The initial few days of my one year stay here in the UK have been hectic but pretty novel and adventurous. The city of Glasgow is one full of history, rich culture and being the second capital of Scotland after Edinburgh is an important financial and political hub, a shopping paradise and a famous tourist destination in the north of UK. The city buildings speak of its rich heritage with many of them being over many centuries old and the cobbled roads give a feel of living in an era long gone by. With the river Clyde flowing through this city of hills and the close proximity of Loch Lomond and the infamous stories of the Loch Ness monster based on it make Glasgow a must see city in the UK.
The Scots are very proud people and unlike their English neighbours are of a very kind and helpful nature and would stop in their tracks however busy they are to help a lost soul! Being one of the larger cities in Europe, the people here sure know how to dress in style! Well, the men are not in quilts all the time but do wear them at weddings and other important events. The city also boasts of a large population of students with the three major universities- University of Glasgow, Strathclyde University and the Caledonian spread across the city. The University of Glasgow is one of the oldest in the world, established by the pope then in 1451! The University also has a distinction of having more than a hundred buildings under its banner! Also, unlike any university in the world, the University of Glasgow has not one, but two unions dedicated to the welfare of its students!
Like the rest of the United Kingdom, the weather here at Glasgow is a common topic of conversation amongst the people. Being dark and gloomy at most times it can get a bit on the nerves, but when the sun peeps out occasionally, my is it a pretty sight! The main mode of commuting from residences to the city centre and to the east and west ends of the city is either by the city transport system-buses and the subway apart from the private vehicles which are in plenty as expected in a major city. The subway or underground system which is known as the SPT here in Glasgow is the third oldest network of subways in the world established in 1896! Taking the SPT at Buchanan Street at the heart of the city, students like me get down at the Hillhead station located at the extremely busy Byres Street, another shopping destination, also a financial district with many branches of banks like the Lloyds TSB, RBS and the recently nationalised Bradford and Bingly. It is about a 5-7 minute walk to the University gates from this subway.
The city is full of restaurants and pubs to cater its residents. A decent meal can be had here for up to 6-8 pounds which if converted to rupees may seem scary, but for people here is not much of a woe. Working adults are paid at a national minimum rate of six pounds an hour and are allowed work for up to 40 hours a week. Being an Indian in this city is not much of a novelty as there is a vast population of Indians and Pakistanis here and number of students from the sub-continent is also on the rise. I came to know from the locals here that after Indian/Pakistani independence in 1947, many people migrated here to Glasgow and set up small shops and businesses, which is pretty evident as the owners of many gift shops and pound stores are from the sub-continent! There are many departmental stores like Tesco, Somerfield, Iceland and Woolworth here which offer various discounts to customers and are have pretty good ready to eat stuff as well. There are so many of these stores in the city that it is a common joke here of a person giving directions to another telling him to go straight down the road until he reaches a Tesco, take a right until he reaches another Tesco, follow it to the next red light till he reaches another Tesco!
So far life here has been a breeze, but students especially post graduates, are known to take up a part time job to get some work experience and to get some extra cash for day to day expenses. I’ll be on a job searching spree from next week on now that I have almost settled here!
The Scots are very proud people and unlike their English neighbours are of a very kind and helpful nature and would stop in their tracks however busy they are to help a lost soul! Being one of the larger cities in Europe, the people here sure know how to dress in style! Well, the men are not in quilts all the time but do wear them at weddings and other important events. The city also boasts of a large population of students with the three major universities- University of Glasgow, Strathclyde University and the Caledonian spread across the city. The University of Glasgow is one of the oldest in the world, established by the pope then in 1451! The University also has a distinction of having more than a hundred buildings under its banner! Also, unlike any university in the world, the University of Glasgow has not one, but two unions dedicated to the welfare of its students!
Like the rest of the United Kingdom, the weather here at Glasgow is a common topic of conversation amongst the people. Being dark and gloomy at most times it can get a bit on the nerves, but when the sun peeps out occasionally, my is it a pretty sight! The main mode of commuting from residences to the city centre and to the east and west ends of the city is either by the city transport system-buses and the subway apart from the private vehicles which are in plenty as expected in a major city. The subway or underground system which is known as the SPT here in Glasgow is the third oldest network of subways in the world established in 1896! Taking the SPT at Buchanan Street at the heart of the city, students like me get down at the Hillhead station located at the extremely busy Byres Street, another shopping destination, also a financial district with many branches of banks like the Lloyds TSB, RBS and the recently nationalised Bradford and Bingly. It is about a 5-7 minute walk to the University gates from this subway.
The city is full of restaurants and pubs to cater its residents. A decent meal can be had here for up to 6-8 pounds which if converted to rupees may seem scary, but for people here is not much of a woe. Working adults are paid at a national minimum rate of six pounds an hour and are allowed work for up to 40 hours a week. Being an Indian in this city is not much of a novelty as there is a vast population of Indians and Pakistanis here and number of students from the sub-continent is also on the rise. I came to know from the locals here that after Indian/Pakistani independence in 1947, many people migrated here to Glasgow and set up small shops and businesses, which is pretty evident as the owners of many gift shops and pound stores are from the sub-continent! There are many departmental stores like Tesco, Somerfield, Iceland and Woolworth here which offer various discounts to customers and are have pretty good ready to eat stuff as well. There are so many of these stores in the city that it is a common joke here of a person giving directions to another telling him to go straight down the road until he reaches a Tesco, take a right until he reaches another Tesco, follow it to the next red light till he reaches another Tesco!
So far life here has been a breeze, but students especially post graduates, are known to take up a part time job to get some work experience and to get some extra cash for day to day expenses. I’ll be on a job searching spree from next week on now that I have almost settled here!
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