Voila, I somehow managed to survive my first month here in University of Glasgow. Okay that was an understatement – I really, really enjoyed my first month here!
My daily routine in Glasgow:
- 09:00 – Rise and Shine, Breakfast
- 10:00 – Workout at the gym
- 11:30 – Make lunch
- 13:00 – Lectures / Seminars / Stay in the Language Resource Library
- 17:00 – Return home, make dinner
On Monday and Tuesday nights, I attend the gymnastics training session at 8 p.m.. On the other nights, I usually hang out with my friends either doing pre-drink sessions, movie night, or clubbing. Sometimes I discover a new society too by joining their meet-ups.
On weekends I tend to go out for a walk in the city center or go to the gym or not doing anything which I prefer the most.
As you can tell, my lifestyle here is very relax. It is very different from my lifestyle in USM because I always had to stay up late if I were to join any society. Here in Glasgow, I actually do join many extra-curricular activities such as Gymnastics Sports Club, Linguistics Society and Visiting Students Ambassador Program, but I still manage to get 8 hours of sleep everyday and I FREAKING LOVE IT.
However, similarly to USM (or worse) is that I have to walk 30 minutes to class. UPHILL. It is so freaking tiring. I thought leaving SOLLAT (my faculty) for a semester means that I do not have to hike up the place anymore but nope, it only means that I am going uphill in a windy cold climate.
“UK weather is so shitty” “British people always talk about the weather”
Yeah one month here and I haven’t passed one single day without talking about the weather with someone. Hah! It is basically a conversation starter.
“How ya doing?” “Good, lovely weather today!” “I know right, can’t wait for spring”
It is always rainy and windy and cold and apparently you really can have the rain, the snow, the hail, the wind and the sun all on the same day. Crazy, right?!
P/s: I enjoyed the view of snow tho. It made gym session so much more enjoyable! But the slippery road after the snow melted wasn’t fun. I almost slipped a couple of times.
Joining Gymnastics at the age of 21?!
Yes. This is truly out of my comfort zone. I had never done gymnastics before and I thought if starting at this age is going to be too late. Well, better late than never. Now that I paid 50 pounds to join gymnastics, I told myself that there is no quitting and I have to give my best shot overcoming my fears and body limits. And yay! I mastered front rolls, am working my way on back rolls and handstands, am stretching hard and 90% close to make a complete split, and also enjoying hitting my nose with my knee. Hah! It has been a lot of pain but it is very, very rewarding.
The peeps from Gymnastics are very friendly too. We had done potluck, Ceilidh and socials together and I am looking forward for more events!
Linguistics Society? Really?
I know, academic societies never sound fun. However, I really enjoyed meeting up with them! I first joined them on Burns Night (I first thought that it was a bonfire thing, but it is actually a Scottish festival where they celebrate the poetry of the Scottish poet, Robert Burns). We had haggis, bagpipe music and a mini-ceilidh! They organize weekly Coffee meet-up too. We usually talk about random stuff over coffee which I really enjoyed!
Visiting Students Ambassador Program!
Yup, I will be writing blog posts and Instagram posts for University of Glasgow Visiting Students Team promoting international students to come to Glasgow for student exchange. I will be taking over their Instagram too so stay tune! 😀
The Language Resource Library
That is probably one of my most favorite spots in Glasgow. It is a library that provides foreign language movies DVDs and textbooks and workbooks and storybooks. I often go there to watch a French movie using the DVD players and headphones provided. Yeap. Defnitely one of my top 3 places to be.
Drinking Culture in Glasgow
Here are some observation on the drinking culture here.
Basically, after dinner, we go to a friend’s place to have a “pre” session. It is called pre because it is what people do before they go to the clubs. So in pres, people bring their own booze and head over to a friend’s place to drink and chat and play games for 2 to 3 hours and only after they get slightly tipsy they head to the clubs. One of the reasons is to be cheapskate and not pay for the drinks at the club to get drunk. Another reason is to encourage those who said ‘oh no I am not going out’ to go out because they are already tipsy and so easy to make the wrong decision.
Personally I like to go to the club just to dance. It’s where you can dance like nobody is watching lol cuz average-looking meh. I never been to a club in Malaysia because it sounds very expensive but I think I want to go to a club once with my boyfriend to play the ‘making-out’ scene.
Going to the Gym and Cooking – I am nailing it!
I think I mentioned why I love going to the gym last post but I am gonna say it again – the hot shower is amazing and the steam room and sauna are relaxing and I feel great and refreshed every single time I got out from the gym. ❤
It is actually very expensive to eat at the restaurants here. A meal in a restaurant would cost me at least 8 pounds, approximately 10 pounds on average. However, groceries only costs me around 15 pounds weekly. I usually have salad and yogurt for breakfast, pasta or rice for lunch and dinner, sometimes toasts or fruits for late-night snacks. I honestly feel so healthy I should definitely continue keeping this habit once I get back to Malaysia. Here are some photos of the food that I have made!
So this basically sums up what I have been doing here in Glasgow. I haven’t made any travel plans thus far but I think I will be visiting Edinburgh next week.
I will probably share some programs that allow you to go abroad soon. Stay tuned x
The Dancing Wildfire 