Now that I have settled into the new environment of Scotland and gotten comfortable with my classes and schedule, I thought it was high time I take a trip and really entrench myself into Scotland beyond Stirling. So this weekend I took a day trip to Inverness, a small city way up in the North of Scotland. I realized that this is the furtherst north I have ever been in my life and the day did not disappoint. I went to Inverness with my flatmate Peter and after the long 3-hour train ride Saturday morning, we wasted no time getting into the sights and sounds of Inverness. Throughout the day, I ate some of the best Pizza I have ever had (suprisingly strong pizza in Scotland), toured the Inverness Castle, went through the local Art Mueseum, and walked through a gorgeous church filled with lovely sculptures and art. Overall, the day was awesome and it made me realize how important it is to not get too comfortable with your local area during a study abroad trip. Now I don't mean that in the sense that you shouldn't have a place where you are comfortable. It is paramount that you make yourself as comfortable as possible and have a place where you can chill out for a weekend. But I realized that just like how it takes guts to take the risk and travel to another country to study, you have to keep in mind how valuable it is to visit other locations while abroad. Your travel doesn't end when you get to your dorm. The journey of a GO Trip is and should be continuous. If you allow yourself to get complacent and stay within a few miles of your campus, you didn't really experience everything the country has to offer. Every town and city has something interesting to offer and, if you don't push yourself to go out and experience it, you won't know what you are missing. I understand that the journey to a new country can be exhausting. When I first arrived, I didn't want to go anywhere outside of Stirling because I was running on fumes. But now that I have had a couple weeks to recharge myself, I cannot contain my excitement for the trips I have planned all over Scotland and outside of the UK. The key is to stay curious and stay open-minded. It's easy to say, "Oh I want to save my money" or "Oh I just not feeling it today", but if you push yourself outside the box you will be happier for it. That's my insight for the week. Sorry for the shorter blog today but i'll try and make up for it by posting some more photos from my trip in the coming days. Have a great week and I'll be here with a new post next week.
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Here we are again after another awesome week abroad.
My past blog posts were focused around maintaining your confidence and making yourself comfortable in tense, new, and unusual circumstances. This week, it's time to focus on the real purpose you are abroad. Although you may be inclined to treat you time abroad as a vacation under a different name, staying focused on your school work is still extremely important. I know that I easily got swept away by the new sights and sounds of Scotland but now that I have absorbed and have grown comfortable with my immediate surroundings, I have begun to hunker down and get ready for a productive semester. It actually takes, arguably, more discipline to focus on your school work while abroad. The excitement of new experiences and adventures easily overtakes the sometimes dull school work keeping you at your desk. But it is important to remember that this semester could be oneof, if not the most, life-changing and developmental semesters of your higher education. This is an experience where you are truly independent and have to hold yourself accountable while expanding your understanding of new cultural experiences. For me, this has been particularly difficult. With all of the new friends I have made, alot of idealistic plans have also entered the scene. It seems like everyday we want to go out and explore the town, tour castles, and climb mountains. But after losing focus for about a week, looking back on the work you need to catch up on becomes extremely intimidating and stressful. I had to catch up on readings, buy books, change schedules, and email professors just to make sure I didn't fall behind. That's when I realized that just as much as I want to make a schedule for all of the trips and experiences I want to have, I also have to make a schedule to bear down and power through my work. Since that stressful week playing catch-up, I have regulated myself by making a schedule for all of my school work. I sacrifice a few hours I could be out on the town and take that time to read for my International Politics seminar or further my understanding of Religion and Society. Making this schedule, although painful due to my eagerness to explore, has helped me to stay focused on my studies and my stress levels have fallen quite substantially. However, and this is the fun part, it is very important to make sure that when you are scheduling yourself you leave time for relaxation, fun, and adventure. This has been part of education philosophy since highschool and it becomes ever-more important in a scenario like this. Make sure you don't overwork yourself. Of course it's important to never slack but it is equally important to enjoy yourself and take time for yourself. I know too many people who try and pushthemselves too hard and are miserable because of it. I always make sure that I have atleast a few hours each day to just relax. That could mean exploring the town or it could mean making food and watching a movie. As long as your mind is off of your work for awhile, you will feel much better for it. The key is balance. I hope today's entry was insightful and I can't stress it's importance enough. Next week I will try and break out my camera again and show of some of the local sights. Sorry for the delay in this week's installment. Been working through some technical problems but everything should be up to snuff now.
