At the start of this week, I hit Day 20. Twenty incredible
days in this country – most of which have passed without a second thought. I’ve
learned a lot of things about this city, its people and its climate, how to make
fire and how to fish (wait…?) and have already began to alter my behavior for
day-to-day survival.
Lessons Learned:
- Never leave the house without an umbrella,
regardless of the forecast
- Wear layers… 80% of the time I’ll overdress
because I can handle the colder weather here better than the locals (generally)
- Take said layers off as needed to stay cool
- CARS HAVE THE RIGHT OF WAY AT ALL TIMES. They
will not slow down at intersections for you to cross. BE PATIENT
- When patience isn’t the personality trait of the
day… look both ways, TWICE, and run across the street.
Other than the initial adjustment, it was safe to say that I
didn’t suffer too much of a culture shock having just moved country.
Glaswegians are very similar to Canadians, they apologize when you’re the one
actually at fault, they’re kind, and on more than one occasion someone has gone
out of their way to ask me if I’m lost.
The shock I wasn’t prepared for was just how different
university is the second time, and not the academic side. This shock is associated
with what takes the form of an undergraduate first year (“freshers”) hoard…. A
hoard that, on average, is ten years younger than you… and there are SO. MANY.
OF. THEM. Unfortunately, I had been confident on my endeavor to take in the
campus club fair and wasn’t dismayed by the thought of said hoard… until it was
too late. As if being a mature student wasn’t punishment enough*, by
the time I had freed myself from the masses I had aged at least 5 years. I was
overheating in my too many layers (refer to lessons learned above), I was
overwhelmed, and I couldn’t stop thinking about why anyone in their right mind
would let hundreds of 17 year olds crowd into an atrium at the same time. I
broke free and sought the nearest (off-campus) coffee shop for a caffeine hit –
anything to calm my geriatric nerves. Having had enough excitement for one day, I made my way home, but not without
my student discount coupons, my newly acquired plastic shot glass, or my walker... my free bag of marshmallows (random right?)
The fun wasn’t over yet though. In my mad rush to escape
with my sanity intact, I overlooked the sports fayre that was taking place in
the university sports center. Originally, this was high on my to-do list
because I had recently strategized the best way to make new friends (the
difficulty of making friends is positively correlated with your age as it turns
out), and sports are key!
My earlier experience had left me perturbed, but
luckily, my flatmate was showcasing the diving club, and I told her that I
would stop by to say hi when I attended. Early the next day, after a heavy dose
of caffeine, I set out for the sports fayre and was pleasantly surprised. As it
turns out, sporting activities aren’t nearly as popular or intriguing as
coupons for free food and alcohol, contests, and various other giveaways, among
the freshers. I navigated the gymnasiums flawlessly, with no risk of rising
blood pressure or heart palpitations. I signed up for a number of different sports
emailing lists, but my heart was set on getting back into field hockey. With no
ice sheets or pucks in sight, it only seemed natural to pick up the sport I
left behind when I made my move to Saskatoon in 2008.
My journey of… enlightenment, was well worth the inner
turmoil –– I became a member of the MSA and have already met some fantastic
postgraduates in their late twenties, and I have found my groove on the hockey
pitch once again. And although I’m reminded of the fact that I’m getting older on
an almost continuous basis around these hockey girls, they are an amazing group
of women, and I can’t imagine playing this sport, or clubbing for the first
time in YEARS (more to follow on this adventure), with anyone else.
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