Kia ora from Scotland! My name is Eloïse and I’m in my fourth year of study for a conjoint Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Health Sciences degree. Since I’ve still got over a year of my degree to go I wanted to break it up a bit by getting out of my bubble in NZ and having new experiences abroad, so I’m currently spending the semester at the University of St Andrews in Scotland.
I arrived in St Andrews near the beginning of January – just in time to experience the coldest and darkest part of the Northern Hemisphere winter, which came as something of a shock after (mostly) sunny Aotearoa summer and didn’t help the intense jet-lag very much! Now my circadian rhythm has caught up, I’ve found the process of settling in very smooth. I’m in catered accommodation, which I would definitely recommend to any prospective exchange students, and it’s been a lovely experience getting to know both domestic students and other internationals. I didn’t realise just how much the emphasis in the 360 International pre-departure sessions on ‘being an ambassador for New Zealand’ would ring true until I made it to the UK – I’ve found myself promoting New Zealand and the University of Auckland at every opportunity. Most people outside of Aotearoa don’t know very much about it, and I think I’ve been pretty accurate in my descriptions for the most part (excepting the time I managed to convince an unsuspecting friend from the States that Australian drop bears were real). Getting involved and taking as many opportunities as I can to enjoy student life outside of classes has also really helped me to settle in – since St Andrews is the birthplace of golf I’ve started taking beginner lessons, and highlights of my first weeks included the International Welcome Ceilidh (traditional Scottish dance) with other inbound students, Burns Night dinner with haggis and bagpipes, and going along to see some student improv comedy with friends from my hall.
I’ve ended up studying only English courses here, since in the upper levels of an undergraduate degree at St Andrews courses are weighted double what they would be at UoA. I’m doing a module on Literature and Ecology and one on Writing Poetry and loving both of them so far! My lecturers are incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about what they teach, and the classes are very small and interactive. I think I’ll be taking some lessons about how much class participation, and getting to know your lecturers outside of classes through office hours, can improve your experience and understanding back home to the University of Auckland with me. One word of warning, though: no lecture recordings or downloadable PowerPoints and a much greater emphasis on independent study has been something of a learning curve.
St Andrews is a gorgeous environment to study in: right by the sea (quite literally a 5 minute walk to the beach from campus!) and lots of beautiful historic architecture and winding alleyways. I’ve loved being able to walk to all my classes and extracurricular activities, and as I hoped for out of such a small town you’re constantly bumping into people you know and there’s a real sense of community. St Andrews also has a very unique university culture rich with tradition: some of my favourites include the concept of ‘academic families’, where older students will ‘adopt’ younger ones to mentor them and help them acclimatise to university life, and ‘academic sins’ – such as stepping on some cobblestones spelling PH, initials marking the spot where a Reformation martyr was burnt at the stake that place a curse on you to fail your exams (or whole degree, if you’re in your final year!) – which can only be atoned for by participating in the ‘May Dip’ on the first of May, where students jump into the freezing North Sea.
Thanks to St Andrews’ location, I’ve been able to get some travelling in as well – I went to the town of Dundee for a daytrip (just half an hour by bus from St Andrews) and spent a weekend in Edinburgh, where highlights included the National Museum of Scotland and Edinburgh Castle. I’ve got plans to explore more of Europe – I’m looking at going to London, Amsterdam and Paris in the mid-semester break and have booked a weekend in Dublin for St Patrick’s Day so watch this space!
