Friday's Post

Why, hello!

It's been awhile. It really has.

Week 5 (this past week) was busy. After the family dinner Sunday night with John's side of the family, I had an assignment to read Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway in two days and create my research essay for Woolf's novel I had read the previous week, The Waves. Finishing Mrs Dalloway was achieved, and the research essay is close to being finished. Much of the annoyance comes now as I close the essay, check for edits, and pour over the 22-page School of English handbook I printed out earlier. As I'm used to one college and one department within a college with individual professors setting guidelines for work, I've needed to adapt to a school within a University, and a handbook belonging to the School of English which creates essay guidelines, formatting quotations and structure, preventing plagiarism,  and maintaining the same style throughout. In between a few fun activities, that will be my job over the next few days. :)

Last night I attended another Libertarian Soceity Social. I know I've written before on the topic, but I'm not a libertarian. Members of my academic family are involved and each time invite me to come along. I tend to talk with friends and unless confident in a topic and secure in my views, avoid most libertarian discussions that get heated. Last night I mentioned to a guy at the social that I enjoyed the subject of Sociology. Wrong move to make...it was not greeted well...ha ha ha. Afterwards, I met up with a few American friends one of whom is in my Creative Writing workshop who saw me from across the pub, I joined them for the remainder of the evening.

I'm headed out with a friend tonight for another ceilidh! I'm quite pumped and will likely be bringing my camera, so perhaps some ceilidh photos will appear soon here:) It's been awhile since my last ceilidh, but it should be fun.

I'm looking forward to turning in my Virginia Woolf essay Monday, finishing the next of Woolf's novels, working on poetry for Creative Writing, and enjoying a less hectic week in the run-up to Raisin Weekend! I'll certainly cover Raisin Weekend as it and after it happens, but it's arguably the most exciting weekend in St. Andrews. This year it also falls on halloween. It involves lots of time spent with academic families and extended families, the locals leave town, a lot of police come in, and Raisin Monday involves a large foam fight in the center of St. Andrews. I've been advised to buy my can of foam this week.

Also, here's what I found to be an interesting New York Times article about Americans using distinctly British words. Nearly all of these I hear on a daily basis, and some I still am getting used to. Not included in the article, but the use of 'lass' for woman or young lady is quite different. I think it's more Scottish, an elderly Scottish man used it when referring to me on the street the other day.   
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/11/fashion/americans-are-barmy-over-britishisms.html?adxnnl=1&pagewanted=all&adxnnlx=1350666641-l0ui5e/bxg37yDZndzhorg

On a side note, seven weeks after I've arrived, today I bought the coveted bottle of rubbing alcohol I had been hoping to buy after arrival! At the pharmacy/drug store, I asked for 'surgical spirit,' I felt a bit like I was a surgeon requesting some type of alcohol or a poisonous chemical, but my request was successful!