Study Abroad e-diaries
Amy McPheeters '08
Psychology major, with a concentration in Ethics and Public Policy
Currently studying at the University of Stirling for the 2006-07 academic year
Email: February 26, 2007
Hello friends!
I've realized that I'm long overdue for an update on my overseas adventures. I arrived back in Scotland a couple weeks ago after a relaxing two month break at home. It's absolutely amazing how natural it felt to hop on a plane and travel 3,000 some odd miles across the ocean. As I was saying to a friend, studying abroad has been one of the best experiences of my life; it's hard to even imagine that at this time last year I was so full of questions and apprehensions about coming.
One of the biggest changes for me from last semester is the people who are here. As I mentioned in one of my previous emails, a lot of the friends I made last semester were also international exchange students, many of whom were only here for the semester. Although it has been an adjustment to not have them back this semester, I now have friends across both the United States and the world! The influx of Clarkies here for spring semester, however, has been a nice distraction. It's been fun seeing so many familiar faces on campus. There are now sixteen of us here from Clark and I've been able to impart some valuable tips I picked up from last semester (which dryers are reliable in the laundry room, that ‘Uni-link' buses will drive behind to the residence halls after 5 PM, and other seemingly useless knowledge).
I am particularly excited about my classes for this semester. Within the Department of Applied Social Science, I am taking two courses- Social Problems and Sociology of Development. The Social Problems module examines topics such as: the family, sexuality, health and illness, poverty, unemployment and crime and deviance. While I have taken a similar class back home, being taught the issues and material from a British perspective and within the realm of British social policy has proved to be invaluable. Sociology of Development, despite a 9 AM lecture on Monday mornings, is my favorite course so far. In this module we will look at the relationship between the majority and minority world with an exploration of key issues including globalization, colonization, the debt crisis, aid, migration, gender and generation, urbanization and rural development. This morning we had a guest lecturer speak about housing provision in Cuba, one of the few remaining Communist/Socialist societies in the world. My third course for the semester is Criminal Law. I haven't taken a law class (let alone Scottish law) before, and I think it will be both challenging and very interesting.
Other highlights of the past couple weeks back in Scotland include my second trip to the rugby. I went to the Scotland vs. Italy game this past Saturday where we lost pretty miserably. Even so, I had a great time and enjoyed the energy and atmosphere at the game (Scottish rugby fans are nuts). I ended up going out to dinner and drinks with some friends at Hard Rock Cafe Edinburgh after the game which was nice as it was my first time back in Edinburgh since I've been back from break.
So, I'm settling back into life at Stirling quite nicely. Right now I'm trying to work out a nice balance between work and play (travel) for the semester. At this point, travel plans include a trip to Sweden, Italy and a potential trip to Ireland. It continues to amaze me how close and easy it is to travel in Europe!
Take care,
AmyEmail: November 22, 2006
Hello!
It's been a pretty busy month or so out this way, hence the infrequency of my emails. (I do apologize; I know you've all been on the edge of your seats waiting to hear more!) I've managed to find time to write this one by bringing my laptop into the laundry room and writing it here while I've got three (yes, three) loads of wash going. Anyway, on to what I've been up to for the past month or so!
At the end of September, a few of us took the train into Edinburgh for the day to explore it for the first time. We took one of those "hop on, hop off" bus tours around the city and spent the rest of the day exploring the castle. The bus tour took us down Princes Street and the Royal Mile which make up the bulk of Edinburgh. We were able to see the main shopping drag, the Royal Museum, Scottish Parliament buildings, the House of Holyrood Palace, and start to learn our way around the city. In the afternoon we hiked up to the Edinburgh castle which sits high on top of the city. The castle is absolutely amazing. The view from the top was incredible. We ended the day with dinner (Or tea as they call it here! Don't ask, I'm still not really sure about that one) at Pizza Express where the food was good, but way overpriced. Then it was back to Stirling, a short 50 minute train ride away.
On Monday, 10/9 I headed back to Edinburgh to see a Speakers Tour put on by Edinburgh Uni's Student Stop AIDS Society. Stirling doesn't have much in the way of AIDS education/awareness groups on campus (something I will be working on), so I was put in touch with this group from Edinburgh. As part of a two week tour, a panel of youth activists from various parts of the world gave talks at universities and colleges (what would be our high schools) across the UK. A fellow activist and friend Johnny was on the panel, so I was particularly pumped about seeing him all the way over here in Scotland.
For our mid-semester break which was October 21st-28th, I took a trip to England and managed to visit eight friends in three cities in seven days. First I stopped in Manchester to visit my friend Kara from high school.
