dear all,
ok so this is a little overdue, considering this is my fourth day here, but i've hardly had time to think let alone blog, so here goes...
i am here in chilly glasgow. or should i say icy glasgow? no snow, but there is frost everywhere. its kind of nice during the day, when the sun is out and every breath is fresh and sharp but when darkness falls, at 3:30pm(!!!!!) its kind of like how i imagine having your soul physically sucked out of you would feel. it is lovely though, everyone looks like they are straight out of a romantic painting, with this kind of soft dreamy light and old huddling buildings, all misty and grey.
when i landed i stowed my pack in a locker and went for a wander. bought a bright orange jumper and black flowery headpiece from topshop. stumbled accross GoMA, a beautiful sandstone building in the middle of the city, kind of like a miny temple of Athena. its an art gallery, but the show wasn't particularly interesting. it was a reveiw of modernist art, which while beautiful was a little disappointing. there is a kind of universiality, or 'internationalism' (those who did art with me in highschool will know what i mean) to abstract modernist art, and after traveling half way around the world i was hoping to see something a little different.
however, there was a little gem beneath the gallery space- a library! now officially my favourity place in glasgow. there is a sweet little cafe too, and free internet. whilst taking advantage of my marvelous luck, a boy approached me and told me i looked just like a girl he knew in switzerland, called tabier. turns out he lives just near glasgow school of art, and offered to let me stay until i moved into dorms. i was told people in glasgow were friendly, but this was way beyond my expectations. his name is Omair, and he has been my guide these last few days. its a very good arrangement, although it has resulted in very little sleep being had by either party. there are only two disadvantages- he is constantly kissing me and telling me he wants to eat me. lovely boy aside from that, with some very good stories.
we were going to eat out but i almost passed out at the table. i hadn't managed to sleep for the 24 hours in transit, and luke stayed over the night before i left, so i was a wee bit run down. slept, finally. next day we went shopping, as everything i brought to keep me warm is woefully inadequate. surprisingly, there was a absence of warm coats and jackets. its like people don't feel the cold at all. on new years eve it was so cold i thought my face was going to falloff, and i saw girls tottering round on the street in tiny dresses as though it were a balmy summer eve. anyhow, eventually i found one, a huge north-shore-grandma jacket, but its so cosy!
that night omair and i had been planning on going to edinburgh for 'the bells', as there were to be some street performances and excellent parties, but while i had slept, it wasn't nearly enough and come 3pm, as the non-existant sun set, i was set to pass out again. so we went to omairs place and i napped till about 11pm. then we ventured forth. i thought it was cold before, but this was ridiculous. i don't know how civilisations flourished in this weather. only about 20ft down the road we ran into some friends of omair's- Alex, Benedict and Valentine, all french. it was about ten to twelve by this point, and so we started hurrying towards george square where there was a big street party and fireworks. ten minutes later we heard them. the fireworks in glasgow were a 15yr old boy to sydney's porn star. unspectacular and over before you realised what was happening. but running towards them warmed us up, and after getting a bit tipsy on pear cider we wandered into a gay bar. the bouncer actually warned us that it was a gay bar as we entered, which was a bit odd. as the youngest i wasn't checked for id. started to really wake up as well, which i suppose is the up side of jet lag. got drunk on vodka and rockstar, which is kinda like V but with a better name. it was a strange set at the bar, with alot of middle age men in kilts. bah this is such a long story... to cut it short, we went to a party afterwards, i got smashed on cherry beer and alex's champagne, we made out and i discovered how french kissing got its name, found that glasgownians are the friendliest people i've ever encountered and and stumbled home round 8am...
right now its 3:30 on friday the 2nd and i'm watching a lovely sunset, which is strange as there is scarcely enough sun to have a sunset. there is alot more i have to tell but i'm fed up with typing and need a nap... all i want to do is curl up in a doona, or duvet as they call it here. i love you all and miss you terribly, and hope you all had a marvelous new year!
talk soon,
annika x
ps thankyou to everyone who came to my picnic, it was brilliant to see you all one last time and made me feel very lucky to have such wonderful friends who are as much in love with alcoholism as i am!
