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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 | Snow

BY CAITLYN PICKARD

It has a snowed once or twice in Edinburgh since I’ve been here. Each time, it has been magical. Like what is this white, beautiful pureness fluttering around me. As you can see, I don’t get out of Los Angeles too much. I’ve always loved snow and the chill. But last Thursday kind of changed my perspective. I got caught in what has been named THE BEAST FROM THE EAST.

This beast was not very friendly. It caused Edinburgh to go into a red weather alert. It was the first time I had seen actual traffic in Edinburgh. Buses were getting full and not allowing any new passengers. The University closed for the day. People were completely covered in snow, looking like a hoard of abominable snowmen/women. At first I thought, “Wow this is so cool. First snow day!”. Then I got home, looked at the remains of my fridge (a carton of eggs and a bag of tomatoes), and realized I needed groceries. Good thing the grocery store didn’t close ‘til 10pm. Obviously, my naïve self went to the grocery store, only to find out they had sent all their employees home because of the storm. So, eggs was the entrée for dinner that night.

The storm proceeded to continue to the next day. There were no buses running. Unfortunately, David Horn House is one of the furthest places from city center and also in a residential area. Not much to do or see. So, I spent a majority of the day studying… I said to myself as I opened up a Netflix tab. Honestly, the cold causes me to become a vegetable who drinks a lot of tea and snuggles into my duvets. Later that day, I got a message from my friend saying “Let’s build a snowman in the Meadows!”. Um, yes! I have never built a snowman before. Plus, I thought it would be good to leave bed and socialize. Mistakes … just kidding but building a snowman is HARD, dude. If Ana woke me up in the middle of the night to build a snowman, my answer would have been, heck no.

After a mini snowball war, my friends and I started rolling snowballs in the snow to get them bigger. By the end of it, I felt like my biceps tripled in size because we had made boulders at that point. My hair was icicles and I couldn’t feel my face or lips anymore. But, goal was accomplished. We built a snowman. His name was Gerald, who had the most personality out of all the snowmen in the Meadow.

I decided to call an Uber because I was a popsicle at this point. Of course, no Ubers. Anywhere. So, I proceeded to make the 30-minute trek back home in the snow. At the moment, I could not wait to get back to the warmth of my house and a hot cup of tea. But, I wouldn’t have traded a minute of those snowy days. Snow can be painful and scary, but I still love it. I just know to fear it a little more. Also, I miss California so much. I thought I always wanted to live in a place where it had real seasons, but this event has caused me to reconsider and appreciate the lack of winter weather in Los Angeles. Vacations in snow, yes. Living in snowy places, I think I’ll pass.

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

Scotland | Places to Study

BY CAITLYN PICKARD

I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty much a professional procrastinator. Studying is extremely hard for me because I can only focus for an hour max at a time. I have specific requirements for my study places: 1) not too hot, not too cold, 2) either complete silence, or coffee house feels, 3) upright sitting areas, and most importantly, 4) coffee and/or tea must be supplied at said location. I can never have one specific place I go to either. I need a change of scenery from time to time. So I usually bounce around from study areas every other day or so. Here’s a list of my favorite locations. Added bonus, all of these locations have access to coffee/tea for reasonable prices.

Main Library

The University of Edinburgh has the main library open 24/7 for THE WHOLE SEMESTER. So when you get that craving that we all get at 2am to study for our courses, the library will be there to welcome you with open doors. There’s a ton of different places available to meet your study needs. It is quite packed with students throughout the day, but there is always a space to study. Another plus to the university’s library is the café on the ground floor. You don’t even have to leave the building to get your caffeine fix. My favorite drink from here is the mocha. It’s the perfect balance of chocolate and coffee. Yum!

Black Medicine Coffee

This place can get quite busy during school hours and weekend afternoons. If you are able to find a seat at this popular café, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the array of drinks and pastries available while you get your study on. They have smoothies, teas, coffees, and various tasty treats. If you

Love Crumbs

Love Crumbs is a smaller café but a very popular location. It has a very communal feel. If you like a more busy environment to match your productivity, this is a nice spot to study in. You can sit anywhere you’d like, even if it’s a table full of strangers; it’s an addition to the ambience of this coffee spot. It’s a little more detached from the university, but still not too far. If you would like a little walking break before going deep into study mode, this is the perfect place for you.

Brew Lab

This is my favorite coffee/tea spot. Their carrot cake is amazing and I LOVE their lotus jasmine tea. The feel of this café is very laid back but also conducive for studying. They have a view couches and chairs that are for a more cozy feel. For those of you that don’t want to get too comfortable while studying, there are plenty of tables and more private corners to study in. This is my go to café for studying. It’s very close to campus with a warm environment.

