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Scotland | Fun & Free

By Caitlyn Pickard

Five fun and free things to do in Scotland:

Hairy Coo  

The Hairy Coo offers a FREE Highland tour online! When I first signed up for this tour, I expected it to be a rerun of all the things I’ve seen and done in Scotland. FALSE. This tour was pretty darn amazing. It took us off the super touristy scenes and gave a little Scottish-insider looks at the Highlands. We went on a short hike to a waterfall, learned about the gory past of the Wallace monument, and, best of all, we got to feed some hairy coos! This was an amazing little one-day tour of the Highlands and cannot recommend it enough. Whether you’ve seen a lot of the Highlands or it’s your first time in Scotland, you’ll love this tour. Just make sure to sign up in advanced! They only have it during specific days, so check it out online to see what works for you. If you aren’t able to book the day you want, try going to the check-in point! You will get put onto a wait-list and, if the people who booked don’t show, you can take their seat! 

Ghost tours in Edinburgh 

They aren’t exaggerating that Edinburgh has a dark, bloody past. This free walking tour will take you back into the history of Edinburgh, with a focus on murder and death. FUN! We went when it was still daylight outside because I’m a total scaredy cat, but it still had the creepy aura to it. A few stories include grave robberies, gruesome murder, and a little magic. My favorite story was about the close we visited. The story goes, if you bring a vial of your blood and throw it at the wall, you gain access to this magical market place. This market place will grant you anything you want, at a price of course. The price is usually a piece of you, like an eye, a hand, etc. What would you wish for? 

NOTE: all these tours are free, which means the tour guides are doing it without pay. Their income = TIPS. Now, generally,  tipping is not customary in Scotland; however, free tours are an exception. If you thoroughly enjoyed a tour, give them a £5 tip or more. I avoid giving change because it feels weird; however, that’s totally a personal preference.  

Arthur’s Seat 

Arthur’s Seat is like a staple of Edinburgh. You just have to do it. The hike itself is relatively beginner, so you won’t have to worry too much about physical exertion; however, if you go during the winter after it’s rained and frozen over, it may be a bit of a challenge and you will probably wipe out on your butt once or twenty times. But it is so worth it. If the hike didn’t make you breathless, the view will. At the top of Arthur’s Seat, you can see most of Edinburgh city. Some cool history about Arthur’s Seat is that it’s an extinct volcano. That makes it especially cool in my opinion. It’s also a quick escape from the city if you just need a little nature in your day.  

Dr. Neil’s Garden 

Hilary, the most amazing UCEAP employee ever, told us about this hidden garden. It’s a little outside of the city, which is why it took me forever to go and visit. Regrets. This garden is perfect and so serene. When I went, it felt like I was breaking in since it was so secluded, but it is totally open to the public. It kind of reminded me of the Secret Garden. There’s ponds and fountains, with a variety of different flora, and it’s right next to a loch. It’s perfect for some alone time or just a pause from the busyness of life. There’s swans and geese in the loch, which sits in front of the picturesque Arthur’s Seat.

Portobello Beach 

The day I went it was sunny, which meant it was about 60 degrees. Hello summer! I met with this group called The Wild Ones. And wild they are. What do the Wild Ones do you ask? Well, they go swimming in the freezing cold water. Ever swam in the Pacific during the winter? THAT’S NOTHING. I went in for 20 minutes and was frozen to the bone for the next 3 hours. I couldn’t stop shivering! Granted, some of the members wear wetsuits, which is not what I packed for my time abroad, but a lot of them didn’t. Also, some were training for a triathlon in this water. Serious props to these members. After wading through the water and getting completely numb to the fingertips, you kind of get this adrenaline rush. It feels amazing! Like I walked out of the water feeling like a baddie. I was down to wrestle a lion at that point. I felt invincible. Until the shiver came on about 30 min later. The amazing feeling still remained, just with less invincible-like feelings. After our dip, a few of the members and I went to this little café on the promenade called Miro Café. They have a full menu, coffee, and cakes. Holy moly, their CAKES. I had a banana toffee cake and it was positively scrumptious. I can’t even begin to describe how delicious it was, so I’ll leave it to your envious imagination. After overloading on sugar, I decided to chill out at the beach and just enjoy the sun. It was a great day. Definitely one of my favorites.  

