"Weroff to the pub craw, aight??"

I've been here at St. Andrews for a few days now, and quite a bit has happened. We're in the midst of "Freshers Week," which is essentially Orientation, plus a relentless, week-long party. There has been a pub-crawl every night, but if that's not enough for you, individual halls host vodka bars and wine parties and different societies throw raves and their own pub crawls. They say it's a good way to meet new people. The "social lubricant" aspect of alcohol has been emphasized ad absurdum.

Like I said in my last post, I'm living in a largely freshmen dorm (making these vodka bars all the more bizarre; reslife (or their equivalent) seems to enjoy nothing more than saturating the freshmen class with hard alcohol, all in the name of camaraderie). I've met quite a few Americans, both transfers from American schools and those who have enrolled for the full 4 years. I've also met students from Germany, Poland, Holland, Slovakia, the Philippines, and Taiwan. Surprisingly I've met more students in the arts than the sciences, and history in particular is a popular major.

I've enjoyed the freshers activities so far. Last night I attended a Celtic dance lesson and today was a lesson in stage-fighting with the university theatre society. There were also poetry circles, organized by the Poetry and Cake Society, out in St. Mary's Quad, which is the center for the divinity school and a considerably beautiful quadrangle. I also attended the book discussion on The Reluctant Fundamentalist, but attendance was wanting, and the discussion a little lackluster. Outside of fresher activities, I've been spending a lot of time outside (the weather has been beautiful: windy, but clear and crisp), and even attempted to fly a kite on West Sands. I found a 99p kite at a children's store, and needless to say, it was a flop. But I had gone with a friend and we salvaged the situation by going on a long walk to enjoy the beach.

But while these activities are very diverting, I'm anxious to start the academic year. A regular schedule would be a welcome change of pace (and maybe classes will sober up these crazy freshers!). I think I've decided to take 2 philosophy classes and an upper-level history (the Vikings course; yikes!), and Russian will have to take a backseat. I talked to a representative from the Russian department, and she said that I would be placed in a 1000-level course, with little to no recourse for advancement. Perhaps I will join the Russian Society instead, so I can keep up my Russian without the commitment of a class. I'm chafing a little under the limitations of the academic system here; it just isn't feasible to take more than 3 classes, it seems. But ah, perhaps I speak too soon, and I will grow to like it. We'll see.

Until next time, "be well, do good work, and [please] keep in touch."