Scotland Week 1

Research Reflection

This week was mostly time to gain my footing in my research project and becoming situated with my mentor. I had my first meeting with my mentor Dr. Mahoney over at the Edinburgh Napier University Sighthill Campus, which strangely looks as modern as UF’s Malachowsky Hall. I am excited (and scared) to get started on my research project this summer and I look forward to building my research and statistics skills.

Lauriston Castle

Cramond Island

Dean's Village in Edinburgh

Camping Spot in Isle of Bute

View from Rothesay Castle in the Isle of Bute

Song of the week: High Flying Bird by Jefferson Airplane 

There's a high flying bird Way up in the sky, now.

Cultural Reflection 

After a long travel day (and almost missing my connecting flight and sprinting through the Atlanta airport), I finally arrived in Edinburgh on June 15th. I’ve never been on a solo trip of this scale before - fully alone in a foreign city for eight weeks. The only people I knew were my research mentor and my flatmates, so obviously I was terrified. I was diving into the Complete Unknown, just hold Timothee Chalamet. I was more terrified of time, not just the lack of it (eight weeks really isn’t enough time to explore an entire country), but also its overabundance. I am a person who likes to fill her schedule so that I don’t have enough time to think, but being alone in a foreign country really leaves a girl to think. Because of this, I decided to create a playlist with a song that reminded me of that day. Even if I do nothing that day besides research, maybe a small act of kindness or something small from that day could make that day more unique and memorable when I look back. 

Upon arrival, I was instantly taken aback by the selflessness and kindness of the people that I met this week. Meeting my flatmates for the first time. Going on impromptu adventures. New friends! Between figuring out the bus system and (humbly) learning that I shouldn’t wear sandals up the Scottish hills, I tried to dive into my adventures as soon as I arrived. Some highlights from this week are exploring Cramond Island with some new friends, which (apparently) is one of the inspirations for Treasure Island. Now it is home to an abandoned World War II bunker that is only accessible through a causeway open a few hours a day. I also met two of my French flatmates who would only be there for the beginning of my summer, and they immediately invited me to go camping on the Isle of Bute that weekend, one of the hundreds of offshore islands found in Scotland. I obviously said yes, having never been camping before (It’s for the lore), and I don’t think I can forget teaching Anna and Léonie a line dance at our camping site, and them showing me French card games. From this week, and what I’ll come to learn this summer, is that connection isn’t a large display, but it commonly comes from the quiet, reflective, and casual exchanges.