University of Glasgow!

Good day everyone! Jessie here.

Today was our first day of classes at Glasgow University. The campus is definitely different than Regis. The buildings are spread out along a street rather and all clumped together around a rectangle like at Regis. This makes the campus seem much bigger and the makes classes a little more difficult to find. The student body also looks bigger when you are walking around. Glasgow has about 15,000 more students, but also not all the people you see walking around campus are students. Many people walk University Ave to get around the west end of Glasgow. But one of the rules for studying abroad is to not compare, so I will stop doing that now.

Pearce Lodge with gate from original University

 

As different as University of Glasgow is from Regis, it is a beautiful university in its own right. The campus used to be located in the center of the city near the cathedral, but it moved to the west end only in the 1800s. The main building was built at this time, but made to look like it was built in the 1400s when the university was founded. In the above picture you can see Jacob and I and some of our new friends standing by the Pearce Lodge which has one of the two things that were moved with the university when it moved from the town center. This gate under which all of the old students and professors who attended Glasgow University before the 1800s and the Lion and Unicorn staircase.

As for classes, I think we finally have them figured out. I attended two classes today and Jacob only had one. The first I attended was entitled Texts and Cultures of the Bible. While interesting, this class had anti-Catholic tendencies. Because it would have to count for a Catholic Studies credit in order to help me any, I think I will have to drop it. The second class Jacob and I had together, and was called Scottish Enlightenment. This was part of the Principia Consortium, the international honors program. We both have high hopes for this class. We are certain to learn quite a bit about Scottish culture.

Still to come, Jacob has his bagpiping class and lessons which he is very much looking forward to. We also both just signed up for a Scottish Literature class focusing on identity writings post WWII. Finally, I am trying to get registered for an American history class that will focus on technological developments between 1830 and 1930. Both should be quite interesting and I am excited to start them. We will be sure to let you know how they go.

Thanks for reading! Cheers,

Jessie and Jacob Wilkerson