Caitlyn Pickard studied abroad in Edinburgh, Scotland in Spring in 2018 :http://eap.ucop.edu/OurPrograms/United_Kingdom_Scotland/Pages/host_Edinburgh/UKImmersion.aspx

Scotland | Self-Care

By Caitlyn Pickard

Throughout my college career, I struggled with depression. Additional stress as a student is only natural. With the sleepless nights and exam prompted anxiety, mental illness is quite prevalent amongst college students. Studying abroad does not help with these triggers. Honestly, it adds onto it. The new environment and lack of familiarity can sometimes seem overwhelming. When I am abroad for long periods, I have heightened emotions and feel even more alone on foreign soil. Language barriers may stop you from having deeper connections. Cultural customs may make you feel more like an outsider. Although there is no cure for mental illness, there are some tricks that can anchor you down to reality and can distract you from those feelings. One thing to note is that I have been handling my mental illness without additional therapy or medication for approximately two years now. Therefore, I have been regulating my mental illness pretty solo. If you think that study abroad may be a negative impact on your mental health, talk to your therapist or a close companion about whether or not studying abroad will be good for you. There are always opportunities to travel, but it shouldn’t put your mental health at risk. Know your limits and always take care of yourself.  

Now, with all that background, I wanted to share a couple of things that helped me during my time abroad. Granted, many of these things are personalized, but I hope that maybe it will give you the opportunity to think of things that may work best for you or may not.  

Journaling 

Something I recently picked up was journaling. In my personal opinion, my journal sucks. It doesn’t have profound thought processes or anything truly of significance; however, it is nice to have that comfort of being able to pour out everything I may have been feeling on that day. It’s also helpful to look back on days that may have been just-a-day-in-a-life, where things might have been mediocre but things were okay. It’s important to remind yourself that things will be okay. Things may just be temporary and you won’t feel this way forever. Now, this is something that works for me. Feel free to adapt for what works for you. Maybe that’s art or writing music. Just finding a way to express yourself can help at times.  

Yoga 

While I was in Edinburgh, I picked up doing yoga. I’m used to working hard, being out of breath, and sweat dripping into my eye whenever I do workouts. As an individual, I’m also a very impatient person (sorry to my friends and family that know this and have to deal with it constantly! Love you!). So needless to say, yoga was very difficult for me. I started following Yoga with Adrienne on YouTube. She had a few 30 day yoga challenges that I decided to follow. I didn’t follow them very well, but I did begin to develop a routine. I began to do a short yoga video about 3 times a week. It was a refreshing feeling either waking up to greet the morning (or afternoon depending…) or to meditate with Adrienne and her quirky sweet presence. I began to feel more centered and in touch with myself. It was a nice and peaceful feeling. 

Visit a beautiful place 

Or even just a place that gives you a positive feeling. My happy places are at the ocean with the sun on my skin. Although sun in Scotland is rare, it does happen and it’s glorious. There’s also Dr. Neil’s Garden which is only a 30 min walk from Cameron Toll (see my post on Free Things To Do in Edinburgh for more info). Maybe for you going to a more busy place gives you feelings of comfort, such as a popular restaurant or the lounge in your dorm. Or maybe you like people being around, but not really loud. Try out the movies or the university library. Once you find these places, keep a mental note on where you feel most at ease so you can visit it during those moments. 

