Fully Embracing Studying Abroad at St. Andrews
Sarah Gale
What if I’m the only one who showed up in a costume?
That was the thought that kept growing louder with every step as I walked through St. Andrews on an icy Scottish night. I had only been in the country for two weeks, and my Texan blood wasn’t used to the frigid temperatures yet… or the darkness. It turns out that in January in Scotland, the sun rises at 9:30 a.m. and sets at 4:30 p.m. During those brief hours of daylight, it’s usually overcast, making the sun as mythical a concept as Scotland’s national animal, the unicorn.
Part of the reason I decided to study abroad was that I wanted to have new experiences. Strolling down a populated street in a medieval-style dress that had a corset so tight I could barely breathe wasn’t exactly one of the experiences I had in mind, though. I had ordered the dress online 48 hours prior, after attending the St. Andrews University Club Fair, where I visited the table for The Shire of Caer Caledon, the medieval reenactment society. It turned out they were having a medieval feast that weekend, which is how I ended up wearing an uncomfortable dress to a party full of strangers, unsure of what to expect.
When I went to the club fair, I had no intention of signing up for the medieval reenactment society, or “The Shire,” as its members affectionately refer to it. I had already decided to sign up for the creative writing and film club, as those were the areas in which I felt the most experienced and comfortable. I thought that as long as I picked an activity I was already familiar with, I would have a better chance at blending in with everyone else.
On my way out, though, I remembered something Dr. Gary R. Poe from PBA’s History Department had said to me during one of my honors classes freshman year, about how you should treat your education like a menu at a restaurant. The metaphor went something along the lines of questioning why someone would order a Big Mac when they could order lobster at a nice restaurant. The Big Mac represented getting the bare minimum out of your educational experience, and the lobster represented everything PBA could offer if you truly made the most of your time while in undergrad.
I decided I wanted the lobster experience in terms of my time spent studying abroad, so I turned around and went to the first table I saw, which happened to be The Shire. Thanks to learning how to embrace all sides of life at PBA, I spent that Saturday night eating surprisingly tasty medieval-style food and laughing with new friends from all over the world. Best of all, I wasn’t the only one in a costume.
The next morning, I walked on the beach nestled below the cliffs that support the town’s castle ruins, which date back to the 13th century. The water wasn’t aquamarine, and there were no palm trees like those in South Florida, but I still felt strangely at home as I looked out over the North Sea.
I spent the rest of the semester trying a plethora of new things, such as haggis (a dish made from sheep’s intestines, which is repulsive), learning to cèilidh (a traditional style of dance that will leave your feet sore in the morning), and visiting new cities and villages all over Scotland. Whenever I had a chance, though, before or after classes, I would visit the beach by the castle to watch the waves. At the end of my time in St. Andrews, I felt like I had the metaphorical lobster and had truly experienced everything God had in store for me that semester, which changed and challenged me to grow as a person.
To learn more about study abroad opportunities, visit https://www.pba.edu/academics/schools/centers-of-excellence/rinker-experiential/.
