Hey everyone!

Sorry it's taken me so long to write on this thing. These last couple of weeks were really rough. I had those two 5,000 word essays due on the same day and Raisin weekend. Needless to say life has been pretty stressful, though my stress level has gone down a bit, but now I'm now trying to deal with the whole buying Christmas presents for people while also trying to have enough money to travel (which has been re-raising my stress level. I have plans to go to Paris for Christmas, and back to Edinburgh and North Scotland for New Years and then to Amsterdam with my friends after exams and from Amsterdam to London where I'll meet my parents and travel a bit with them. Needles to stay the whole planning thing is a little stressful especially in light of the current economy... arggg.

This weekend before this was Raisin weekend here in St. Andrews which was so much fun. Basically when your a first year or a study abroad student at St. Andrews you get adopted by a 3rd or 4th year student into an academic family and those 3rd/4th year parents become your academic family. I was adopted by my academic Father (Jai) and his Academic Wife (Autumn) and I have two other sisters Brynn and Katrina. Its called raisin weekend because you use to give your academic father a pound of raisins as a give but now people are more likely to give wine (we gave our academic Dad some DVD's). On the Sunday of Raisin weekend Mums throw tea parties for their kids (though usually very little tea is drank, usually in the exchange of booze) and then later on in the night fathers throw parties too (also usually with more booze). On Monday morning of Raisin weekend Mums dress you up in costumes and Dads give your your raisin receipts and then you go to the quad for a huge foam fight. Don't worry Mom (my real biological mother) I didn't have as many drinks as I would have liked because unfortunately I had to do my papers the next day. We had a party at my Dads house on Sunday night and then Monday morning we all went back to his flat and he and my Mum dressed Katrina, Brynn and I as the three musketeers and we headed off to the foam fight with six VERY full cans of shaving foam between us. It was actually really interesting just from the perspective of being an American who is not quite 21. The school acknowledges that there will be drinking and sets up special measures and posts wardens at the front of halls with sandwiches and blankets and medical help for those who might be too drunk. Needless to say students are much better taken care of then they are on drinking holidays then in America, where lets be honest students drink anyways. These pictures I have posted will better explain the carnage then I have been able to. Needless to say there is still spots of shaving foam all over St. Andrews nearly a week later and my hair hasn't quite looked right since last monday....

Brynn and I after the foam fight

Valarie and I after the foam fight... 

"Just dont get any on us"

(why my hair still doesnt look the same)

Me full of FOAM!

ME feeling a little rough after the foam fight

foam fight in the quad

Foam fight in the quad

Other costumes

The three musketeers before the foam fight with our academic dad.

The three musketeers before the foam fight with our mum. 

The three musketeers (I as always am the most flamboyant)

A raisin party 

Me and my sisters (& above with my dad)

So today was St. Andrews day in Scotland. It was exciting. I got to officially try haggis which I actually really like and would eat like once a week if I could. There was also a carnival in town which was really cute and for the first time ever I got to try roasted chestnuts (YEAAA like the Christmas song!!!). The roasted chestnuts where AMAZING, they were sweet and salty and warm which was nice since there is like a permanent frost here now that looks like snow but isn't. I also got to watch as they lit the town Christmas lights up which was super cute.

Christmas lights in town

more Christmas lights

FROST that looks like snow

Hope all is well at home! Promise my posts will become more frequent again now that I do not have as much to do!

xoxo
Glatty

My essays are due in 26 hours.

I have only slept 9 hours in the last three days (aka 72 hrs), I am delirious and more the slightly irritable. I have come to the conclusion that normal people really don't care about how the European Union promotes democracy through economic incentives and that Globalisation is inherently patriarchal and uneven.

Attention Mom, Dad, Rachel, Abbey & Elizabeth (who are privy to my previous plans of intended career choice if I fail out of school and thus LIFE), Family & Friends:
In my state current state of delusion, I have decided that if I fail out of school I'm moving to France and learning how to make cheese.

Yeahh.... I've been awake and alone working on my essays for far to long.

I miss home and you guys so much right now.

xoxo
Glatty

Ok So I LIED...

But I just have to say this:
Tonight I am pulling an all nighter to get my essay done and I have about 2000 words to go, and the fire alarm in my hall has already gone off TWICE. And keep in mind It's about 30 degrees Fahrenheit, -1 degree Celsius outside.

IF the fire alarm goes off again, I am catching the next flight back to San Francisco.

Really Sad but...

No more blogging until I'm done with my essays. If you pray please pray for me and my essays.... and for those of you who don't just send your karma my way. I'm willing to take whatever you got in terms of positive energy. I'm not picky.

I need a miracle.

xoxo
Glatty

Bringing the Flava to you everyday.......

There are days where I think that I could stay over in Europe for the rest of my life. And then there are days where I really miss San Francisco. But today, I love it here. I am currently in the process of planning trips to Amsterdam (Yea Mom, be worried. Very worried. Haha. JOKING), Paris, Berlin and Spain with my friends and I realise that Europe is a lot like San Francisco (just more spread out). One of the things that I love most about San Francisco is that you can start off in China Town and take 3 steps and be in North Beach (the Italian neighbourhood). That's what I like about Europe. I could get up one morning and decided that I want to have lunch in Italy and fly to Italy and then catch a flight to Paris and have dinner. I can experience two extremely different cultures in the period of 24 hours. Something that I think America lacks (with the exception of the big cities). Now all I have to do is find a European boy, fall in love and get married and never come back (joking MOM).


xoxo
Glatty


Food for thought: Part of me thought that going to the UK would feel different because everything is older here. The buildings, the family histories/names, the art. But it's really not. When I came to Europe as a visitor, everything felt so old compared to back home. But that's the thing, I was just a visitor. After calling Scotland my home for a bit now I realise that the age of this place is irrelevant. Buildings that are older then my country are less impressive now. Am I disillusioned? Is it a bad thing? I don't really think so. I've come to the conclusion that age is irrelevant. Just because something is old doesn't make it interesting, and just because a country is ancient doesn't mean that they don't have just as many problems as other younger countries (However, lets be honest the UK still has it more together then the US).

the things we lose have a way of coming back to us in the end....If not always in the way we expect.

Today someone returned the key that I lost to New Hall saving me 60 pounds in fines for having my door re-keyed. As well a restoring my faith in the human race.

To whoever returned my key, thank you.

xoxo
Glatty

I am obsessed with this song....

Food For thought:
I LOVE THIS SONG....


It's by Thomas Newman who is probably my favorite composer (in terms of for movies). The song is called Dead Already and its in the American Beauty movie. The video is kind of lame but it plays the song.....

Just a little toon-age to get by because today my goal is to write 2000 words (highly unlikely I know) but as Emerson says, "hitch your wagon to a star"....

xoxo
Glatty