 

Distraction is key 

Sometimes you just need something to occupy your thoughts so you don’t dwell on the negative. It doesn’t need to be anything big. Something I do is take a shower or just eat ice. By having a physical sensation change, it can distract you from what is overwhelming you at the moment. Now, I’m not advising this as a procrastination method, but Netflix or Amazon Prime can also help. Watching any shows or movies can preoccupy your thoughts. For example, I watch stupid teenage dramas and get really into them, like “omg I can’t believe Matty McKibben is STILL into Jenna even though she’s a total jerk”. I will neither admit nor deny that those are things I’ve said verbatim, but you get the jest. You begin to get wrapped up in their drama that, for a small moment, you forget what you were thinking about. If you can’t afford Amazon Prime or Netflix, don’t worry! With your email address from your university abroad, you’re eligible for a free 6-month Prime trial. Just make sure you use your new country’s Amazon website (i.e. amazon.co.uk).  

Reach out 

My final piece of advice is to call friends or family. You don’t necessarily have to tell them what’s going on in your mind, but just having some familiarity can really help. I hope these techniques help or facilitate some brainstorming of things that could help you in the future. If not, well then welcome to a bit of insight on my mental illness. Having a mental illness is difficult and can be even more difficult when abroad. Just remember, you aren’t alone. Always remember to take care of yourself and take some time to treat yourself. I’ve treated myself a lot during this break. My bank account can confirm. But that’s okay. Because what’s more important than my debt is my healthy mental state.  

Caitlyn Pickard studied abroad in Edinburgh, Scotland in Spring 2018: http://eap.ucop.edu/OurPrograms/United_Kingdom_Scotland/Pages/host_EdinburghUKImmersion.aspx

Scotland | Highland Games

By Caitlyn Pickard

When deciding to come to Scotland, my brain immediately jumped to the movie Made of Honor, a cheesy romcom featuring Patrick Dempsy. Just the thought of getting stuck on a road surrounded by sheep, finding a thistle in the rolling green countryside, and strong Scottish men in kilts throwing around tree trunks to win my heart. Needless to say, none of these things  happened; however, I did get to see Scottish men throwing tree trunks (also known as caber) at the Highland games, among other amazing things.  

The history of the Highland games began as an effort by aristocrats trying to save Scottish culture after the British had created laws against tartan and strongly advising against the use of Gaelic. Many pipers began to compete since a lot of the dynamics of their career within clan families had changed under British influence. It was the main source of a steady income. Thus, begun the popularity of the games. This is a really watered down version of the Highland Games beginning, but it’s a few of the main pointers. If you’re interested in learning more, you should try to take the bagpiping class! It’s definitely an experience. Yes, I learned to play some bagpipe songs. No, I will not be playing them for you because I’m terrible.  

Anyways, more about the Highland Games today! They really only happen during the summer months, like late-May to August. You can check to see when the upcoming games are on shga.co.uk! So, that’s what I did in April and found that there was ONE game happening right before I leave. I decided then and there that I would definitely be going. I was lucky enough to have some friends who were also down for an adventure to the Highlands and enjoy tree trunk throwing. As you can see, I was really excited to see people throwing tree trunks. Don’t ask me why. It’s just amazing.  

From Edinburgh, I traveled to Inverness via bus, which was way cheaper than train. While in Inverness, I stayed in a hostel and decided to explore Inverness for a few days. Just so you know, if you get a chance, check out Rosemarkie. It’s the cutest little town with a lot of exploring and a lovely beach. It’s only a 30 min bus ride from Inverness. Trust me. It’s just so peaceful and a lovely refresher, totally worth it. Unless you’re a city person. Maybe not your scene. After my exploring of Inverness and surrounding areas, I took a bus to Elgin and stayed in an Airbnb with two of my friends.  

We were pretty excited about the games. Needless to say, it did not disappoint! It was awesome. In the beginning, we watched the youth play the Highland heavy weight games, such as little hammer, weight over the bar, and, my personal favorite, caber. These young men were amazing, and slightly terrifying. In agreement with competition rules, they were dressed in traditional kilts and socks for the games. Then, we happened upon the highland dancing. It was so graceful, similar to ballet, but with more cardio due to all the jumping.  We cruised around all the different booths. I found some delicious honey made from bees who pollenated heather flowers. Tony, one of the owners working the honey booth, shared information about their business with us and also lots of samples. Super yum. We also got to try different whiskeys, cheeses, and fudges at the various stands. Quite the variety. And all absolutely mouth-watering. Except the whiskey, which had a wee bit of kick. 

