Getting to know Glasgow

Having been here for a few weeks now I have had enough time to make some general observations on the people and city of Glasgow. The city of Glasgow has a slogan, “People make Glasgow,” which seems cheesy and sort of generic as for any city could say this. My experience is that people really do make Glasgow though, in the sense that since my time here I honestly have not had one negative experience with the locals. Everyone is incredibly kind and polite, often taking an interest in my studies at Uni and where I myself come from. People are very willing to go out of their way to befriend and help you upon being approached. Interestingly enough I have heard from Scottish friends I have made here in Glasgow that people in the highlands to the North are a bit raunchier and less delicate (for lack of better words) with how they interact with people. Perhaps this is just a regional difference between groups/communities within Scotland.

The city slogan can be seen everywhere, office buildings and all.

 Getting around Glasgow can be both adrenaline pumping and frustrating. Walking on the sidewalk can be challenging at times. Unlike in the US where there is a clear system of “sticking to the right” when going places, here there is no such thing. It’s normal for people to walk wherever and weave through each other rather than pass by in an organized fashion. To add, driving in Scotland is quite scary- if you’re the pedestrian. Unlike the US where the pedestrian has a lot of power and drivers are expected to respect the presence of those crossing the road, it’s quite the opposite here. It is upon you to look out and avoid cars because drivers don’t seem real fond of the idea of slowing down or letting you pass through first. This is something I have quickly learned my short time here. Most people use the subway to get around the city fast and cheap, but buses and taxis are also fairly common.

I think it can be easy (as I first did this when coming here) to think that surely that overall food variety must be completely different in Scotland than what we are accustomed to in America. Surprisingly it is not. Okay, sure you have your local favorites such as Haggis, Blood Sausage, Black Pudding, or even Fish n’ Chips. Beyond this everything else you would think of back home food wise, that being Chinese, Italian, Burgers joints, etc. are quite prevalent and common here. To expand on this Scotland has some of the same establishments as we do such as McDonalds, Subway, Burger King, Starbucks, and Krispy Crème Donuts. Also, in case you were wondering, yes the Big Mac and Whopper taste virtually the same out here as they would in the states (I had to try to compare). Despite these similarities there is a place called Greggs, which appears to have the same presence per capita as Starbucks in America but is unique to the UK. Greggs can literally be found around every corner, specializing in sandwiches, wraps, and pastries.

Here is the Greggs on Byres Road, I pass this one everyday on my walk to campus.

All around town you can find awe and amazement within the architecture of buildings. One thing that stood out to me was how most common neighborhoods you find are made up of old tenement buildings. Tenements are typically known for not being real nice (maybe this is the case on the interior) but as for the exterior the stonework on some of these structures gives a real unique vintage feel. Here is what I mean.