I stayed there for a couple days and then made my way down to Hook which is outside of London. My friends Jess and Nicole are there working at a very nice hotel called the Wellington Arms. They live in the staff house next to the hotel with some crazy Australians, a guy from South Africa, and a couple from Poland- it was really nice to meet all of them and hang out for a few days. On Wednesday I continued on to London, my final destination. In London I was able to meet up with all of the Clarkies which was SO much fun. Highlights of the trip include: visiting the Tate Modern art museum, seeing Westminster Abbey, hearing some really good jazz, telling the guards at Buckingham Palace knock-knock jokes (no, they didn't even hint at a smile), feeding the ducks in St. James park, and a nice dinner with everyone my last night in town.
November has been filled with visitors and paper writing (not necessarily a good combination- sometimes it's hard to remember that I'm not actually on vacation and still have work to do)! My Mom and her friend Anne came to visit and I was able to tour a little of Scotland with them. They were here for Guy Fawkes Day (Nov. 5th) which we celebrated at the bonfire and fireworks in Bridge of Allan, the town next to Stirling.
This week my Dad and step mom are in town visiting. We're headed to Roslyn chapel this morning which was said to have been built by William Sinclair so that Mass could be said for the souls of his family (also where they filmed the DaVinci Code!)
This week marks the end of my marathon paper writing, and a bunch of us are headed into Edinburgh to see the Scotland vs. Australia rugby game which should be a lot of fun. I can't believe how fast the time has gone, and that it's almost the end of the semester!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Amy
Email: September 26, 2006
Hello again!!! Well, it's my third week here and I'm LOVING it (the country, the people, the culture, the university, and the overall experience of being abroad) more and more each day. I hope you all enjoyed my first update and it gave you somewhat of a glimpse into what I've been up to here in Scotland!
I'm feeling much more settled in to my new home for the year. My room is set up with tons of pictures and a couple posters (way better than the cement brick walls that seem to be universal in college dormitories), I know my way around campus and I'm generally feeling less like a freshman (all over again!) than I did in the first couple days. I've had a chance to get to know my flat mates better as well. The girls and I have made dinner together a few times which has been nice. We have, however, managed to break our oven (or ³cooker² as it's called here) and the shower within the first two weeks. I guess I shouldn't have mentioned the eco-friendly shower as being a pain, because last week it wouldn't turn itself off when Amy, one of my flat mates, went to get out. Forty five minutes later, it decided that it was ready to shut off. Who knows.
Classes have now started and are in full swing (not something I was necessarily ready for). I'm taking classes in Environmental Science (to fill my science perspective), Sociology, and Education (which will count towards my concentration in Ethics and Public Policy and the Human Services Program). Each class is made up of lectures, seminars, and tutorials. Lectures meet twice a week and seminars and tutorials may meet once a week, once every other week, or maybe just two or three times the entire semester, it depends. The lectures are larger than I'm used to, but the seminars (which are similar to discussions at Clark) are usually under twenty or twenty five people. The tutor for my Education seminar has been particularly good in facilitating discussion, so I've really been enjoying that so far.
I volunteered to be a class representative for my sociology class- Understanding Social Policy. There are reps for each class that act as liaisons between students and lecturers within each department. Classmates are able to come to the reps with problems or concerns and then those issues are addressed at a few meetings throughout the semester. Our first meeting is tomorrow (including a free lunch- bonus!), and the only question I've gotten so far is whether or not we will be allowed to use the bathroom during the three hour final examŠ pretty easy job so far!
Two weekends ago I went to visit my friend (our friend to some of you) Kimberly in Glenrothes which is about an hour from Stirling. I took the train from Stirling to Edinburgh and then a bus from there to Glenrothes. I've found that the public transportation here is quite easy to use which is encouraging. It was Kimberly's friend Shirley's 21st birthday and she had a big party, so we went to that. Your 21st birthday is really big over here and it's common to have a big party and everything like that. The party had a cross dressed theme, so Kimberly and I rented costumes and went as Ghostbusters- we looked fabulous. There was a wedding party in the room next to Shirley's party which made for an interesting mix of people in the bathroom- dressed in both drag and fancy dresses. I got a kick out of it at least.
This past weekend we were complete tourists. On Saturday we hiked up to the William Wallace monument which sits on a small mountain about a half an hour hike from campus. It's amazing; you can see it from virtually anywhere on campus. William Wallace is one of Scotland's most famous heroes, uniting the 13th Century Scots in their battle to overthrow English rule (c'mon, who's seen ³Braveheart²??). If you're interested in learning more about William Wallace, check out this website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/scottishhistory/independence/features_independence_wallace.shtml
Before we went up into the monument, we ate our bagged lunches and watched an actor tell the story of William Wallace (acting as Wallace himself!). The guy was really animated and dressed in an amazing costume (sword and all), so that was a lot of fun. Inside the monument there was a self guided audio tour, giving the full history of Wallace and Scotland during that time. From the top of the monument (267 steps up!), you can see for miles. We took some really amazing pictures and were able to point out various buildings on campus. It was an incredible day and we were really lucky to have such good weather.
