send you off on a big adventure, Xs lead you to the treasure

HI FROM TARTANVILLE
actually, no, HI FROM STARBUCKS
you read that right! STARBUCKS. I am trying really hard to not be an obnoxious American, but I can't help it if the only places to get wifi are Starbucks. There are a bunch of them around here. I don't really get it, coffee's not a big thing here, but there are a lot of Starbucks.

Basically, I don't have the ability to load websites until I register as a Strathclyde student, and I don't want to register as a student until I've actually figured out a course of action (am I taking classes? yes? no? I'm still not sure), this way I can avoid fixing any mistakes I might make. And, like, I have all week to do it. Somehow I have email, Skype, and AIM access from my flat. (get at me.)

I'm still getting settled, but my apartment is nice. It's small, very purple, but it's nice. I have three roommates (we all have our own rooms) but only two of them are here so far. One is from England and the other is from Ireland (& I'm an american). We're betting that our next roommate will be Scottish, if she ever shows up. It came with more stuff than I had anticipated, like a pile of cleaning supplies. However, there are some weird things about it - we have to turn on the hot water before we can use it. So, someone has to wake up at least 30 min ahead of whenever they want to take a not-freezing shower. We've been informed that in the winter we might need to do this an hour ahead of time. I  think the idea is that we will save energy (how green of us) and $$$ -- we pay for energy usage - by not heating the water all the time.

As for living in the city, it's going well. I'm decidedly not a "city person" - I like suburbia; it doesn't bother me to have to drive 20 minutes anywhere. It's kind of nice in it's own little boring way. (I went to university in a place that was possibly more boring than my hometown.) I live in a very nice part of the city, close to the major shopping streets. Apparently Glasgow has the best shopping in the UK outside of London. I still have some trouble crossing the street, though (which way am i supposed to look? OH GOD A CAR); usually I just wait until someone else shows up and move when they do. You walk on the opposite side of the street too (this is more complicated), and I have no idea what to do when I get to a staircase - which way do I go?

I live in a really gay part of the city - they weren't kidding about that! - my neighborhood (is it a neighborhood?) is covered in rainbow flags. (A sign on the hairdressers' next to me says "gays, straights, bisexuals, no problems here; it's bald people we have trouble with"). My street has a lot of indian restaurants and I am across the street from the BBC symphony hall. I'm not far away from campus, either, which is nice too.

This week I am meeting a lot of the other postgraduates for dinner/drinks/coffee. They have all been very friendly! I'm looking forward to meeting them.

I haven't gotten a chance to walk around and take pictures yet. I will do this soon, I promise! Here is a picture of my key to the laundry room. Yup.