Glasgow saga: 4 years, a parchment, the surprisingly non-at-all-angry night bus driver, and discovery of Kofola

So, it is over. 4 years have flew by, and all that remains is one piece of parchment telling me that I am, indeed, a graduate of University of Glasgow. What a wild ride it has been.

I still remember the first moments of me arriving to Glasgow, after travelling by bus from Czechia and through London for more than a day. Sleep-deprived and hungry, I have had my first interaction with a Scottish bus driver, and could not understand a word of what he said – mostly because it was night, and my mind was still struggling to comprehend that yes, I am currently standing in a bus in Glasgow, and that yes, I am indeed going to spend the majority of next 4 years here. Fortunately, the trip to Murano street student dormitories was uneventful, and I was awestruck by the helpfulness of the staff. Collapsing onto my bed I was thinking about all the different challenges ahead of me. New friends, different culture, uncertainty of my decision, all racing through my mind.

Looking at my worries and fears in retrospective, I can’t help but wonder why did I even had them. Just during the first year, I have managed to even meet a few Czechs and Slovaks, and slowly but surely integrated myself into the ‘moderate‘ part of University culture. As they say, University is what you make it, and there is a bit of everything for every kind of person. I have discovered my calling for societies in the second year, and it has stayed with me even throughout the harder 3rd and 4th years. There is certainly a lot that came out of societies, few friends there and there, and a lot of fun. You’ll never discover what you truly like unless you join a society and actually start talking to people … and discovering that perhaps you might have a knack for things you never knew you might had. I have never thought that I would have to come to a point when I would have to step out to save a society but alas – that is exactly what happened at the end of my 3rd year with the Entrepreneurship Society. I did not think I would work well with larger teams – but again, I was mistaken as I was a part of Adam Smith Economic Society board, and later even Consulting Society board. And each gave me a slightly different view on how University and its students work, and what makes them ‘tick’.

What I also like to think about is the different places I was living in throughout the studies, as I have changed flat every year. Sure, it does sound stressing (and it was, to an extent), but it also allows you to experience different parts of the city. The first year, it was Murano street student accommodation, situated right next to Firhill. Brisk walk everyday with University just 20 minutes away, it seemed to be quite ideal. Then the second year came around with flat on Raeberry Street, which is situated close to Firhill as well. It was right there that I have discovered the beauty of river Kelvin, and actually started to discover the Kelvin walkway and Kelvingrove park. The third year was quite an abrupt change, with me living in Govanhill. This time, University was still in somehow sensible walking radius (a bit over an hour and half on foot), but it was mostly a bus commute. I have even taken few on-foot trips, an have discovered large parts of Glasgow on the way. Also, surprisingly, I have discovered that Govanhill has a huge Slovak and Czech community, and the only place where you can get Czech goods (Kofola!) is on Allison street in Govanhill. I might have never found out about a prospect of getting a taste of home without leaving West End. It was also a year when I have discovered that student life is truly a part of University, as living quite far away robs you of a huge chunk of it. And now we come to 4th year, and Highburgh road flat. When I saw it for the first time, I could not believe my eyes – such a beautiful old building, and as I have recently found out, build around 1885! And with just few minutes walk from the University campus, it was a change that was long overdue.

And now, I am still staying in that flat, and will for the foreseeable future. I have managed to attain a graduate position in Skyscanner (flight search engine) in their Glasgow offices, for which I am quite excited. It seems that after those four years spent living and studying in Glasgow, it has grown on me, and I do enjoy the overally-friendly mentality of locals. I am still thinking about that first night of mine, exhausted and with sleep-deprivation-induced language comprehension deficiency, with the bus driver that I could not understand at all – and he was not angry. He was perhaps frustrated, yes, but still did help me to traverse the last leg of the journey in Glasgow itself, and even told me where to get off the bus to safely arrive to student accommodation. First impressions matter, and what Glasgow gave me in my first days was reinforced by 4 years of living here. I do surely hope that it will continue to exceed my expectations.

6 years ago, I would not guess that I would now be living in Glasgow (in a house from 1885 no less), and that I would have a degree from University of Glasgow. I have no idea what life will bring in following years, but I am very much excited to see it unfold before my eyes, just as the last four years did.

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