In just a few hours, I’ll be getting on the plane to go to Scotland. The closer I get to leaving, the more nervous I feel, but also the more excited. I think I’d be much more nervous if I wasn’t travelling around Scotland with my parents before I start orientation for the university on the ninth of September in Edinburgh.

Most of my ideas about Scotland come from my godparents, who are from the United Kingdom and are one of the reasons I chose to study in Scotland. One of them is Scottish and the other is English. From my experiences with them, and with other members of their family, the Scottish seem friendly and very proud of their heritage.

I am curious as to what occasions people wear kilts, or if they wear them at all besides formal events. My goal is to go into the country intentionally with as few preconceived notions about the culture as possible, because I’m sure to be proven wrong. I really want to integrate myself and learn about the culture first hand while I am in Scotland. I’m going to try to experience everything that I can while I’m there.

I am expecting the culture to be similar in some ways to my own in America, but also that there will be large differences. Learning about these similarities and differences is one of the reasons I’m so excited about studying abroad.