Student Bloggers

Please believe me when I write that I’ve tried very hard to write this week’s blog. Since landing in Edinburgh, I have had a whirlwind tour of Scotland and fallen in love with this amazing country! Thankfully, I survived my flight over here (with no embarrassing experiences) and was even greeted with the sound of bagpipes and the sight of men in kilts once I landed. They’re pretty fantastic in person (bagpipes AND kilts).

I spent the first three days in Edinburgh with fellow students in the program. While orientation was a bit long and serious, I had so much fun getting to explore the city. The people here are some of the friendliest that I have ever met! I must have asked at least 20 silly questions while adjusting to Edinburgh, but each one was answered with a smile from a local. Some of them will even just come up to you and start talking which is always fun. So far, I’ve never had a dull moment with a Scot!

When I walk around Scotland, I feel like I’m constantly in a museum. Edinburgh and Stirling are filled with such a rich history, and I feel like I never stop learning about theses places. While in Edinburgh, I got to visit the Edinburgh Castle and National Museum of Scotland. First of all, Edinburgh Castle could be its own town. It is huge and has so many different parts to it. There are so many that we even lost one of our friends while looking at the crown jewels exhibit (No students were legitimately missing for more than 20 minutes during this trip).

Secondly, these views are some of the most breathtaking that I have ever seen. Thanks Scotland, for stepping up my Instagram game.

The National Museum of Scotland is equally as beautiful. We had an incredibly smart and funny tour guide show us the exhibit about Scottish Identity and Myths of it. I found it a bit humorous when he explained the Mary Queen of Scots and left out a few jarring details about the royal. However, it actually only made me realize that it’s just one of the ways two people can look at history differently based on their culture.

Unfortunately my three days in Edinburgh flew by faster than I expected and I was packing my bags to head to Stirling before I knew it. I can’t wait to go back and visit that beautiful city again. But for now, I’ve made it to Stirling! For the rest of the week, I’ll be staying with my homestay family (who are quite possibly the nicest people in Scotland) and touring this wonderful city. I got a peek today as I wandered through the town center and climbed up to Stirling Castle. The highlight of my day was going to an interactive exhibit for the Battle of Bannockburn and simulating the battles that took place on the ground I was standing on 700 years ago. It’s also pretty surreal.

You know what’s also surreal? The fact that this country is about to either vote yay or nay for its independence a week from today. It’s already a bit crazy here, and I’m loving every minute of it. Until next week!

Sam