Study Abroad and Trips

Never again will I complain about University housing. If ever I thought that ISU was not quick enough to respond to a complaint or issue I’ve had with my housing, I was wrong.

I guess it goes all the way back to December when I was setting up accommodations for University housing in Edinburgh. I had filled out my top three choices on the website and submitted it. A few weeks later I received my accommodations but had been told previously by my coordinator at ISU, Julie, that I was to pay the deposit up front and out of pocket. Now, being a college student I didn’t have $400 laying around that I could just hand over. So Julie and I both sent emails to accommodations to see how I needed to handle accepting my housing slot.

Weeks later we still hadn’t heard anything back from University and in the meantime I received another email stating that I had three days to accept my accommodations otherwise it was going to be given to someone else and I would not receive another spot. So, while trying to study for finals, I also had to go through the arduous task of trying to get ahold of University.

I had to unblock my phone so that I could place international calls and deal with a rude woman who thought that she knew what I wanted before I even finished telling her my problem. When I was finally given a chance to tell her that I didn’t have the money, that I paid my schooling through loans that went directly to ISU, she had to find someone else to handle the issue.

I was then told that I would just need to click on the “sponsor” button on the website and they would then bill ISU. So, after jumping through hoops to get housing, I received an email from University right before Christmas saying that I had already accepted my accommodations! NO S#^%!! If I had waited for that email, I would have ended up with no housing! And this is just the beginning!!

I was on my University of Edinburgh account the other day checking my emails and such when I noticed that I had an outstanding invoice. Low and behold my housing wasn’t paid! What a surprise! I emailed Clay, who’s in charge of financial aid for study abroad students at ISU, and asked him why my housing hadn’t been paid for. He said that I was to have taken care of the housing payment. I told him about my earlier converstaion with Edinburgh about this and he emailed Julie to let her know of the issue. Julie then told me that Edinburgh didn’t bill ISU for my housing like they said they would.

So, after contacting the Accommodations Financial Dept., I now have to withdraw 100 lbs. from the ATM everyday in order to pay my housing in full. Plus my bank charges me international fees everytime I do this. I also have a limit on how much I can withdraw everyday and how much I can charge to my credit card. Oh not to mention that when I checked my account again to see if there was a penalty fee or a deadline, I noticed that there was a charge to the University of Iowa. Hmm, wonder how that happened.

On to my next complaint.

I knew I was going to need to bring bed linens and a blanket with me and was glad that I did. A lot of people had to take the bus to IKEA on their first day in Edinburgh in order to get bed sheets and a duvet, comforter, for the night. How they will get those GINORMOUS bulky things home is beyond me. I also thought it wise to bring my ethernet cable just incase and it turns out I was right.

In order to receive Internet in Uni housing, I had to put in a CD that has a specific set-up process that I needed to run through. After running through the disk, I then had to register my computer by filling out a sheet and emailing it to ResNet.

A requirement needed to register is some kind of alphanumeric connection code. When I tried to find this through the CD, like I was supposed to, all that came up was a blank black screen. I then had to call ResNet and ask for help. Once that was taken care of, I went ahead and emailed them all the information requested. I was told that it shouldn’t take long, after emailing them, to receive Internet in my room. Unfortunately that was not the case for me.

I had to call them up again and see what had happened to my email. They must have not received it because the guy on the other end kindly walked me through the whole process yet again. Before I hung up though, I had Internet. FINALLY!

I still have yet to figure out why I had to go through this extremely complicated process just to receive Internet in my room. And while it is enjoyable and better than the dial-up my mom still has at home, it’s not as fast or as good as ISU’s.

A note to those planning to study abroad: While the majority of studying abroad is extremely enjoyable, be prepared for a few set backs. Remember to take things one at a time and you will eventually get through it all. The first 24 hours are always the hardest.

After having been in Edinburgh for a little over a month now, I have noticed several differences between that of the ISU campus and students and those of the University of Edinburgh.

