I've officially been in scotland now for 3 days. It's quite a nice city, still adjusting. still don't understand everything the scottish say but I'm getting by. That includes the sneaking suspicion that my Master's program doesn't actually exist.
Since I came here earlier than originally expected much of the information about my progra was sent to the states after I arrived overseas, so yesterday I began the search for this information. I started in the international and postgraduate office and they sent me to the television, film, and theater department. I head down the hill to one end of the campus, but find the television/film/theater faculty don't know about my program. The woman i speak with sends me to the arts faculty and believes its actually in the french department. I arrive there, receive my information, sign up for an advising session, then realize that the advisor i was intrusted to sign up with is not the one the registrar assigned me. I contact the one assigned to me and she refuses to claim me so overall i'm feeling like i'm here on one big joke. However, I've paid for my room and i'll just drink wine (from "the wine cellar" across the street) until they drag me away and then i'll demand they put me in another pogram.
Later that day, I headed up for a "social" by the international office and society. Free drinks, free food, and scottish highland dances. Afterwards, I headed to "the wee bar" with two Americans doing their whole undergrad here and we met and "exchanged" numbers with a 50 or so old scotsman, former rugger, and expert on kansas city night life (no shit!). A very friendly guy who says he worked on some of IBM's biggest deals, may have lots of illegitimate children all through out America, and helped me with my coat as he muttered "let me undress you." overall a lovely combination of skeezy and charm.
Today, I spent a good 30-45 minutes today looking for the specific part of the registry that deals with fees and money, which is not the actual fees enquires in the west registry but in the normal enquires in the east registry. Yes, there are two. Let's add to this mess of making my loans go through and finding my advisor that although very picturesque the university is one of the oldest (apparently older than oxford or cambridge since they weren't real universities in the beinging but monastories that taught men) and its age is apparent witht he towers, the cloisters, and the robing room. This makes finding ANYTHING rather difficult since nothing is properly marked and most the doors are old and wooden with no handles.
That's about all i feel like writing today. perhaps there will be more, or perhaps not, i can be lazy, but if there's another one it'll probably be a long post complaining about a lack of skype and other fun things that have been blocked.