This past weekend, a group of my new friends and I decided to be bold rather than wander around campus or go sight-seeing in town. We decided to go hiking! Now for people in PA, hiking doesn't sound very bold. But we decided to climb the Dumyat, a very large hill (in my heart it's a mountain) directly behind our dorms. The hike was overall around 3.5-4 hours up and back and it wiped me out for the rest of the day. But that was ok! Because on this hike I connected more deeply with a bunch of new friends and I had a great experience challenging myself physically. Taking that hike emphasized to me the importance of putting yourself out there in situations you aren't accustomed to and the importance of bonding with the people you meet while oversees. So this week, I'm talking about the importance of new experiences and taking risks while abroad. Specifically, getting out and experiencing the local community and landscape as much as possible in the time you have. Last week, I focused on the anxiety which is present when you finally are abroad. I think that putting yourself out there is the next step in overcoming that anxiety and making your GO semester, or any travel for that matter, a worthwile experience. If I had decided to go the easy route and stay inside on a kinda chilly day, I would have missed out on an amazing experience. A quote that sums this up, which I actually just heard today in one of my classes, is "There is no such thing as a smooth mountain". Now aside from the obvious hill/mountain similarity, it emphasizes that your GO experience isn't always gonna be sunshine, rainbows, and gumdrops. You are going to struggle like I did and have been. The important thing is that pushing through the adversity of new situations leads to success, confidence, and resilience. Nothing good comes for free, and although climbing a hill for a few hours with some friends isn't a do or die situation, there were a million easier things to do. I could have taken the easy route, but I didn't. And now I know that I wouldn't have traded that experience for anything. I hope that if you are going on your GO trip or are facing any sort of challenging circumstance, you understand that with adversity comes personal development. And personal development leads to happiness. I hope you enjoyed this week's blog post. Again sorry for the delay but I hope my words made up for it. Also, I hope you enjoy the photos from my climb. I can't wait to do it again next week. Ok, lets be honest.
Getting to your GO Location is probably the most stressful part of the whole experience. For me, it was an experience I'm not very eager to repeat but I don't regret a second of it. Let's break-down the experience, talk about where I struggled, and focus on ways to make it a smoother process. It starts with the goodbyes, a very rough way to start. I had a particularly hard time part with my pets but once I hit the road I was all smiles again. It can be very difficult to say goodbye to your family and depart for a new country all by yourself. Believe me, I had many sleepless nights filled with doubt leading up to my flight and it only got more stressful as the day got closer. But it's important to realize the value of this experience and have confidence that you can succeed. And success comes through preparation. When preparing for a large trip like a GO Long, make sure you have all the proper documentation to make it through security and customs when you arrive. It's always better to do it in advance, as I had to rush to get all of my papers printed before I hit the road and hopped the pond. Make sure you know what documentation you will need for the university you will be attending as well as what documents you need to make it through customs. Have them printed out and in an easily accessible location. Packing is another element of the GO Trip which brings stress but can be handled relatively easily. Make sure you understand the dimensions for check bags that the airline accepts. I had to scramble a week before my flight because I realized that the bags I had for check-in were too large and would be either rejected or subject to additional fees. Also be aware of the additional costs for extra baggage. Think carefully about bringing bulky items, especially ones which you may not actually need. A few luxuries are nice to bring with you but make sure you aren't compromising on the essentials. Lastly, and the one thing I didn't expect, is overall stress and doubt. I knew that there were some nerves about leaving the U.S.A and traveling into a new country alone. However, I didn't expect the immediate struggle and confusion which is present when you first arrive. This may be different for other GO Programs, but for Stirling it is all on you to make it to the university and figure out everything you need to do. It can be daunting and for a while, like I did, you may have doubts about your decision. I started trying to find ways to get back home or make time go by faster. That was about 4 hours ago as of writing this. I thought I had made a horrible choice and I felt alone. But, just as I was going back to my flat to wallow in my sadness, I ran into all of my flat mates. I'm sitting next to a few of them right now as I type this. That feeling of lonliness is gone and I am now optimistic that I am going to develop a deep, diverse, and interesting friend group. We are all going through the early travel struggles together and it makes the acclimation process that much easier. I'm confident that tomorrow moring, my stomach won't be as restless from the nerves and I'll feel much more confident exploring my surroundings and meeting new people. So, despite all of the struggles I had and the people I miss, *shoutout to Rachel Thibault*, I know that I have made the right decision and I know that if you take your time and are confident in the effort you put forth and your ability to succeed, you will make the right choice to. Thank you for reading my first blog! I hope it wasn't a painful mess to read. Tune in next week where I will update you on classes and talk about all the cool things I'm doing. |
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