It’s happened. I have crossed over to the dark side and officially become a tea drinker. I wasn’t expecting to, and to be entirely honest, was in many ways hoping I wouldn’t, but the conversion has happened. I now regularly drink more tea than coffee, even in the mornings – what has my life come to? Of course I realize how overly dramatic and bizarre I sound with all this, but as I’ve mentioned before, I am a fairly avid coffee drinker and usually a hesitant tea consumer, so the realization that I now drink more tea than coffee in a day came as quite a shock.
So, as I sat there the other morning drinking my cup of lemon ginger clippings tea, reveling in my new realization and listening to my flatmate joke about how British I’ve become, it occurred to me just how many little British and Scottish habits and practices I had picked up over the last few weeks. A lot of people assume the cultural exchange when studying abroad is limited to new foods, dress, and popular culture references, but there are so many more subtle habits and cultural aspects that crossover without you realizing it. These are especially apparent when you participate in a direct exchange program like this where you predominately interact with local students rather than other Americans.
So here are the top four unexpected cultural habits I’ve picked up over thus far:
1. Tea over coffee
This is probably the most generic and stereotypical example, but it’s happened and I’m still coping.
2. Question Inflection
Now I haven’t started to speak with a Scottish accent, but it has been pointed out to me several times that I phrase questions with a British inflection. I’m not quite sure how to describe it, but if you visit or study in the UK, or watch enough British television, you’ll know exactly what I am talking about.
3. Saying “trousers” or “jeans” but avoiding “pants” at all costs
Now I realize that this is another rather strange sounding cultural habit or practice, but it is definitely one that will happen to you if you study or visit here. The term “pants” refers to a very different article of clothing than it does in the States, so you learn quickly that not all statements about your pants are socially acceptable. Like most other Scottish and British slang phrases like “clever” or “bloody,” most people tend to pick up on this one rather quickly.
4. Thinking like a Brit or a Scot
This is another one that is a bit more difficult to properly describe, but over the past few weeks, I have definitely noticed a difference in my normal mindset. For example, I am much more sarcastic and my sense of humor is getting dryer by the day. I also find myself a bit more reserved in social interactions, a characteristic I’ve realized is quite normal and common for many Brits. I’ve also started to notice the differences between North and South regions of the UK and make reference to them on a fairly regular basis. Now of course these are minor details, but it seems that almost everyday I am seeing more and more of the Scottish perspective and more exciting yet, actually understanding and internalizing them.
With all the political uproar about the government shutdown occupying the news both back home in the States and even here in the UK, I figured it’d be a good time to finally familiarize myself with the current state of political affairs here Scotland, especially since Edinburgh is the capital. I also figured it was about time I find out what all the “Independent Socialist Scotland” and unionist posters that coat telephone booths, news boxes and alley walls throughout the city meant. So, here is what I’ve found out in my week of on-the-ground research:
Basic Set-up of UK v. Scottish Political Structure:
1. Scotland, although its own country, is part of the UK and Great Britain.
1a. Great Britain includes England, Scotland, Whales and Northern Ireland.
1b. British does NOT equate to English, but rather anyone from Great Britain. In fact, a lot of people, especially younger generations, identify as British over a specific country ethnicity, like Scottish or Welsh, because there is so much overlap and movement of people across borders within the UK.
2. Although much of Scottish policy comes from the British parliament in London, Scotland also has its own devolved parliament that operates here in Edinburgh in an iconic building.
2a. The Parliamentary building does not contain a single right angle, interior and exterior structure included.
3. Despite a semi-independent government, Scotland still receives a significant portion of its funding from the British government.
Current Affairs & The Referendum:
1. The message behind the posters, is the coming referendum for independence that Scotland is in the process of deciding upon. This is easily the biggest issue on the political plate here and a topic of heated debate almost anywhere you go.
1a. The referendum would declare Scotland an independent state from the United Kingdom and Great Britain, similar to Ireland.
1b. Talks of the referendum first seriously began in 2007, and the actual vote for independence will take place on September 18, 2014.
1c. The Referendum Bill is possible because “Royal Assent” will be given, meaning essentially that it is the decision of the Scottish Parliament, rather than the British Parliament.
2. In November, the official White Paper, as well as the unionist proposals will be published.
3. The vote is split, but it’s very difficult to determine just how evenly it is split.
3a. The young vote will be key for both sides, similar to the importance of the young vote in the 2008 presidential election.
3b. Because of this, residents need only be 16 to vote.
3c. Not all young Scots want independence. Take my flatmate for example. She is very much against it, both economically and nationalistically, as she considers herself British more than Scottish.
4. You can vote as on the referendum as long as you are a current resident of Scotland, which includes 366, 755 English-born citizens, as well as 32,049 Northern Irish and 15,120 Welsh-born citizens.
