But here you go!
(These are especially for any of you currently in the frozen tundra that I hear NE NY has become)
The "mansions" (I've heard them referred to as that and I don't know if its true or not) on the hill overlooking Kelvingrove Park.
The side path that leads to the Stairs of Doom (really horribly difficult stairs leading to campus). And thats the Kelvingrove Museum in the background on the left there. Scary part about this picture is its only about... 4:10 or so, and the sun is clearly already setting. And its only going to get worse!
Close up of Kelvingrove Museum again
This is the path through Kelvingrove Park. Now just to make this clear - as I had no idea before I got here - there is an actual road that goes through Kelvingrove Park, and it has sidewalks on either side. Very lovely during the day but I've been told to avoid it at night (and I think I shall). Best way to get to school if you live in Cairncross House, or Kelvinhaugh St/Gate.
See! Its still fall here! We have leaves
A tiny bit of the park
Can't decide if this is pretty, or spooky.
More houses, right past the park
Kelvingrove Museum again. Sorry, but its just so photogenic! Get ready (theres more of it)
Another view of the "mansions". And the river, too
Ok so thats it for today (as far as fall pictures).
Lets see what I can come up with for a little bit of an update. Well I had my first test today. For History of Art. It was a mess :( I mean, I knew ahead of time that it was going to be pretty bad but... *sigh* Well let me explain a little about this test. It was our "Visual Test". Which means that you have to know various things (Title, Artist, Date, Historical/Artistic Significance, Medium, and more) about any of the paintings that have been mentioned in lectures. But its so difficult to study for. Now, its quite possible that this is me being too used to the American Education system, but... half the time, they only have a picture of a painting on the powerpoint slide, and not always the title, so its like... how do I study when its just a picture? Or there are other random pictures in there too, do those count? Urgh. I just think I'm not cut out for A) History of Art and B) this whole "learning on your own" thing. Anyway, the test is that they give you 5 paintings (or sculptures, whatever), and you have to answer those questions about them. Easy peasy... yeah. Anywho, I take comfort in the fact that I think I maybe at least got half of the questions right (hopefully more).
Today I also took a trip down to the Residential Services office, where they apparently do not take payments. This has been a really difficult thing about being here. They (meaning, the school, emails, people at the Reception desk at Cairncross, anyone) haven't mentioned a single thing about paying for accommodations... but obviously it must be done. So I've been trying to figure out how to pay it basically since I got here. You'd think they'd be a little more proactive about getting their money, but no, I had to track THEM down. So if anyone in the future is trying to figure out how to pay for their Glasgow accommodations, its done through MyCampus. And if you have a UK bank account, you can do it through direct debit, but if you don't, just click on My Finances. Et voila! But they won't tell you about it. You just kinda have to ... do it on your own.
Tomorrow I get to register for classes for Spring semester at home. Actually a little bit excited about this, because I'll be able to take classes that are more "my" classes... meaning that they actually count towards my major, and I'll know how to do well in them. Its also exciting because my registration "appointment" is November 2nd at 9am, but because of the time difference, I do it at 1pm. Yay! For anyone who may be abroad trying to figure out how to manage this, I had to make contact with my regular advisor. Took me forever, but I did it through email. My advisor had me email her the list of classes that I wanted/needed to take, and then she emailed back her advisor number. Then you just find out when you can register, and WHAM! Just make sure you're aware of when registration and advisement is at your home university, especially because in the UK (or at least at Glasgow), they register for the first and second semesters at the same time, so there aren't even any brightly colored flyers all over saying "Time to register!!!" to remind you to do it back home.
Classes-wise, I have a couple of essays that are going to be due, but thankfully, they are staggered. One is due on the 9th, one on the 18th, and one on December 1st. Going to attempt to not put them off like I usually would (sorry, but its true), partially because students here apparently started theirs in September or early October, and also because I don't have a lot of free time on the weekends in November.
This Saturday is our second (and also last) Archaeology field trip. Looking forward to it but seriously hoping it doesn't pour like it did last time. And then after we get back, we're probably going to be going to some fireworks for Guy Fawkes Night (Bonfire Night, or various other names that I've heard). I'm looking forward to that because its something unique (as far as I know) to the UK.
Anyway, thats it for now. I guess I had a little bit more to update about then I thought! Oh well, hope you enjoyed the pictures!!
(Btw, theres still time to vote in my poll! Where do you think I'm going to next weekend??)
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