Month: September 2013

By nmbutler3

Halò from Edinburgh, Scotland, where tartan kilts are not uncommon, bagpipe music can be heard at most times from at least a few places throughout the city, and the people are exceedingly kind to atone for the glum daily drizzles and chilly air. Obviously these are all exaggerations and stereotypes that are mostly untrue, although the first night I arrived in Edinburgh there were bagpipes being played for several hours just outside my flat window. Nevertheless, in having these stereotyped expectations shattered, my experience abroad has already proven to be a learning opportunity. There are of course hundreds of little things I’ve learned just in the first few days of being here, but as I am still sorting things out for myself, I’ll keep my sharing to just the highlighted lessons I’ve learned during my first few days here at the University of Edinburgh:

Once I had finally landed in Edinburgh, got through customs and had my passport freshly stamped with a visa, I started to make my way to my flat via the city’s public bus system with printouts of various bus routes and street maps at the ready in my hand. I was all set to take this city by storm, like a true Scottish local. Naturally, I was lost within five minutes of getting off the first bus, which meant my first encounter with a native Scotsman, would be me inquiring about directions. That’s right, my first interaction consisted of me timidly asking a woman at a bus stop if she knew the way to East Newington Place where I was meant to check in. Her response was not only friendly and graciously non-judgmental of my complete lack of local knowledge and, by this point, quite blatant frustration with my own inability to find the way and the weight of the luggage I was dragging along with me. Of course, as most students would, I was quite hesitant to admit defeat so soon upon arrival and rather disappointed that I hadn’t been able to master the tricks of the city’s natives, but it did teach me the very first lesson of studying abroad: Lesson Number 1: You will get lost. You will try to figure it out on your own as to not look like an incompetent American. You will, most likely, inevitably fail at figuring it out on your own and eventually give in and ask someone for directions. In the case of Edinburgh, that individual will likely be exceedingly friendly and helpful, as I have confirmed with the numerous interactions I’ve had since, and, if you are fortunate enough to run into the same woman that helped me on my journey from the Edinburgh airport to Hermit’s Croft (my flat), they may even flag down a bus just to ask the driver the best route to wherever it is you need to be.

Two bus routes and a quick taxi ride later, I finally made it to my accommodation where, after checking in and getting keys, I started unpacking and settling in and meeting my fellow flatmates, another American exchange student, and two Edinburgh students, one British and one Scottish. The nice thing about an exchange program is that you are thrown right into everyday student life just as though you were a normal student starting at the university. In this case, that meant attending Fresher’s Week, which is similar to orientation and Welcome Week at American universities, only it occurs the week before classes actually begin and the only students on campus are the students new to the university. The downside of an exchange program though is that you are also immediately thrown into the deep end of a new culture with no real guidance, meaning you are left to figure out much of the local culture and systems on your own, which can often be a long, albeit entertaining process. Surprises and misunderstandings become quite common, even when you’re speaking the same language as the rest of the country. For example, I am still regularly surprised at how comparatively focused, calm and level-headed freshman here are as opposed to many American students, and that doesn’t even begin to delve into the various subtle differences between US and British cultures. Fortunately for me, my flatmates have been incredibly helpful in this arena and are always happy to explain things to me, especially when it involves my frequently failed attempts to master Scottish and Gaelic pronunciations. For example, I spent all week talking about the Ceilidh, which is a traditional Scottish dance and celebratory event, but was so confused as to why no one knew what I was talking about whenever I mentioned the cee-lid. That was until my flatmate explained to me that the correct pronunciation was actually kay-lees since it was a Gaelic tradition. In other instances I offered to make biscuits, which are cookies in the UK, as a side for dinner, twisted the structures of identity within the UK, particularly in the differences between the UK, the British, and the English/Scottish, (helpful hint: if you’re studying abroad anywhere in the UK, make sure you know the distinctions between these), confused and convoluted the education set-up of courses,  and, on more than one occasion, butchered explanations of the various Scottish dishes, like haggis and neeps. And these misunderstandings only begin to scratch the surface of the cultural differences I’ve encountered. However, all these mistakes and missteps on my part have only led to a better understanding of the country and the culture, leading me to the second lesson I’ve learned this week. Lesson Number 2: You don’t have to acclimate to the culture right away. In fact, it’s rather unlikely that you will, and although the differences that exist within another Western country like the UK may not be as imposing or apparent as those that exist within some other destinations, there will be necessary adjustments that you have to make and while subtle, they may not be easy. Despite the fact that we haven’t actually started classes yet, this past week has been an exceedingly valuable learning process, and although most of the differences I’ve encountered have been relatively subtle and unobtrusive to everyday life, they continue to come as little shocks and surprises and take a bit of getting used to. But by slowly adjusting to these differences, rather than trying to acclimate immediately, I’ve been able to actually understand and appreciate the social and cultural differences.

That brings me the final lesson I’ve learnt this past week. Lesson Number 3: It is okay to be a tourist sometimes and it’s alright to embrace being American. When I was preparing to study abroad, I had it in my mind that the best way to have a genuine experience was to integrate myself seamlessly into the culture as though I’d lived in Scotland my entire life. In fact, I had even convinced myself that any inkling of a tourist notion or reminder that I was American would somehow cheapen the experience of being abroad; however, in the past few days I’ve learnt that the opposite actually tends to be true. Since I arrived in the city, I’ve gone to several of the national museums, introduced my flatmates to American s’mores, wandered the busy main streets and, perhaps the most touristy experience of them all, hiked up Arthur’s Seat (an extinct volcano in the center of Edinburgh that overlooks the entire city and the much of the coast). Now of course, all of these blatantly conflict with the ideas I held before arriving, but as it turns out, they have also been some of the most fun experiences I’ve had since being here. As incredibly cliché as it sounds, as I reached the top of Arthur’s Seat the other day, it occurred to me that had I adhered to my conviction that it was best to avoid any main tourist attraction, I would not be experiencing the best view of Edinburgh and the coast. I also would have missed the impressive collections of Scottish art and history within the museums, the Edinburgh castle, the beautiful architecture and rich history of Edinburgh’s Old Town.

Of course, I am by no means suggesting that a study abroad experience be limited to or even based around a tourist agenda or that you spend your semester missing the comforts and amenities of home, but rather just expressing that it is actually acceptable, and often advisable, to take advantage of and embrace those tourist impulses every once in a while, celebrate and share the cultural differences that make you unique, indulge in some cliché adventures. Who knows, they just might lead you to one of the best views of the city.