This was one of the most cultural experiences that I was lucky enough to participate in. The best part was that there was almost no tourists. It was an authentic look into some of the Highland culture in Scotland. If there’s one thing you have to do when in Scotland, it is to go to a Highland Games competition. You won’t regret it! I definitely don’t! One thing I learned today is that tree trunk throwing is as awesome as Hollywood made it seem.  

“Wherever I wander, 

Wherever I roam, 

The hills of the Highlands 

Forever  I love” 

Robert Burns 

Caitlyn Pickard studied abroad in Edinburgh, Scotland in Spring 2018: http://eap.ucop.edu/OurPrograms/United_Kingdom_Scotland/Pages/host_EdinburghUKImmersion.aspx

Scotland | Airport Woes and Getting to Scotland

BY CAITLYN PICKARD

Having traveled internationally more than once and having had my share of interesting experiences while travelling, the beginning of my travels to Scotland began a bit rocky and challenged my travel experience. I decided to depart approximately a week before the program start date in order to insure that I’d arrive in Scotland on time. My mom, who has never left the country, and I decided to travel to Europe for the holidays. My flight was cancelled/delayed for about 5 hours. That was okay because I found out about it before leaving for the airport; unfortunately, the new route had a layover of 23 hours in Russia. I’ve done long layovers before but I really didn’t want to do that; especially because the 23-hour layover would be on Christmas day. Airports are not a conventional Christmas destination and also not particularly fun. Go figure. Upon arriving at the airport, I asked about our airline rerouting us onto the quickest flight to my destination, or at least something that didn’t have me stranded at an airport. Luckily, they found something that would have a short layover and have us arriving on Christmas day. We arrive at the airport to check in with our rerouted airline… who then tells us they do not have a ticket under our names. Of course, I begin to panic because the original cancelled flight had departed hours before. Neither our original airline or our new airline knew who we were supposed to fly with. Thankfully, everything was eventually situated, although we are still not quite sure what happened. All that mattered was that it was fixed.

After the holidays, I flew to Scotland and arrived at 1am, exhausted from travelling. The flight attendants began passing around visa forms that needed to be filled out before arriving at the visa stations. After exiting the plane, I rushed to the front of the line. My nice, warm hotel bed was calling my name. I got to the passport control officer, handed all the documents to him. He then asked, “Where’s your acceptance letter from the university?”. I pointed to the document I printed out and he said, “No, that isn’t acceptable. It doesn’t have the start and end dates of your semester program.” I then apologized because I didn’t realize it had to have the dates. He proceeded to tell me that all the other documents I had brought to him didn’t matter. I was thoroughly confused and starting to worry; what happens when you fly to a country and they don’t let you in?? Luckily, I didn’t have to find out. He let me through with a warning and my visa for Scotland perfectly stamped into my passport. I have been preparing for this trip for months. Prior to Scotland, I was studying abroad in Senegal. I thought I knew what to expect and all the things I needed for a smooth arrival. But, even in my plethora of lists, I still wasn’t fully prepared. Travelling is a finicky trickster, and it’s necessary to be flexible throughout the journey. Eventually, everything works out.

Traveling can be a scary thing, but it can also create the most interesting stories that tests your patience and flexibility. This may be a stretch, but the traveling to point A to B really adds to your character and teaches you a lot about yourself and interactions with other people. Although going to the airport and flying internationally can be stressful, I always look back at the downside and find that all the stress and worry I possessed at that moment turned out okay, sometimes even wonderfully.

Caitlyn Pickard studied abroad in Edinbugh, Scotland, in Spring 2018: http://eap.ucop.edu/OurPrograms/United_Kingdom_Scotland/Pages/host_EdinburghUKImmersion.aspx