Starting in January of 26 till May I was lucky enough to study abroad at the university of Dundee in Scotland. to be honest it wasn’t my first choice I was planning on going to Granada Spain but I was misinformed about certain guidelines for entry so at the last second I put down Dundee, Scotland as a last choice. I chose as they spoke English and had a rich historical tradition.

Dundee sits to the north of Edinburgh, a city of 200,000+ in her heyday she was one of the busiest ports/ drydocks in the UK. Dundee was renewed for her shipbuilding particularly when it came to Antarctic exploration; Ernest Shackleton himself travelled on of few of these ships. Dundee nowadays is most known for its two universities Abertay & Dundee, as well as its oil rig stations that come in for repairs. studying at Dundee I met many great people, Dr. Graham; he taught my class that I chose for my GLI theme. Funnily enough when I wore my Missoula Paddleheads hat, he said “Go Paddleheads!” I turned as white as a ghost when he said that. Turns out his wife is from of all places, Missoula! That was a very unexpected surprise but a welcome one at that. He taught a class on Africa during the cold war, and it was a very eye opening and well taught class. He became one of my biggest advocates there, and when he visited Missoula this summer with his wife we all met and got lunch at the Iron Horse! I cannot write about my time in Dundee without referencing the Dundee History Society, without them my stay would have been wildly different.  Every Thursday we would all get together and go have a time on the town, they accepted me for who I was and I cherished the time I got to spend with them. Amy and Sophie should also get credit for making my time abroad as pleasant as it was.

My GLI theme was originally on the environment and sustainability; however the class I was supposed to take at UOD was scrapped the semester before, and I did not receive notice on that. I was able to change my theme to culture and politics which really helped. The culture of Scotland is beautiful as is their country. Scottish culture is quite communal, a brimming full of Anglo-Saxon, Gaelic, Norse, English. and Irish influence. When you live in a place that can get as dreary as Scotland can get, they often find that their joy is within other people. They often get loud, banter with one another and have a way with the English language that is quite unique. Alcohol is a big part of their society and as stereotypical as it sounds it is the truth, but its not quite the same as how we Americans treat drinking. Course they might get absolutely slammed at the pub every now and then, our bars over here would be akin to a dive over there. I appreciated it a lot more because most bars (at least in Missoula) blast music all night and I can’t hear myself think nor can I hear my compatriot speak.

Aside from Dundee i also went north to the small rural town of Pitlochry, west to Glasgow, south to Edinburgh, and even more south to York. so my time wasn’t just contained to Scotland. I never faced a challenge with the people or the country. I DID face a problem with two of my professors, who were teaching one class, utterly ridiculous. they weren’t fond of me for being an American which was something fun for dealing with.

I would never trade my experience in Scotland for anything, it was utterly awesome. and i loved every moment of it. there are many things i miss there, the people being chief among them as I’m sure you all can relate. there is nothing quite like meeting folk abroad. I am forever grateful for what i got to do and who I got to be there. Alba gu bràth!