we were spoiled when it came to the weather we experienced our first two weeks here; it is no longer. where once was surprising sun and massive blue sky there are endless clouds and a perpetual mist.
the internationals took a trip to edinburgh a few weekends back. edinburgh is a tourist city at its heart. where glasgow is in all things a bustling metropolis of scottish life and scottish people, edinburgh is littered with kitsch shops and tourist pubs that are essentially off limits to any semblance of scottish reality. the castle is beautiful, as is the architecture, but after two days of the place I was ready to take the bus ‘home’ to glasgow, where I felt more a positive part of something truly foreign.
in the time since edinburgh, glasses have begun rolling up to full speed. I’ve filled my borrowed slr with thirty-six black and white pictures of glasgow’s urban landscape, which I will learn to develop tomorrow at the glasgow school of art. then, my first meeting of figurative sculpture. the jury is still out on whether or not we’ll be presented with a nude model the first class or the second. I’ve had my first private piping lesson, and am having a good time messing about on the practice chanter, learning scales and simple exercises to build my dexterity.
I miss home.
in describing the varying stages of culture shock I was told I’d be experiencing, this part would be called ‘homesickness.’ I am smack dab in the middle of a beautiful living city, but find myself spending long hours scraping facebook for small vestiges of home. it doesn’t help that I’ve not seen the sun for nine days.
surely it is only a matter of time until I recover from this indifference to my geographical location and start appreciating glasgow and scotland on a deeper level. if the first weeks here were constant shock and amusement at the differentness of things, then hopefully the next twelve are an exploration of the sameness of our cultures, or maybe, the uniqueness that the boisterous, scottish way of living applies itself to its location in the uk and in the world.
now let’s see if I can pull myself out of this.
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by cj krueger, posted on 09/29/2009 at 12:39 pm, filed under Uncategorized. comment at the permalink.
our international group has grown with the constant trickle of arrivals from around the globe. three of my permanent roommates have arrived, a girl from tokyo, a boy canadian and an aussie girl, making the isolation here seem less complete. they are all good people.
the orientation sessions are packed and dry, but we are suffering through them with wit and small shrugs.
the internationals I’ve fallen in with are a great group. we’re having what I can only assume is oft-repeated fun with our accents and the english language. there was a session of circle of death, american rules, and a heated game of catch phrase that was further hampered by the inclusion of our french friends and six liters of cider.
our exploration of glasgow continues in concentric circles, or maybe more like a spider’s web, as we work our way out from campus and city centre, discovering new connections and small paths that merge our understanding of the breathing city.
there was a ‘supermarket session’ this morning, in which we met with representatives of the different faculties and discussed our class choices.
an interesting opportunity presents itself by studying at the university of glasgow. the ancient school forges relationships with other prestigious glasgow schools, and thusly I am afforded an offer to study at both the glasgow school of art and the national piping centre.
ignoring the stereotypical ramifications of studying the bagpipe, I believe the course on the history of scottish song, as well as the tutorials on the instrument itself, are some of the best ways in which I may get a handle on scottish culture. the bagpipe is an instrument that in its essence breeds humour, and in all the ways that it is ridiculous is it also beautiful. no other sound is as evocative of this country than that bassy whine.
at the glasgow school of art, I plan to take a course in black and white photography. the camera, all film, paper, and chemical supplies are provided for me, allowing a stress-free exploration of composition and light.
in the supermarket session I met with a senior theatre professor who told me that the chances of my being seated in an upper-level playwriting course were slim. after a long conversation, though, I think I may have impressed upon him my drive and dedication to the art form and believe I may have warranted another look.
my photographic journeys continue in the gallery below, in which myself and my fellow internationals walk from glasgow campus to city centre.
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by cj krueger, posted on 09/08/2009 at 1:56 pm, filed under words. comment at the permalink.
glasgow is beautiful. it’s a rough jumble of sandstone facades, industrial in it’s reach for a shared aesthetic. the picture is my view of greater glasgow; the murano street student village is on a hill overlooking city centre. one of those spires in the distance is actually a converted church, now a restaurant, theatre and bar called “a play, a pie, a pint.” that tumble of buildings down the hill towards the river are apartments of some sort. the river clyde is visible at the bottom of the screen, and to reach campus it’s across the bridge and then about thirty minutes west.
the murano street student village is above maryhill road, a road with the reputation of being particularly stabby. a gaggle of international students: three french, one aussie and three americans, took a nice jaunt north on maryhill road in search of groceries, before being made aware of our mistake and turning right around to head towards city centre.
my suite is quiet. I don’t think I’ll be having any roommates until the scottish students arrive, which isn’t for another week. until then I’m content to spread my time between both bathrooms and both showers, as well as my spacious single room in which I currently sit.
the weather today was cold and rainy, about 16 celsius and eternally overcast. right around sunset there was a spectacular explosion of pink and orange above the city, but I was without my camera.
the flights were okay, and nobody lost my luggage. on the transatlantic flight I was between the window and a dutch man who spoke little english, so I mostly kept to myself and tried to sleep. I think the time change is going to sit well with my body, as I type this at one a.m. local time, I am just about ready for bed.
for dinner us gaggle waltzed to a restaurant that turned out to serve cajun food, while listening to a scottish funk band play standards and crash test dummies covers. afterwards we went to “the wee pub” and ostensibly met john brown, a former famous footballer who gave us drinks and welcomed us to glasgow with open arms.
in store for tomorrow is a shopping trip for a u.k. cell phone, a can opener, and an exploration of the quickest route to campus.
for the moment, I’m going to crash.
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by cj krueger, posted on 09/03/2009 at 5:40 pm, filed under Uncategorized. comment at the permalink.
in june, the summer seemed impossibly long; a marathon of beer drinking. my social calendar was full, and I spent my time divided between the river and the bar, putting the scottish thoughts out of my head until the last possible second.
I’d guess that’s now.
we had a nice little going away party for me, graciously attended by thirty of my closest friends. still, it didn’t really hit home that I was about to pack up and jump across the pond until I started moving things out of the house. holly guided me through seven or so boxes of detritus and tyler drew mustaches on the babies plastered on a huggie’s box full of books.
I’ve been gathering all the necessary bits of information to guide me on my journey; flight seems entirely bureaucratic. I’ve printed off a boarding pass and attempted to maintain a strong collection of identifying documents in order to thwart the already emotionally taxing ballet of airport security and customs.
what scares me are the interchanges, hopping off of a flight in chicago and making it to the transatlantic, avoiding the crowds in amsterdam so that I can jet to glasgow international and then, somehow, finding my way across an unfamiliar city with one hundred twenty pounds of luggage to my supposed rented room without offending too many locals with my brash accent and, I don’t know, wrong color shirt or something.
I’ll be updating this blog as much as I can, which can hopefully amount to one post every two days, or some ratio equally verbose. I intend to take a lot of pictures.
if I am inspired in glasgow, which I sincerely hope to be, I’ll be updating poetry and prose on allourfailures. watch my flickr and twitter with similar tenacity. the phone number listed under the contacts dropdown is my google voice account. I encourage you to leave me encouraging voicemails while I am abroad. I’ve got a skype, too: “cjkrueger.”
if I develop any other internet presences, I will be sure to let you know about them. drop me a line on facebook. email me. in this century, the internet is a link across the ocean, make good use of it, or not, whatever.
if possible, I intend to post immediately about my transatlantic journey on the 3rd. wish me luck.
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by cj krueger, posted on 08/30/2009 at 7:49 pm, filed under words and tagged nerves, nostalgia, summer. comment at the permalink.
