When you first think about going abroad, your mind usually darts to the image of a guided tour through the Louvre in Paris, exploring the Coloseum in Rome or the running of the bulls in Spain. Not often does your mind jump right to the United Kingdom, let alone Scotland. Letís face it ó you already know English, itís not very warm and you go to a school that has daily bagpipe serenades on campus. You have enough Scottish in you as it is, right? Well, as a student studying abroad Edinburgh, Scotland this semester, my abroad experience has been anything but ordinary.
The program that I am studying abroad† with, at Arcadia University, has ranked Edinburgh as one of the most popular choices for study abroad, beating out cities like London, Paris and Madrid for applications per year. The reason for this is because in many of those cities, the major universities are several kilometers outside of the city, making public transportation a necessity .
The University of Edinburgh is built right into the heart of the city. My campus flat is about a 10-minute walk to any academic building, but also a 10-minute walk to any restaurant, shopping area or theater one could ask for. Not once have I had to utilize a cab or a bus to get around the city because everything is accessible by foot. Last weekend, fellow classmate Silvia Arieira and myself got to see a Dizzee Rascal concert just steps away from our flat.
Edinburgh is also home to some of the coolest historical landmarks Britain has to offer. For example, the city was built around the Edinburgh Castle which sits up on a huge hill near the city center. This castle served as inspiration for J.K. Rowlingís Harry Potter series.† Rowling wrote many of her early chapters sitting in a cafÈ just around the corner from my flat. Queen Elizabeth spends the summer months in a castle in the Highlands of Scotland, which is easily accessible by bus and also free through the program I am on.
Besides the history, there is much to do in terms of shopping and nightlife. Edinburgh is recognized as one of Scotlandís best places for young adults because the university is built right into it. Unlike Wooster, every night the clubs and pubs are crowded with students. Besides the people on my program, I have been introduced to a plethora of new people from around the U.K. and even Denmark and Norway. They have all been extremely welcoming and have helped me plan trips to other European cities and given me advice on what places I do not to miss out on.
As far as travel goes, I am planning on going to Copenhagen, Paris, Rome, Prague and potentially Dublin. All of these cities are easily accessible from the airport and the best part, they are cheap. Discount airlines like EasyJet and RyanAir have allowed me to book tickets for as low as 10 pounds (about $18 US) roundtrip.
So far I am having a lot of fun, meeting new people and being able to explore one of the coolest cities I have ever experienced. With all my upcoming trips, I am sure that more is in store for my adventures.† It has exceeded my expectations profoundly.