One of the more noticable things of course is dress.  Students here, more particularly girls, appear as though they just threw on whatever garments were close at hand when they woke up, tossed on a floppy hat and walked out the door. I am amazed at how this combination works. Even though it appears messy, it somehow still looks relatively good. I tried this a few times and I looked as though my closet got sick on me.

University hoodies and t-shirts aren’t as big here as at ISU. And if you do happen to spot someone wearing one, they’re usually in the dark, muted, life-less colors that are seen everywhere with a small University emblem.

Pants also seem to be a thing of the past in Edinburgh. Girls walk around in tights or leggings 24/7. A friend of my flatmate said that she didn’t even was her tights because they’re the only pair she has and she loves them! Even though temps here tend to be in the 30s, short skirts, tights, floppy knit hats, peacoats and tall/short boots with/without heels are the things to wear in Edinburgh.

However the differences don’t end there.

Very rarely will you see students walking around campus with iPods or cellphones permantely attached to their head or hands. Instead, students still converse with other peers while walking to class and actually pay attention to the instructors in lectures and tutorials.

I have yet to spot very many overweight students as well. This could be due to the fact that no matter where you go, you have to walk. Whether it’s a trip to the grocery store, which you have to make at least two times a week, or to campus, which is set up throughout the city, students walk everywhere. There is no CyRide to take you from one side of campus to the other nor parking garages for students not living in University accommodations to drive and park their cars.

I am a senior at Iowa State University studying Journalism and Sociology. This semester I am currently studying abroad at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.

I have started to blog for several purposes, the main and most important one being that it will be an extension of ETHOS magazine. I hope that my posts will bring insight to readers and those interested in studying abroad.

Over the next four months, I will be traveling Scotland and Europe, attending lectures and tutorials, campus activities and whatever else comes my way. I’ll be adding photos and posts and look forward to any questions or comments.

Yesterday Shelby* and I, along with Wanda*, Jackie* and Cassandra* and several other international students, went to Linlithgow with the ISC (International Student Center). We were to meet at 8:45 am, check in and go. They didn’t start checking us in until 9am. They ran out of train tickets for the students going, even though they “had enough” at sign up, and were overall very unorganized. I guess it also didn’t help that I didn’t get to bed until 3am the night before and had a bit of a headache due to the Bailey’s.  After everyone was checked in, we proceeded to walk back across campus, the way we had come, and to Waverly Train Station. There we waited around and finally departed at around 10am! Upon arriving at the Linlithgow Castle, we were told to just look around, it apparently was a self-guided tour! I couldn’t believe that I had gotten up at 7am and paid 8.50 quid for a trip that I could have taken in my own time.

Shelby, Wanda and I toured the castle remains and visited St. Michael’s Cathedral while everyone else went their own way. We wandered up and down the main street stopping into wee bit bakeries and chocolate shoppes. In one of the bakeries I sampled a piece of haggis pizza. The haggis tasted liked it looked-like stuffing. It wasn’t too bad, but now that I’ve tried it, I doubt I’ll order it as a main course. I just can’t get over the fact that I’m eating heart, liver and intestines that were cooked in the stomach of a sheep!

We stopped at a farmer’s market and I bought sticky toffee pudding and homemade raspberry jam! YUM! While I was waiting around for Shelby and Wanda I saw a little boy with a golden retriever and got a little homesick. I thought about Twix and Blackjack. I think I miss them more than my family.

After lunch Shelby wanted to look around a bit more and so we went in search of the Royal Gardens. We followed the signs directing us where to go. After a while of walking in a residential area with no sight of a garden, we started to wonder if we had missed it or turned the wrong way. Wanda went over and asked a guy walking his dog where the Royal Gardens were. He told her that we were in them! Apparently none of us had bothered to look at the symbol on the sign. The Royal Gardens was a housing area! After a long laugh we headed back towards the train station.

* indicates names have been changed.