for £1, BUT I seem to be a bit feverish and am staying indoors, in bed, recovering. It makes me feel so damn smug. I've been sleeping, now I'm computering, then I'll sleep again. Lectures today continue to be good. The world continues to rotate. I auditioned for a show (Tis a Pity She's a Whore) and an a capella group today, and would have done two more tonight if I felt a bit better--but no matter, auditions go on all week. I figure I'm not going to commit to any more than 1 show and 1 group, at least at this point in the semester until I figure out how many hours a day I need to be working outside of classes. I read Murakami's "Slow Boat to China" and, while the story itself did not astound me, it touched me. Also another chapter of Kerouac's "On the Road," which I have been away from for too long. I think I may go read some more of it now actually...

I read my Spotlight, Mom. I read your letter, Cheolseung. Thank you.

It is very late and I should be in bed.

As per the title.

Had my first day of lectures...sort of. Mostly giving out ciriculums and the like. Woke up for breakfast for the second time ever (hooray!) and went out to lectures. I think I'm going to enjoy it...International Relations makes me feel like I'm in the US there are so many Americans taking it. Psychology the lecturer is just good fun. Philosophy we started with a question about two people switching minds and bodies. I think Art and William would be proud that I vehemently disagree that this can be done--that the sort of mind-body duality is complete rubbish and even if you transplanted a person's brain you are fundamentally CHANGING who that person is. So all great there.

Rushed back in time for lunch, then off to sign off for tutorials (basically seminars) and wander about, then back to read a little, drink a little, and go to the Mermaids Theater Society meeting, which sounds like it should be fun. There is a "fresher's play" which they are looking for actors and directors for, so I volunteered to direct. There are also a capella/play auditions through the week which I'll do. I'd also like to try shinty, which is a bit like Hockey, a bit like hitting things with sticks, a bit of drinking, and a lot of really funny posters at the sports day. I think theres a "give it a go" day on wednesday.

I'm getting a bit of the flavour (oooh fancy spelling!) of the British psyche. Lots of Christians. LOTS. I went down to the beach with a couple people from my hall and we were talking about what made us happy. It comes to one girl and she immediately said, "God." So we argued theology for about an hour, which was utterly exhausiting but I think good for me as a once-a-week/month/year binge thing, and then I went back to where the guys outside my dorm were discussing "posh people" and where people shop and where their accents are from and how bad their neighborhoods were (Glasgow does seem like it can get rough, but I have a hard time envisioning being scared of little white people with little knives).

This is such an experience. Things have settled down a bit and now the real learning should begin.