Riley Vaske, Major: English; Minor: French and Francophone Studies

Program: Edinburgh, Scotland; Arcadia University

Introduction:

The first thing our program directors from Arcadia University told us, a group of severely jet-lagged and nervous students from the US, when we arrived in Edinburgh, Scotland was “dinnaefashyersel.” Dinnaefashyersel is Scots for “don’t fuss,” which is what a majority of us were currently doing. Though the Scottish speak English and I wasn’t going to have to deal with a language barrier in Edinburgh, there were still a lot of culture shocks that I wasn’t expecting and was happy to have. The program runs through the University of Edinburgh where you are fully immersed as an international student and expected to work just as hard as the students who study at the University for the full four years. My time in Scotland made me more independent, confident, and sociable (the Scottish are extremely friendly).

Housing:

Since the program is with the University of Edinburgh, the housing is university housing for abroad students. Prior to leaving, Arcadia University works with you to create a list of preferred housing and submits those options to the University. Your receive your placement before you arrive in Edinburgh. There are two main options when it comes to housing: traditional American dorm style housing, and “flats” which is the Scottish way of saying apartment living.

Dorm Style: This type of housing is in a complex of housing called Pollock Halls. This small campus of buildings is a significant walk away from the center of the city and the University itself. It is the most similar style housing to that of Santa Clara or any American university. In Scotland, it is considered strange to have a roommate in university housing (though there is one building that does offer doubles), therefore you will have a single on a floor of other students living in singles. Some of the buildings at Pollock Halls have personal bathrooms for each room, some have a communal bathroom. Pollock Halls is catered, and therefore you will have a meal plan as part of your study abroad plan. This is a good option if you’re looking to save money, but you do need to make a bigger effort to be social and engaged with the community.

Flat Style: The rest of the buildings are closer to the center of the city and are “flat style.” This means you have a single room in a flat with anywhere between 4-12 other single rooms. You and your flatmates share 2-3 bathrooms and one kitchen/general living space. This is a great way to meet local students as well as ERASMUS students (the European equivalent of study abroad). This would be my recommended method of living.

Finances:

Scotland uses both the Scottish Pound and the English Pound (however they are for the most part interchangeable). For the most part everything in Scotland is a reasonable price. When it comes to traveling and exploring the city/country, Arcadia University provides students with a card that allows students to receive free admission to a majority of the castles, museums, and events which saves a ton of money. There are also a lot of student discounts since the city has become such a student oriented city. It is possible to save a chunk of money by living in the dorm style housing and eating on a meal plan, however, grocery shopping is relatively inexpensive. Things you may want to budget mainly for are trips up to the Northern areas of Scotland (the Highlands). There are safe places to withdraw money all over the city.

Academics

The University of Edinburgh program is a very academic program that is very different from the academics at Santa Clara University. The entire university has a student body of 38,000, and your classes will range from 100-200 people. Most students will take a full course load of 3 courses for 60 units. First and second year course lectures will meet twice a week for an hour whereas third and fourth year lectures meet for two to three hours once a week. First and second year courses will also have a tutorial once a week which is a smaller class taught by a teaching assistant or PhD student in the department. These tutorials will have less than twenty students in them. Large reading lists are generally administered at the beginning of the quarter. Some of the courses will require you read some of the readings and suggest you read others, while other courses will not specify what to read. Learning is very much independent and there are no small assignments to regulate progress- you must make sure you are keeping up with the work yourself. In addition, you entire grade or “mark” will be the combination of two major assignments (generally one small paper and one longer essay), and the final at the end of the semester. It can be very stressful sometimes and professors are tough, but it allows for great growth academically and teaches incredible study habits and independence academically.

In addition: since it is an English speaking country, SCU requires you to take a Scottish culture course. There are a myriad of options for this and often it counts for a CORE requirement back home as well. My course on Modern Scottish History was incredible because I was surrounded by the places I was learning about and could actually make trips to go see some of the things we studied.