4a. If you were born in Scotland, but currently live elsewhere in the UK, you cannot vote. That includes nearly 800,000 Scottish-born individuals.
5. The bill only needs more than 50% of the vote to pass. There is no turnout requirement.
I still haven’t figured out all the details, so I can’t make much of an opinion on the matter, but it is definitely one of the more difficult aspects of everyday Scottish life to relate to. The referendum is a daily conversation for a lot of people here, even if they are not very political, but it is difficult to relate anything similar actually happening in the US; just imagine a state voting to remove itself from the country. Sure, there are petitions and jokes that Texas and other states will succeed, but to take those notions as a serious option is somehow unfathomable.
Rural village in ScotlandA mountain viewNot a bad place to spend a few hours
I took my first personally-planned visit out of the city this weekend to Glencoe, also known as the location of many of the scenes from Skyfall, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Braveheart, as well as the sight of the seventeenth century Glencoe Massacre of the MacDonald clan. Needless to say, it’s a very historical and scenic area. The trip was a last minute decision by my flatmate and me so we didn’t plan much beforehand beyond the bus tickets to get there. As a result, we ran into a few surprises once we got there. Since neither of us had been to the area before, or any part of the Highlands for that matter, we didn’t really know what to expect once we got there and after a four hour bus ride when we finally did arrive, what we found was not quite what we had imagined.
First off, we hadn’t expected such a pleasant drive. Unlike the US, in Britain, experiences with the bus systems are generally quite reliable and enjoyable. Word of advice, taking the bus or the train is probably one of the best ways to actually see Scotland and the rest of the UK, and it’s usually both the cheapest and easiest modes of transport. Bus drivers are generally incredibly friendly and really helpful, especially when you’re lost and not sure which line to connect to. That being said, you do have to be a bit more aggressive when catching the buses. On our way back to Edinburgh, we literally had to stand on the side of the road and flag down a bus speeding by. No, we weren’t lost, nor were we being obnoxious tourists. It just so happens that the bus stops (and apparently this is quite standard in a lot of areas) are an unmarked patch of grass on the side of the road that work by request only. Of course in order to “request” a speeding bus to stop, you have to jump up and down and wave incessantly like a crazy person for a few minutes while it drives along the bend, which is exactly what we did, much to the amusement of the park ranger who was also passing by at the time. Yet despite having to act like a nutter on the side of an almost empty country road, we were able to make it to and from without so much as a hiccup.
Anyways, despite our luck with a smooth journey out of the city, once we finally arrived in Glencoe, we realized that a bit more prior planning would have been a good idea. You see, Scotland is known for its scenery, rural greenery and quaint villages, which in my opinion, couldn’t be more perfect. There are lots of trees and streams and munros (the tallest of Scotland’s mountains, all above 3000 ft), picturesque village streets, and little B&B cafes with homemade soup and fresh bread. The downside: there are a lot of rural little villages without easy transport between them and not all that much to do once you’re there. Don’t get me wrong, Glencoe Village was absolutely beautiful and I could not have asked for a better place to visit, but within about two hours, my flatmate and I had seen the entire village, which consisted of 54 buildings including houses (yes, we counted), three times over and had lunch and coffee at the single village café. (Unfortunately, the Glencoe Folk Museum, which wasn’t much bigger than a one bedroom flat, was closed for renovations, so we lost at least an hour of touristy exploration.)Regardless, there were still six hours until our bus back to Edinburgh and the next closest village was over a three and a half hour long walk away. Luckily for us though, we had planned on spending the rest of the day hiking in the mountains, but it occurred to us that had we not been the outdoorsy types that we are, we would have been very bored for next six hours, seeing as we had no way of getting to anywhere else in the area, and had just about exhausted the sights and activities of the village. As I mentioned, we were fortunate in that this wasn’t an issue, this time at least, and were able to pass by the time climbing three of the nearby munros and exploring the glen.
So moral of this week’s adventures: if you’re traveling to Scottish countryside (which I highly recommend you do!), make sure you’ve checked up on what you’ll be doing ahead of time, and if you aren’t into the great outdoors, make sure you get a multi-trip bus pass for the day so you don’t get stuck in a tiny village staring up at the munros all day. Although, there are certainly worse fates in the world!
The first thoughts that come to mind when we think of spending a semester studying abroad usually run along the lines of traveling to new and exotic places, meeting new people and trying new things you’d never find back home in the States. Oddly enough though, we rarely include actually studying and taking classes on that list. While admittedly, studying for exams probably won’t be the most fun you’ll have while abroad, if you come at it with the approach, you might end up actually enjoying your time with those textbooks.
