Story Location: Scotland
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Finding Heritage in the Highlands
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I felt a deep connection to Scotland before arriving here. My grandfather was extremely proud of our Scottish heritage and made a point to talk about his love for this country and culture as frequently as possible. I was raised in the Presbyterian Church, the roots of which trace back to Scotland. There was even…
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Education Outside of the Classroom: Exploring the City of Edinburgh for Free
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When I first arrived in Edinburgh to study history and political science at The University of Edinburgh, I was taken aback by my schedule. Each of my classes only met once a week plus one tutorial, and I only had classes on Thursdays and Fridays. This left me with a five-day weekend(?) or a two…
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Five Ways to Transform Loneliness into Enjoyable Solitude While Abroad
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Keep a Gratitude Journal Studies show that gratitude has a strong positive impact on our psychological well-being and happiness, as gratitude helps us experience more positive emotions, savor good experiences, maintain resilience during difficult seasons, and build strong relationships. Regardless of how I felt, I wrote down 5 things every night that I was grateful…
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Tips From My Experience Studying Abroad at St. Andrews
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Wherever you end up studying abroad, know that your academic journey will be just as new as your cultural experiences. Different educational systems have different credit loads, teaching pedagogy, and structure, which is useful to understand as you navigate the semester. For instance, students in the UK tend to specialize in subjects a bit earlier…
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Life-Long Skills: The Professional Benefits of Studying Abroad
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There are countless reasons to study abroad from academic development to cultural immersion to personal growth. Another is developing pre-professional skills. Many students, however, assume studying abroad and being out the country will hurt their chances for a summer internship or job. That might not be the case. Myth: You will miss out on the…
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An Outsider’s Inside View of History in Scotland
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When I arrived in Scotland, I saw blue and white (the colors of Scotland) stickers reading “Yes” everywhere—on cars, street signs, windows, even my neighbor’s toaster. Windows were hung with “Yes” flags, which also littered a street I walked by to get to class each morning. I had never seen a single word carry so…
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Culture Shock in Scotland
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I chose the University of St Andrews as my study abroad destination because, coming from Bowdoin College with just over 1,800 students, St Andrews would not seem overwhelmingly large. The fact that Scotland is English-speaking and not wildly different from the United States was also a huge plus. And IFSA orientation in Edinburgh, I felt…
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An Accented Change: Studying Abroad in Scotland
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Prior to my arrival in Edinburgh, I had only a vague idea of what a Scottish accent sounded like. Based on characters I’d heard in movies like Brave and shows like Outlander, I expected thick rolling r’s and bright intonations at the ends of phrases, but it was only after stepping off the plane at…
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You’re Not Who You Say You Are
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The Assumption We all make assumptions. Whether it be about foods we never tried, movies, people, or ourselves. And the assumption of ourselves can be the most dangerous assumption. Before going abroad to Glasgow I already had a list of assumptions about myself: I would find it hard to live in an apartment, cooking is…
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If You Ain’t Got No Money… That’s Alright
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Financial Aid Office Congratulations! You’ve just gotten accepted into your dream study abroad experience. You can now utilize the packing and shopping lists you made five months prior when fantasizing about this happening, and buy your pending Amazon cart— oh wait, what’s that? You never thought you’d get this far and have no idea where…
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