Social Life

There is a large pub/club culture at the University as students are all of age at 18 years old. The student center provides a student bar and Friday night club nights for dancing. Often students hang out at pubs or go out later in the evening to dance. However, there is a significant amount of societies (the Scottish term for clubs that aren’t of the night variety) that don’t revolve around drinking on campus. As a student, even a single semester student, you are even provided the opportunity to start your own society if you cannot find one you want to join. Societies range from Harry Potter Society to board game society to sports. There are academic societies, professional societies, and recreational societies which you can learn more about and sign up for the mailing lists for during Freshers Week- a week designated for first year students to familiarize with the campus, move in, join clubs, and meet other students. Freshers week is the best opportunity to meet and hang out with people.

Engagement

The University of Edinburgh is a great program if you are looking to study and live with local students and assimilate into the academic and cultural environment. Living with Scottish students was extremely helpful to me in achieving my goal of understanding the culture more and helped me feel like I was getting the most out of my experience. It is a lot different to live in dorms with students than it is to live with a family in a homestay. In many ways I felt like I belonged more and was less of a burden than I would have maybe felt in a homestay. I enjoyed having my academic experience integrated with my cultural, and I felt like I really got to see how Scottish students lived.

Religion

Religion is interesting in Scotland in that historically it is very tied to the politics and social aspect of the country, however, it did not play a huge role in my study abroad experience. I noticed that there really wasn’t discrimination and that there was a wide range of religions (I encountered Mormons on campus, there were a handful of different churches near my accommodation, and there was a mosque across the street from the main campus) but none of them played a role in my experience. There is a Christian group on campus called Roots that gives away free coffee on Wednesday mornings on campus and they offer free wifi and games all day in the space allocated to them, however, people loved them for the services they offered and their lack of aggressive solicitation.

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Race/Ethnicity

The second largest group of people in Scotland are Indian so it was interesting to see how much of the city adopted their culture (mainly when it came to food). I never saw any major racial tensions or experienced any issues of race. Scotland felt very diverse and accepting to me.

Gender/Sexuality

I think I felt less gender discrimination in Scotland than I do in the United States. There is a stronger sense of feminism and female capability which was different and a nice change of pace. Gender wasn’t really something I ever worried about, especially with safety at night and in general which was a big concern of mine living in a city. I always felt safe walking around on my own.

For information on sexuality, consult Arcadia or SCU Study Abroad.

Socio-economic

It was a little difficult to discern the median wealth since the majority of people living directly in my area were students and I often spent most of my time with students. Socio-economic status wasn’t a big factor in my experience or interactions with other students.

Ability and Learning Considerations

As I mentioned, learning is very much an individual effort. Your teachers are willing to help and they do offer office hours and are available via email for questions, but it isn’t always easy in a class of 100+ to be super involved in class. I would recommend always taking notes by hand and reading as much of the material as possible because even if it’s just extra knowledge it is still an advantage for when the final comes around. I would definitely begin studying for the final exam well before it arrives and make sure that you understand the information well before moving on to the next topic or lecture. Make sure you get involved and participate in tutorials because that’s where it is most like an SCU classroom setting and where you can get the majority of your questions answered.

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Leisure

Edinburgh is an incredible city in that there is so much to do and minimal public transportation compared to other cities. This means everything is pretty much walking distance (I used a bus once to leave the city center). There are tons of free museums and two castles inside the city itself that offer amazing insights into medieval and modern Scottish monarchies. During the Fall semester there is a massive Christmas market that consumes half the city and is one of the most fun parts of the semester. There are also tons of free walking tours such as the Harry Potter tour, a ghost tour, and a literary tour of the city. In addition there are two theaters that show broadway musicals and award winning plays. There are also two hikes: Arthur’s Seat (an extinct volcano) and Calton Hill (a short walk up steps for a view of the whole city). These are minimal effort hikes with amazing views.

Shopping

Sizing for clothing and shoes are very different in Scotland so make sure to do calculations online before buying anything. The majority of the shops that people frequented were on Princes Street in the New Town (the city is separated into two towns on either side of the bridge). This street runs about a mile and a half long and has everything you could possibly need from clothing to electronics. Primark is the best place to get clothing for traveling or anything you didn’t pack/left at home.

Overall Impact

Scotland was a lot of fun for me because though it was stressful academically, it also offered a lot of exploration and personal growth. Living in a tolerant and inclusive city was a lot different from my home in New York City, but it was a really welcome comfort when I was overwhelmed and experiencing cultural shock every so often. I definitely feel like this program is overlooked when it should be high on a lot of lists when it comes to choosing a place to study abroad.