DAI PAI

This Asian street food establishment also has gourmet coffees and teas. The best part? Free cake with a hot beverage! Also, this is the cheapest coffee place I’ve found in Edinburgh. If you have a love for Asian teas, they have the classics here. I ordered a pot chrysanthemum tea here for £2.50. Definitely helped my cold feel better and remedied a bit of my homesickness.

During lunch time, it can get a little busy so maybe not the best study location unless  you go during off eating times. The Wi-Fi can be a little dodgy, but that’s a good thing if you need to focus without the constant lure of the interweb. I honestly love the feel of this place. And free cake. Free cake is a significant plus.

Side note: All of these places accept cash or card. I usually stick to plastic because I have some credit cards that waive the foreign transaction fee, so this is important to me at least!

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

Scotland | Joining a Society

BY CAITLYN PICKARD

Upon arriving, University of Edinburgh had a ‘Give it a Go’ week. This week was dedicated to introducing  the variety of functions and societies that the university has to offer and encouraging students to partake in free samples. But what exactly are societies? Societies are the equivalent of the clubs we have on campus. Most societies require that you purchase a membership, which varies depending on what society it is and what they offer their members with or without additional costs. Below are some of the popular ones I’ve heard about and my own preferences:

Baking Society

I went to the Baking Society’s Give it a Go event and had a blast! Recipes and ingredients were provided. If you like baking and eating baked goods, this society might be the perfect fit! For weekly meetings, everyone brings along baked goods and just enjoy the deliciousness and good company. Every month or so there are themed baking events, where everyone bakes a specialized treat at a central location. A membership for this society is £5 and certain event’s cost for ingredients.

Unfortunately, I didn’t join because I have no idea how to work the oven at my house. It’s just mug cakes for me this semester…

Murder Mystery Society

The Murder Mystery Society is one of the best societies on campus. It has the most lovely people and also it’s loads of fun! Every month we do a murder mystery that has been written by one of the members. What exactly is a murder mystery? Well, basically, you sign up for a character and, when the murder mystery draws near, you receive a character sheet. This character sheet says who you are,  what your secrets and motives are, and what kind of actions you can perform. It’s role play but also very strategic. Even though the ideas are written, it never necessarily has the same outcome. Alliances are made. Trust is broken. And murder everywhere!

Also, they have this going away weekend in Spring semester to the Highlands, where we play a plethora of board games and, of course, a murder mystery. This is by far my favorite society. Definitely worth a look!

Membership to this society is £3. After that, going to most society events are free! If you’re unsure of joining, each murder mystery is £1 for non-members.

Pole Dancing Society

I joined the Pole Dancing Society because I always loved how majestic pole dancers look when doing their dances. It truly is a form of art, graceful and beautiful. That’s definitely not how I looked during my first class, but a girl can dream, right?

The Pole Dancing Society provides classes for beginners, intermediate, and advanced levels. They provide poles and loads of advice on how to learn the basics of pole dancing. They also offer flexibility workshops and ‘sexy’ workshops throughout the semester. Everyone is super sweet and the instructors are very skilled and patient. If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to pole dance or even just want to find a new form of exercise, check out this society! It’s way cheaper than any pole dancing classes you’ll find in LA!

A membership for this society is £6, with most classes being £3 each. Classes go online every Thursday at 6pm. Set an alarm because beginner classes fill up within the first 10 minutes!

FAQ: Card and Board Games Society

If you like playing board games, this society is for you! They meet almost every Tuesday at a pub to play board games for hours on end. They have a plethora of board games and everyone encourages a friendly, competitive environment. They’ll occasionally have bowling nights or join with the Murder Mystery society for some nights. I LOVE board games so going to board game nights on a Tuesday night is a fun way to stress relieve after a long day of school. A membership for this society is £3.

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

Scotland | Life in Edinburgh Part 1

BY CAITLYN PICKARD

I never moved anywhere before college. I lived in the same house for 18 years of my life. Then came college, where I realized, moving is kind of a stressful feeling. You begin to learn about the little quirks and secrets that your new community has to offer. Upon arriving, I wasn’t really sure of anything. The orientations provided by UCEAP and University of Edinburgh were beyond helpful, but there were still some unanswered questions I had. Where to buy groceries, how to explore Edinburgh, getting a new phone sim etc. Through trial, error, and some small financial mistakes, I found myself settling into my surroundings and making Edinburgh my temporary home.

