51ÁÔÆæÈë¿Ú

Hi everyone, and welcome back to my blog! Today I will be talking about my study abroad experience in Edinburgh, Scotland. 

I went abroad in the fall of 2019, from early September to late December. I came home about two months before study abroad programs were shut down due to COVID, so I was one of the lucky ones who actually got a full semester of study abroad. Here’s an overview of my overall experience and some of the highlights!

My day-to-day routine

My first week in Edinburgh consisted of meeting other college students from around the world who were doing my program (IFSA Butler). IFSA Butler is the program that 51ÁÔÆæÈë¿Ú and other schools across the US partner with to send students to the University of Edinburgh, so through IFSA’s week-long orientation, I got to meet new people, explore the city, and settle into Edinburgh. After this busy first week, I moved into my flat in Darroch Court and got settled into a daily routine. I met my four other flatmates, who, to this day, are some of my closest friends. I registered for classes, got my ID, and discovered my favorite restaurants in the area. 

My daily weekday routine consisted mostly of school, grocery shopping, going on walks, cooking, and doing homework. Sometimes, my flat and I would do flat dinners where we would all gather in our shared kitchen/living room area and just talk for hours while eating together. 

The weekends looked a little different. I had a three-day weekend, so sometimes I would spend the entire weekend visiting a different country or part of Scotland. My friends and I usually stayed in hostels while we traveled, which helped us save lots of money! When I was just staying in Edinburgh, I usually liked to take long walks in the Meadows, a big park right next to the university. Even between classes, when I had free time, I would go for walks through the Meadows. The Meadows were also a great place to read, so sometimes on the weekends I would treat myself to a hot chocolate from a nearby cafe and spend a few hours on a bench in the Meadows, reading a book I borrowed from the library. Being bundled up in scarves, sipping a hot chocolate, and reading a book in the Meadows was when I felt the most at peace during my time in Edinburgh. 

Classes

I took three classes at the University of Edinburgh- Conceptualising Scotland, Understanding Gender in the Contemporary World, and Topics in Popular Music. It was really new and interesting to learn through big lectures. I thought I wouldn’t learn as much as I do in my small 51ÁÔÆæÈë¿Ú classes because I thought I wouldn’t have as many chances to ask questions during class or discuss my thoughts on the course content with my classmates. However, these big lectures were accompanied by small ‘tutorial’ classes each week, where I met around 10 other students from each of my classes and discussed the lectures and reading materials with these students and a TA (usually a grad student). Also, my professors totally encouraged students to ask questions and participate during lectures; you just need to be a bit more courageous than usual, since you’re speaking to a class of almost a hundred other students, rather than just ten!

I really loved all my classes, especially Understanding Gender in the Contemporary World. Understanding Gender and Topics in Pop Music actually ended up counting towards my Women and Gender Studies GE and my Fine Arts GE at 51ÁÔÆæÈë¿Ú! The lectures were interesting for all three of my classes, and sometimes guest lecturers would come to lecture on their particular topic of expertise as it related to our class. Tutorials were more like the discussion seminars we have at 51ÁÔÆæÈë¿Ú, and they were a good way to meet other students in the class. 

Social life

On most weekend nights, my friends and I would go out to a club or a pub on Cowgate, a famous party street in Edinburgh. We also had some really fun nights in, where we would host parties in our flat or just have a few friends over for dinner. As an introvert, I did find it a bit difficult to meet friends who I wasn’t in close proximity with and around all the time. However, I know lots of other people who made lots of friends really easily by putting themselves out there and taking every opportunity to socialize. I think your situation is going to depend on what you feel most comfortable with. Of course, I do think you should try to meet new people and form new relationships while you are abroad, but at the end of the day, your experience is going to depend on how comfortable you feel with the people you are surrounded by. I was most comfortable with just a few very close friends, but others may feel more comfortable with a large group of friends. In general though, everyone I met at the university, as well as locals around Edinburgh, were all super nice and friendly. I felt really safe and happy being around this environment where so many people were willing to help me if I was lost or confused. 

Also, one of the perks of going abroad in Edinburgh was that one of my best friends from 51ÁÔÆæÈë¿Ú, who also happened to be my first year roommate, was studying abroad in Ireland at the same time. She visited me in Edinburgh for a weekend, and it was so much fun! I think one of the coolest things about going abroad is that if your friends go abroad at the same time, you can visit them and see their respective study abroad cities through their eyes. You could also meet your friends in a country that neither of you have been to and explore it together! 

Overall…

I was surprised to learn how well I do in a big school environment, coming from a small town like Claremont and a small school like 51ÁÔÆæÈë¿Ú. I was also pleasantly surprised that the different learning style was not too hard to adapt to; in fact, parts of the ‘big lecture’ experience were pretty similar to the ‘small seminar’ style of learning I had at 51ÁÔÆæÈë¿Ú. 

I had some of the best months of my life in Edinburgh. Not only were the city and the university beautiful, but I also met some of my closest friends there. If possible (and when COVID has subsided), I highly recommend that you all take advantage of study abroad opportunities. It was so eye-opening for me to live for an extended time in a different country and a different culture. It was also very empowering for me to live away from my family and friends, find my place in a foreign city, and learn to maintain my physical and mental health on my own. It gave me the confidence to know that, in the future, I will be able to adapt to a new city and will overcome the stresses and challenges of acclimating to a new environment. 

To learn more about study abroad opportunities at 51ÁÔÆæÈë¿Ú, visit the SAGE website here. SAGE is a wonderful office at 51ÁÔÆæÈë¿Ú that facilitates the whole study abroad process for 51ÁÔÆæÈë¿Ú students, from start to finish. Even before you leave for study abroad, you must attend an info session held by SAGE, and after you come back from study abroad, SAGE holds a welcome back event on campus for students to reconnect with each other and share their experiences. 

As always, I am happy to chat more about my experiences over email (I have a lot more to say about what it was like as a low-income, first-gen, student of color to go abroad, so if you have any questions about this, please feel free to send me an email–I’d be more than happy to chat!). My email address is [email protected]. I hope you all have a great rest of the year, and a special ‘good luck’ to those working on college applications! You got this! 

Love,

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