Across the pond

It is poorly hidden on this blog that my first choice of exchange was not Glasgow, but rather Shippensburg University in USA. As I wrote in the Welcome page (link) I always considered staying in Europe as staying too close to home. I wanted to go far away, and I wanted to go to the States because that's where my dreams of exchange were. I wanted to go so desperately, and though I complained about all the insanely demanding and expensive preparations I did them anyhow, because I knew they were the ticket to my exchange.
As seen on the Preparation page (link) I was supposed to leave Denmark on January 15th. On January 8th my exchange fell through because of unforeseen events.
Did it hurt? Yes, it hurt. A lot. Months of preparing, months of looking forward was suddenly worth absolutely nothing, and not even considering the money lost here.

Instead of flying across an ocean I flew "across the pond" and landed safely in Glasgow, realizing in the process that I might just get more out of this stay than I would have in the States. I have never set foot in the UK before, and I have been to the States more times than I care to count, so this is new turf for me. This is unexplored turf, and culturally a lot different than what I would expect to find in the States.
Maybe selecting the States above all other destinations was a safety switch for me, because I have been there before, and I know my way around.

In this light I am very happy that I'm going to spend the next couple of months in Glasgow, learning an accent I have only dreamed of. Although not so far from home, it is very different than home.