Student Bloggers

By Jonny S., Museum Studies Internship Program, Scotland

So my story begins a little differently then most... Usually, most study abroad students travel directly to their new 'home' and begin to get settled in; however, I decided to go the more interesting route.

I’m part of the marching band at Iowa State University and this year we were invited to play as representatives for the United States at the Normandy D-Day ceremonies. This amazing journey started on June 2nd when a band of 150 students flew into Paris and traveled directly to Normandy. The experience I had there was amazing! First we marched and played at the St. Mere Eglise celebration. There were so many reenactors it was incredible, and I was also able to meet a D-Day veteran. We then played at the American cemetery at Utah beach in which the commander of the US army gave a speech and another US veteran talked - the mood was very somber. We also were able to play at the Brittney American cemetery as well. Along with this, we explored various towns across Normandy including Bayeux and Mont Saint Michel, an immense medieval fortress. After all this we drove back to Paris for a few days.In just these few days, I saw so many sites in Paris including the Eiffel Tower, the Champs-Elysees, Notre Dame and Sacre-Coeur. We also performed at the Jardin d’Acclimatation, a huge park right outside of the city. Overall it was one of the best experiences I have had.

From there I traveled up to London by train, but because of my band trip I was unfortunately unable to make it to orientation in Edinburgh. My train took me up to Edinburgh a day after orientation ended. This was hard start for me as I arrived in the city midday in a much colder environment then in France. This shift surprised me when I got there but I learned to adapt quickly, I am Minnesotan of course. When first arriving I headed to Darroch Court which are student apartments in downtown Edinburgh. While I did look awkward dragging around three bags, I was able to have one of my roommates let me in and from there I grabbed keys and got my room. From there I began to meet everyone in the program and started to understand what my program was. While I was initially confused without orientation, I wouldn’t have missed my band trip for anything, and from this great start I feel that I will have just as great a start in Edinburgh.

Jonny is a student at Iowa State University and is blogging from his summer abroad with the Museum Studies Internship Program, in Edinburgh, Scotland.