First Full week back…

So, I’ve finished my first full week back in Scotland and I’m getting back into the swing of things. My sleep pattern is back to normal…I’m getting to all my classes…and get used to the weather again. All in all, it’s been a busy week but a good week.

The weather this week has been unbelievable. Early on in the week it was the normal rainy and windy weather I have come to know as the daily norm. However, by Wednesday it was beautiful. Wednesday we had a full day of sun and it was really mild…probably about 10 degrees. It was soooooooo nice. Sadly enough, overnight, the nice weather was replaced with driving rain and howling wind. The wind was so bad that during my Physical Education session on Thursday I swore the building was going to fall down. There gusts of upwards of 90 mph! That’s insane wind. Friday was nothing but driving rain…and the major concern was flooding. The weekend is supposed to call for much of the same.

Class this week was ok. We had some really fun sessions and workshops. We started out option workshops and I selected to take Health. Most of our topics are pretty touchy issues like bullying, drugs, and such. It was really quite interesting and stuff that imagine will be helpful later on. We also had Phys Ed, and once again I discovered that I can’t play nicely with others. We were playing one game that was a modification of basketball where I jumped up to swat the ball away and in the process elbowed a classmate in the stomach and winded her. Ooops. This seems to be the way of things whenever I go off to the gym to play games. Oh well. Check out my attire for PE class. (Yes…that is Cow Spandex!)

All the boys in my flat are back. My resentment of the guys in the secondary stream is growing on a weekly basis, mainly because they never seem to come to school. They get time off, breaks, days off, and all the rest. Needless to say, they go out and party mid-week, while I get to sit in my flat and work away at readings or assignments. Not that I’d necessarily join them, but I keep finding that the quantity of work that I need to put in is just far greater than what they need to put in. I’m sure they work hard, but it sure doesn’t look that way.

The hockey resumed last week and was I happy to get back on the ice. I got a new pair of Steven’s pants for Christmas (thank you mom and dad) and it was a relief. My old pants had developed a huge gaping hole in the crotch, so a new pair was very much needed. However, when I returned to the ice I was treated to perhaps two of the sloppiest displays of hockey I have ever seen. Saturday in Fife, and then Sunday at the pro game in Edinburgh were both sloppy affairs. Saturday took ages to play and I actually had my first fights to break up (my first 2 of the season…in January?!) but they were hardly fights, mostly just rolling around on the ice. Sunday was a little better, but not by much. Edinburgh didn’t play very well, and got beat handily. However, the nice part was that we were done early, so I got to catch the earlier bus. I was home by 10pm…which ½ an hour earlier than usual. Nice deal! This weekend will a similar schedule, except I’m in Edinburgh both nights (Sat. for the pro game vs. Sheffield…and Sun for the SNL). I’m looking forward to it.

Otherwise, life in Scotland is good. It’ll definitely be a busy 5 months. Our Graduation ceremony is tentatively slated for the 14th of June…so that’s almost 5 full months from today…a scary thought…and there’s still lots to do.

I hope all is well back in Canada, and don’t be shy to drop me a line, or better yet come and visit!

That’s all from Scotland for now.

Bruce

The main building of our campus (Jordanhill) of the University of Strathclyde.