THE BASICS

Phone Services

There are quite a few phone services to choose from, but the two that I researched were EE and Vodafone. EE is the UK company partnered with Orange and T-Mobile. Vodafone is a company frequently seen all over Europe. When using a new phone service while traveling for a short-period of time, it is best to use a pay-as-you-go plan. You will also need an unlocked phone. Depending on what service and type of phone you use in the U.S., you may want to check and see if they can unlock it for free. If you do not have an unlocked phone, you may want to buy a cheap phone to use for your time abroad. When you go to a phone service company, they’ll give you a new SIM card for you to use while using their company services. Below are two similar plans that EE and Vodafone provide:

EE – £15 Vodafone – £15
·      Unlimited text to UK numbers

·      500 min of calls to UK numbers

·      5 GB anything

·      Unlimited text & call to UK numbers

·      Unlimited Social Media data

·      5 GB of other data (internet, videos, etc.)

Unfortunately, I didn’t know about these different options prior to purchasing a plan. I ended up getting an EE plan (at the Cameron Toll location). I could have changed it after learning about the Vodafone plan, but I found that the EE £15 plan suited me fine and EE has better coverage. There are a few other phone services so choose the one that suits your needs! Don’t forget, there’s free wifi everywhere so you don’t have to worry too much about your data limits J

Transportation

If you are a South campus major, you’ll more than likely have a few classes in King’s Building. This is a branch of University of Edinburgh, but it isn’t on main campus. It’s actually like a 20-minute walk from main campus, so if you are expecting to have some math and/or science classes, you might consider living at David Horn House or Kitchner. If not, then you might want to pick a different accommodation. I didn’t know this so I just went for the cheapest housing. Consequently, I am approximately a 30-minute walk from main campus and city center. I considered walking to main campus every day; I mean it’s the same amount of time for me to walk from my apartment in Westwood to North campus, but I’d also skip classes because it would become an excuse. Side note, don’t skip class here, you could get dropped from a course. Not worth it! SO, to avoid that, I decided to buy a bus pass. No excuses for me. A bus pass is £45 for 4 weeks. It’s really nice because I can go to and from campus and also explore Edinburgh without worrying about paying for a single ride on the bus (£1.70 one way). Also, I can use to to and from the airport (£4.50 one way)! Definitely worth it for me.

If you don’t want to walk but still want your exercise, you could buy a used bike in Edinburgh. It’s approximately $100. One other option is Uber. Yes, it is available here! But it does seem a bit more pricey than back in LA. Each ride is about £5 or more, even if it’s a kind of close distance.

Now if you’re strapped for cash, there’s always the free option: using those UCLA-hill conditioned legs.

Groceries

There are 4 main grocery stores that I’ll frequent: Sainsbury, Tesco, Lidl, and Aldi. I usually go to Aldi at Cameron Toll because it is close to my house, David Horn. If you’re more central to campus, there is Sainsbury, Tesco, and Lidl. Normally, Lidl and Aldi have the best deals and cheapest prices; HOWEVER, it really can depend on the things you’re buying. The prices vary from place to place, or can be exactly the same. I usually avoid Sainsbury unless Aldi is closed or if I’m too far away from Tesco or Lidl. On average, it seems to have higher prices. On the plus side, it’s open later and is also in Cameron Toll (for those living in David Horn House).

Hygiene

Boots and Superdrug are the two main stores where you can grab your pharmaceutical items and also any other toiletries you may need. Both have multiple locations in Edinburgh and some close to campus. I only recently found out that Superdrug was similar to Boots. From the outside, it looks like a beauty store. Compared to certain Boots locations, it may have a larger selection of beauty products than Boots. Also, it is a little bit cheaper based off the things I buy.

Clothing and Home Goods

In general, clothing and home goods can be found in Primark and various charity shops on Clerk Street. For clothing options, Primark is a chain retail store with reasonably priced items. Think of it like a European Forever21. They also have H&M a few stores down from Primark on Princes Street. Speaking of Princes Street, that’s the perfect place to go shopping for new clothes. Now, if you’re a bit concerned about your budget abroad, the charity shops are perfect. Their items are gently used and great prices, usually £5 or under. Plus, it goes to a great cause. Feel good and look great option. Primark and charity shops do have a few home good items, but that isn’t what the majority of their products are. If you can’t find what you need there or just need functional products, check out some of the bargain or PoundSaver stores. They have almost anything you’d need and are relatively cheap. There’s a few of these near campus on Clerk Street and also one in Cameron Toll.

Caitlyn Pickard studied abroad in Edinbugh, 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