1. Café Crawl
If you’re in a city like Edinburgh, you’re likely to encounter quite a few cafes and coffee shops. So rather than limiting yourself to just pub crawls, try a few coffee crawls, (or park, bookstore or museum crawls, or wherever your studying preference may be). I’m personally a fan of coffee shops and cafes, so instead of holing myself up in my flat or the library this first week of classes, which yes, if you study in Edinburgh you will be expected to do actual work starting the first day of classes (and in some cases, before the first day), my flat mates and I spent our Friday morning and Sunday on café crawls, where we tried out the local cafes and coffee shops in search of the perfect studying spot. Not only did it give us a chance to explore the area and hit the books, but it also gave us a taste of the local cuisine and native favorites, like apricot scones and various teas and hot chocolates. It was quite a good learning experience in terms of local culture as well. For example, although not as rampant as the stereotypes would suggest, tea tends to be the preferred and usually less expensive drink of choice here. Also, coffee here typically follows the European example, rather than the American, so a warning for anyone who prefers just a plain cup of coffee in the morning: it’s hard to find. Since plain brewed coffee isn’t a common drink here, if you go into a café and ask for a cup of coffee, the person behind the counter will ask you what kind. If you’re going for plain black coffee, an Americano or a Long Black is usually the best option, but they both vary between shops in what they actually mean, so don’t be afraid to ask.
If you do happen to be studying in Edinburgh or just visiting and need a nice place to grab something to drink and read a book here are my personal recommendations:
1. Beanscene Coffee and Music House
2. Press Coffee
3. Black Medicine Coffee Co.
(All of which are located in the George Square campus.)
2. Take Advantage of Supplemental Learning Resources
This one is pretty simple, especially if you are in Edinburgh. Utilize the unique off-campus resources, like the free national museums like the National Museum or the National Gallery, historical sites like the Edinburgh Castle or the Underground, historical tours, or local and national nature reserves like the Hermitage of Braid. There are usually at least one or two sites that are relevant to whatever you’re studying and since much of the UK education system is based on self-guided study, it is a great way to immerse yourself into the material, as well as the local culture and history, without having to read a book for hours. Or at the very least, it gives you an excuse to do all the touristy-things without having to actually be a tourist.
3. Make Studying a Learning Experience
As I just mentioned, the UK education system is much different than that of the US. Courses are based on self-guided study, which means you have much less class and homework assignments, but are expected to do much more work on your own, including personal research and background reading. Now that can be rather intimidating, but it can also be a great way to explore other ways of teaching, explore your own areas of interest, and maybe even give you some useful preparation and perspective for your thesis or grad school.
4. Learn from a Local Perspective
In addition to experiencing a new teaching style, studying abroad is a great way to get a new perspective on a subject you already study or to learn about something unique to your location. For example, one of the courses I am taking this semester is Conservation Management. Granted, this doesn’t exactly seem like a typical local-perspective based course like Scottish History or Gaelic Culture, but as one of Europe’s leaders in conservation and the sustainability, Edinburgh, and Scotland more generally, offers a very different approach and perspective on conservation methods and techniques that I would never be able to learn or engage with back home. Classes like this are also a great way to learn about related historical, political or cultural aspects of your location without having to take a history or politics course. In my case, the conservation course gives insight to cultural values, historical events that have shaped the current state of affairs and political policies like the establishment of the Scottish National Nature Reserves System and Scotland’s role in international conservation efforts and planning. If you’re not interested in or not able to explore new perspectives, studying abroad is also a great time to take a completely random course unique to your location, like Medieval Scottish History or Scottish Pict Archaeology.
5. Don’t be Afraid of a Challenge
Last, but certainly not least, don’t be afraid to challenge yourself with difficult courses while abroad. For many programs you have the option of take first or second year courses in addition to the upper-level courses. Sure, introductory courses are easier and allow you more time for non-academic pursuits, but they also limit your opportunities. At the University of Edinburgh at least, many of the upper-level courses not only offer smaller, more engaging classes, which means you actually get to meet and get to know new people, but also more chances to take advantage of the unique opportunities in the city and university. For example, my Conservation Management course (a fourth-year course) brings in guest speakers every week from all over Scotland to teach us about policies, methods and current issues in conservation. Similarly, my Principles of Ecology course (a third-year course) involves an in-depth project at a local nature reserve and my Plant Evolution course (a fourth-year course) includes visits to several Scottish agricultural and botanical research sites, including the Royal Botanical Gardens. Of course, these upper-level classes obviously involve more work and can be rather challenging depending on your background, but it’s a fair trade-off for the immersion opportunities that you cannot get with a 200 person introductory lecture.
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.
Edinburgh, Scotland
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.
