Student Bloggers

The greatest crime in the world is not to develop your potential. When you do what you do best, you are helping not only yourself, but the world.” -Roger Williams

By exactly 4:02 PM EST on Sunday January 6th, 2018, the car was packed and my family was on its way to Boston Logan International Airport. A “lightly packed” suitcase one pound short of a heavy fee, a stuffed backpack, and yours truly, cleared for take off, were officially en route to Edinburgh, Scotland! Not even my envelope of important documents, all of my itineraries, check lists and rehearsals could show my excitement nor could they prepare me for what the next 24 hours of my life would be like. But do not fear! I have since made it to my destination all in one piece with even more excitement. I have already experienced so much and before I could even make it to my school, I learned what is probably the most valuable lesson of travel: Do. Not. Stress.

Now don't get me wrong! Stress can be healthy in small doses, but if you know me/are anything like me, it can also be incredibly taxing. One moment you are cool and then something small throws you for a loop. The best thing I could have done before embarking on this journey was come to terms with my anxiety and become comfortable with techniques in overcoming stressful situations. So that leads me to my first token of advice from a beginner student traveler to another: Be familiar with strategies in remaining calm so you can be as confident and rational as possible when approaching new challenges. Keep in mind that your chances of encountering situations just like you predicted them being is pretty slim! Don’t expect the most unexpected, but know that things won’t always go as planned… which brings me to me journey across the pond!

I said my goodbyes to my family and my suitcase just outside of security before making my way to a Friendly’s bbq chicken sandwich and, finally, my gate. It was nearing 8:00 PM in Boston, already 40 minutes past the original planned departure time, and the plane was being taxied toward the runway. With my seatbelt fastened, table secured and seat in the full upright position, I was more than ready to discover my new home. By 8:15 PM we were in the air.

Flash forward thru a package of lightly salted almonds, about 5 hours of sleep, a complimentary packaged breakfast, and an hour of looking out the window, we were beginning our descent into London-Heathrow. To sum this up in about as much time as I was given in between landing at 8:10 AM in London, walking, making sure my checked bag was still transferring straight to Edinburgh, waiting in insanely huge lines, walking more, trying to get my boarding pass printed, passing thru customs, and getting on my next flight by 8:55 AM, I ended up missing my connecting flight! If you couldn't have already guessed, my anxiety level was at its highest! A beginner traveler’s worst fear: missing a flight and being alone in a new foreign country with no means of familiar communication. Thankfully, the people who work at London-Heathrow including the helping team in the “purple shirts” were very accommodating and were extremely helpful in guiding me, as well as others, onto new flights. So here is my next piece of advice: You are not alone. When people say “Oh we've seen this before,” trust them! More often than not, they already have a pretty solid procedure for how to go about fixing things. Just take a step back, work with them, and look over your shoulder because there are probably others having the same issue. In fact, I met someone studying abroad with me who missed the same flight! And this same piece of advice can apply to the next iconic traveling problem that got thrown my way…

Within three hours, I was on my last leg of travel toward my final destination! Edinburgh was the light at the end of the tunnel and my excitement was still growing. I was overhearing a mix of lovely Scottish accents and people sharing their studying abroad plans at the University of Edinburgh. My short period of feeling a bit alone was gone and I was ready to grab my luggage and head toward the bus terminal as soon as I got off the plane… but you guessed it! Baggage claim turned up empty handed with my one and only suitcase and I was on a time crunch at this point to get to my orientation. And the best part was, they had no idea where my luggage went after it was checked at Boston. So what did I do? Just what I learned to do just hours before. I stayed calm and trusted the system! (All you can really do is be patient and stay calm if this happens to you). I gave the airport my information, the address of the hotel that I was staying at for the next couple of days and headed for the bus. During that time, I met even more people from my program who were either willing to help, were just arriving themselves, or were missing bags of their own; and together we made it to orientation! Turns out there was no reason to rush because programs like Arcadia are always understanding of situations like mine.

As soon as I arrived and got comfortable, I asked my leaders what they thought I should do about my luggage and they reassured me that I took all of the right steps and should try and contact them in the next couple of days if it hadn't arrived yet. Which brings me to another good point: Do not be afraid to ask questions! There is nothing wrong with being unsure about something and there is no such thing as a bad question! If you have one, be sure to get it answered. The first few days I was able to get creative with wearing the same shirt, sweatshirt and various random pairs of pants that I had packed in my carry-on along with a toothbrush, toothpaste and a washcloth (I would highly recommend packing a few small bathroom essentials, including any medications, in case you wind up needing them or if you need to freshen up during a layover!)

Ever since my first double decker bus ride into the beautiful city of Edinburgh, Scotland, I have already begun to fall in love with the place that I will call home for the next 5 months. I met plenty of new people and friends at orientation and throughout the course of my first week, began finding where the best pubs are, and have also explored only a sliver of what Edinburgh has to offer. I have visited the iconic Edinburgh Castle, walked the Royal Mile, shopped on Princes Street, hiked Arthurs Seat and plan on doing it all again many many times. In the later part of the week I was able to go out and buy things like new sheets, bigger toiletry supplies and food! And, of course, I got to meet the new flatmates! My accommodation is a four person flat located at the heart of Old Town, Edinburgh, within walking distance to anything I could possibly want. The three other people I am rooming with are full time, first year University of Edinburgh students. All three guys are originally from Scotland! One being from the country’s biggest city of Glasgow, another from a more northern town, and the third from not too far away from Edinburgh. I am really looking forward to getting to know them, they seem really nice and I think we will get along just fine.

Well this has been my first week abroad and I think I have made the right decision in choosing to study here! As you have probably already noticed, I have decided that in each of my posts, I will be sharing what adventures and experiences I have embarked on since the last. I will also be leaving simple tokens of advice as I learn what being a student traveler is all about. Not only will this hopefully help others, but it will also be a fun reminder to myself as to how far I have come as my adventures progress.

I am going to leave this post with what is one of my biggest values in life, which is that everything happens for a reason and that in every hiccup, smooth wave, person you meet, or sight you see, there is something to take in and learn from!

Cheers from Scotland!