Hey there everybody, after nearly 17 hours of traveling, practically no sleep, and a lot of hanging around in airports, I have finally made it to the University of Stirling in Scotland. I flew from PDX to Calgary, then to London, and finally to Edinburgh. On my flight from Calgary to London, I didn’t sleep much because there were two crying, unhappy children sitting in the row in front of me. Oh well, I found other ways to pass the time (I almost finished the book I brought with me).

A farewell to Portland as I get ready to board my plane to Canada.

Nearly to London!

As I said before, my flights were all on time and I had no complications getting to and from different terminals. I flew into Edinburgh, where I would meet a shuttle to take me to the University. My shuttle driver’s name was Hamish (how much more Scottish can you get), he was super nice and pointed out all kinds of things on our 45 minute drive to Stirling. After saying goodbye to Hamish, I was given the keys to my flat, which I share with four other girls for my eight weeks here. No one was there when I got there because everyone was on a day tour of Stirling, which I sadly missed because of previous engagements at WOU.

My view of the Wallace Monument from my flat.

Since then, I have unpacked and met all of my flatmates. I have found out that some Scottish accents are a lot harder to understand than others, I have had to ask people to repeat things so many times, which can be a bit embarrassing. Today was my first day of classes and was a bit overwhelming for me. I had missed registration and a lot of the information at orientation, but luckily one of the program coordinators helped me out and now I know what’s going on. I also went to the store with one of my roommates to pick up some food supplies. Other than that, I am still settling in and figuring out just what I am going to do and where I want to go with the rest of my time here in Stirling. Even though it is a bit stressful now, I know everything will work out fine in the end!

Natalie

So I have less than 24 hours left until I leave for Scotland. After taking my last two finals, and finishing all of my RA check-out duties, it’s finally hitting me that I am going to Scotland! I am so excited to live and experience the culture and people. I’m surprisingly not that nervous about it, which is surprising sense I tend to worry about everything. The closer and closer I get to leaving, the more and more sure I am that I made the right choice in going to Scotland. If you ask my parents, they will say I chose Scotland because I am determined to find Hogwarts. While I would be lying if I said that wasn’t totally true, I really chose Scotland because of the rich culture and the ancestral ties I have there.

I will be at the University of Stirling for the next eight weeks and I couldn’t be more excited. I know that I will be exhausted and tired from all of the traveling, but I can’t wait to see and do everything over there, I have a huge list of things that I want to see and do. Hopefully I will get some sleep tonight so I can start off my journey on the right foot. I’ve included some pictures that I think best represent my preconceived notions and ideas of Scotland (I know that Scotland is more than highlands and castles), because I think it is important to log every step of my journey, both physically and personally. So until next time (when I will finally be in Scotland) then!

Natalie

Hi, as you probably already saw, my name is Natalie Wallace. I am currently a sophomore (almost a junior) here at Western Oregon University. I am a biology major with a chemistry minor (yes, I like science) and in the future I want to work in the medical field. I’m not exactly sure what I want to do after I graduate yet, I am just exploring all of my options.
I’m using this post to tell you a little about myself before I begin my study abroad journey in less than a week! I will be going to Scotland for eight whole weeks. Why Scotland you may ask? Well, ever since I was very young, I have been obsessed with the United Kingdom in general (I think it all started with Harry Potter). I also wanted to go to Scotland since my ancestors are from there (my last name is Wallace) and wanted to learn more about the Scottish culture and people. I just find the differences between our two cultures fascinating for some reason.
I’ve wanted to study abroad since high school, when my family hosted several exchange students (from Germany, France, and the Czech Republic). Seeing how much they enjoyed their experience just made me want to do it too, so here I am heading to Scotland in less than a week! I am so excited for this adventure and will post my pre-departure thoughts soon.