On Sunday, a bunch of us went on the Trossachs bus tour. It was a day long tour that included stops at: Doune Castle, Balquhidder Church (where Rob Roy MacGregor was buried), the town of Aberfoyle (where we visited the Scottish Wool Centre! Wow.), and Queen Elizabeth Park. We were also able to stand on the border of the Highlands, see some of the MANY lochs in Scotland, see the only actual ³lake² in Scotland- the Lake of Menteith, and visit a couple of beautiful waterfalls. The day ended with a bus load of 30 soaking wet tourists (it poured all day- typical Scotland) and a whisky taste testing. Even though it rained, we had an amazing time and learned so much.
Not too much going on for the rest of the week. Today I participated in a grad student's psychology experiment and made fifteen pounds (which is about thirty bucks)! The study looked at whether intonation affects memory. It ending up taking three hours and sixty-six gooey electrodes stuck to my head and face, but besides that it was well worth it!
Phew! Okay, that's all for now. I'm hoping to have more pictures put up soon so you'll be able to have some visuals to go along with all these stories!
Amy
Email: September 14, 2006
Greetings from Scotland!!!
I arrived safely in Glasgow, Scotland on Saturday morning. After a few complications at customs and with my baggage, I made it over to the group of other International students waiting for the shuttle to the University. Due to some construction in Glasgow, the shuttle was an hour and a half late which gave us all a nice chance to get to know one another. I've been hanging out mostly with a guy from the University of Kansas, a girl from the University of Illinois, another girl from the University of North Carolina, a girl from Australia, and a girl from Sweden who are all so nice. It's been really great having people to do stuff with right from the start.
As soon as we got here, we went out to explore the campus. It's HUGE compared to Clark and absolutely BEAUTIFUL (picture an amazing monument- the Wallace monument-, rolling green hills, a loch/lake and a castle...). The first couple days here it was VERY nice out- the sun was shining, something I'm realizing more and more is quite rare here. Later on Saturday we took the bus into the city of Stirling and got some dinner. Ironically, my first meal here in Scotland was at an American style restaurant- it didn't matter though, we were all starving (airplane food = no good)! After dinner we looked in all the shop windows (they were closed by the time we got there) and ventured to the grocery store- Tescos (I keep wanting to say Texaco). We all bought entirely too much there and were quite a sight trying to maneuver our way back to campus on the bus with all our bags.
Sunday there was a brief welcome session and we spent the rest of the day settling in some more and seeing everyone's flats. The flats are nothing like suites back at Clark... there are single bedrooms along a long hallway and an attached L-shaped kitchen and common room. My room is SOOOO small!!! I guess that's okay though, I don't have much stuff here. Literally, I think that the room is about one and a half arm spans across- if that! Enough complaining though, it is nice to have my own space.
My flat mates are all really helpful and nice. I'm living with two guys and two other girls, all of whom are Scottish. Chris, the first flat mate I met, is the Student Council President. He's actually on sabbatical and doing that sort of work full time (which apparently is normal here- weird). So, he's been a great resource as far as knowing what's going on around campus and stuff. The other guy I'm living with, Callum (I have no idea if I'm spelling that right, or if I'm saying it right either... so when I address him I just kind of say it quietly. I'm sure I'll get it soon!) is an interesting character. I first met him when he almost hit me with a Bible. It was kind of creepy- when we first got here, they had the beds all made up (with a tartan print duvet cover- how perfect!) with a Bible sitting on the bed... creepy. So, apparently Callum isn't religious 'cause he chucked his out of his room and into the hallway- almost hitting me! He doesn't seem like a particularly intelligent guy, but nice enough! The girls are really nice. Their names are Amy and Lizzie and they seem like a lot of fun. We had a chance to chat a bit the other night, but I'm looking forward to getting to know them better.
Sunday night, Jo (Australia) and Josepha's (Sweden) flat mates took us out to the bar on campus, "Glow." We had a lot of fun, and because it was the first weekend back, there were TONS of people out. You could totally tell that everyone was happy to be back together again after the summer, sort of similar to the vibe at Clark which was nice.
Today was all orientation stuff and figuring out our class scheduling, etc. Classes start Thursday, and even though I'm only taking three courses, there's a lot more class time than I'm used to- lectures, tutorials, labs, and practicals... it's all so confusing!
Other things that I have found amusing:
- Freshman are called "Freshers." I don't know if it's just me, but that sort of reminds me of some type of sea food or something like that. I digress.
- You have to buy a TV license here. Apparently some sort of official can come and if they find an unlicensed TV, they can issue a fine equaling somewhere around $2,000! Crazy.
- This is not so much amusing as it is annoying- My bathroom is "eco-friendly," so the light turns itself on and off and the shower has a button that you have to push every 20-30 seconds in order for water to keep coming out. Now, I love the environment as much as the next guy, but this is just annoying!
So, in short- I'M HAVING AN AMAZING TIME!!! More updates to come...
Amy