My Exchange at The University of Edinburgh
I was encouraged to do an exchange through the Global Studies programme, where exchanges are highly encouraged. I decided on Edinburgh mostly because it was an English speaking country and I was learning Māori as part of my degree and didn’t want to take another language on. I actually applied for UCL as my first pick, but I am so incredibly happy that I went to Edinburgh instead.
I remember quite clearly arriving in Edinburgh. It was my last stop after a month across Europe – I was tired and incredibly glad to arrive where I would be staying permanently for four months. The temperature difference was palpable – every country I’d been to up until then had been consistently high thirties while Edinburgh was maximum 18°C. Everyone was already wearing jeans and sweaters! In my slightly dazed state of mind I also made what I know now to be a rookie mistake. Waverley train station is on Princes st, in the dip of the hill Edinburgh Castle perches on. With no knowledge of the city’s public transport systems, I made the error of taking potentially THE STEEPEST road to the main road – and from there taking the bus. With a 16 kg backpack on my back, it was agonising. By the time I got to my accommodation I was exhausted. It was a delight to have my own room – though another rookie mistake was using UniKitOut, which offered a very nice and cheap option for bedding, but ended up being delivered about a week after us students had all moved in.
My accommodation was a place called Kitchener House, and it was hands-down the highlight of my stay. The accommodation available through the University of Auckland was mostly flat-style, even for first years, so most students ended up in flat complexes with around four or six people sharing a living space. Kitchener was more similar to first-year halls in New Zealand, on a smaller scale to Auckland with the house accommodating about 60 of us, split into four kitchen units of about twenty. This kitchen style meant that it was pretty much inevitable to spend time with lots of different people. The types of students in the accommodation was unique as well, with the people living there being about an even split of first years and exchange students. This meant we had seventeen year olds (Scottish students can finish high school a year early!) to twenty four year olds. We also came from all across the world too, though most of the students came from the US, Canada and the UK.
Their O-week, which they call fresher’s week, was really key to making all of my long-lasting friends at Kitchener House. There were no classes that week, but almost everyone has already moved in, so there was plenty of time to socialise and form friendships before school got too hectic.
The school does a great job of providing a really broad amount of fresher’s week activities. Some of the best events that had the biggest turnout were the events held in Bristo Square, like the Plant and Poster event, where you could pick up some nice decoration for your new dorm room, and a free market, which consists of a bunch of dorm miscellanea that students want to get rid of. Since most of the dorms were self-catered, it was essential to find cheap kitchenware especially, so this market is a great idea for incoming students.
Edinburgh as a city is incredibly beautiful, and I spent a lot of my time in these first weeks getting to know all of its beautiful buildings. Some of the most notable ones are the University buildings themselves, like McEwan Hall, the Law Library and the Old Medical School. The Royal Mile and Victoria Street are both enchanting as well. Edinburgh has a lot of opportunities to op-shop, with Newington Road being lined with different charity stores, all with varying but reasonable prices. The supermarkets have incredible selections, especially with the vegan and vegetarian options that are available, but takeaways and restaurants have very steep prices, so I avoided them most of the time I was there. The weather in Edinburgh was not the best, especially as it came to the winter months. Coming from New Zealand, Auckland in particular, we are very lucky to have shorts spurts of nasty weather that clears quickly to often sunny days, even in winter. The winter weather is mild and the sun never disappears for too long. Scotland is not that lucky. I had obviously been warned of the UK weather patterns, but I had a certain naivete from my New Zealand weather experiences that it couldn’t really be too bad. And it wasn’t terrible, but definitely a lot worse than I was prepared for. When it rains in Edinburgh, be prepared to be met with a grey sky and very little sunlight for sometimes a week or more. The rain is weak but constant, meaning you never can really wait out the bad weather. The greyness can really get to you, so be warned about seasonal depression symptoms.
Edinburgh definitely has its beautiful days too, and especially shines in autumn when all of the trees go orange to match the yellow limestone buildings that are the common style in the city. The Highlands are also gorgeous in any weather, completely unique in their colour and landscape, making them a must-see. Even in torrential rain and freezing cold, taking a hike up to the Old Man of Storr was one of the most beautiful and magical experiences of my life. I also witnessed some amazing castles, gorgeous little villages and even swam at a couple of beaches!
Q&A
What were some of the highlights of the academic experience at your host university?
The best part of University of Edinburgh’s teaching style to me was how hands-on the assignments were. I major in anthropology, which consists of a lot of qualitative research. At the University of Edinburgh, students were encouraged to take part in our own qualitative research in our assignments. For my paper on Culture and History, we were asked to attend a session of the Scottish Parliament to answer questions related to how the room might construct power relations. For my Ritual and Religion paper, I was asked to attend a religious or ritual event and discuss it in relation to anthropological theory, and I ended up attending my first ever Catholic mass, salah at a mosque and shabbat at a synagogue, which were incredible experiences for me. These assignments helped me engage more strongly in the subject and experience some field work that is common for anthropologists to undertake.
Would you recommend any particular activity/activities unique to your host country or university?
Blue Tits is a great society to sign up for if you like the idea of a cold dip at Scotland’s beaches – they set a location every Sunday for the club to get together and charge en masse into the freezing water, and return back to the shore for a hot beverage. It’s a fun challenge and a great way to meet friends. The Hillwalking and Mountaineering (basically two different difficulties of tramping) clubs are also amazing, but I ended up not being able to join because I didn’t have the correct gear, so if you are interested in joining I would recommend bringing your own gear, or being more proactive than I was at finding somewhere to rent the gear for cheap. The destinations they go for these clubs are amazing and a great way to explore more of the natural wonders of Scotland.
What are your top 3 tips for future students attending your host university or going on exchange to your host country?
- Get a Young Scots card! This makes all public transport in all of Scotland and all Historic Scotland venues free! The only requirements are that you’re under 23 and are planning to stay in Scotland for more than 6 months (though there are ways to get the card even if you’re staying for less time).
- Travel ! Whether it’s inside of Scotland or further abroad, you will be much closer to Europe than you’ll be in a while once you return to New Zealand. It’s worth it to fit as much as you can in when you’re able.
- Walk – Edinburgh is a really walkable city, and incredibly beautiful. Walking around is the best way to see the most of the city. If you get tired, the bus network is also wonderful.
How much did you budget for your exchange? Was this enough? Were there any lessons learned that would help future students budget for their own exchange?
I saved about $20,000 for my exchange and spent most of that amount. It was pretty easy not to spend too much when I was actually on my exchange, but any travel I did became a big expense. It’s mostly cheaper than travel in New Zealand, but it can still rack up, and different countries have different costs – whether it’s accommodation, travel or food.
What are your most significant takeaways from your experience abroad?
My most significant takeaways was to be social whenever I could. I travelled solo for a month before my exchange, and the moments that I spent with others were the best that I had. I honestly believe that everything is better with the company of others and had such an amazing time meeting new people with such varied life experiences to me.
Do you want to share anything about travels you did outside your host city/country?
Final Comments
I am so glad to have gone on my exchange. I made some life-long friends (which includes my now-boyfriend!) and incredible memories that I will treasure forever in a city I love. I was definitely really frightened to be in a foreign country by myself for the first time, but despite any setbacks I experienced I always found a way to get through it and end up having a great time. I have learnt so much about the world, other people and myself and I think that nothing can really teach you like the world, and exchanges are one of the best ways to learn from it!