Wisconsin in Scotland: Missing you already Past Review
By Jenny W (Applied Journalism, University of Wisconsin - Stout) for
University of Wisconsin - River Falls: Dalkeith - Wisconsin in Scotland
This was the best study abroad program available for me and the type of person I am. I'm very shy person and this sort of threw me into a group of people that I didn't know. It was up to me to make friends and I did. am a totally different person, a better person. I am so much more aware of a culture other than my own.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
During the course of the three months there was an issue with my professor I had for three of my classes. She wasn't teaching as much as the other students and I would have liked, but we all managed. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
All the students were required to take a class about Scottish Globalization so we all got an in-depth look about the Scottish culture which helped. I loved the size of the program, it was smaller then most semesters but I think it was perfect having 20 other students. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
All the UW students lived in a palace that was located in the local park of Dalkeith. There were 4-5 students per room. I lived with 4 others which worked out well since I didn't spend a whole lot of time in my room. During the orientation days we were given a lecture by a local host mum about how to be etiquette in pubs and what was respectful and what wasn't. We were also told what places weren't very American friendly. At night coming home from the pubs I always felt save, and you should always be with someone or a group. There are cameras all around the city and park as well as local police. In the town of Dalkeith there were plenty of shops and drug stores for anything you might need. |
| * Food: |
Henry the chef put onions in almost everything, since I don't like onions so I had a lot of picking out to do. There was a salad available at almost every meal apart from breakfast. It was annoying because the fridge where the bread, juice and other breakfast items was lock on weekends, all the students didn't like that because we thought we should always have access to that food since we payed for it. Some cheap local places that are American friendly around Dalkeith are the Blacksmith's Forge, The Buucleuch and The Cavelier which will deliver to the house. There are American fast food places such as Subway, KFC and Dominoes. On weekends we would go to either Lild's, which is a smaller grocery store, or Tesco which is more of a Wal-mart type store for food. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
We were given opportunities for many house trips that were either included in the price of the semester or a little extra. Some extra cost trips were to places such at Alnwick, in England, which we stayed over night at the castle where the first Harry Potter movie was filmed, there was a weekend tour trip to the Highlands which was amazing, I definitely would recommend it. On that weekend trip I got to go swimming in Loch Ness, if you choose to bring sandals because the beach is made from rocks and it was painful. There also was a trip to London. Some of the included house trips was to Glasgow and other castles and historical places. During the semester there were traditional events planned such at the dinner dedicated to Haggis. We would have parties for special things like Halloween and host families. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
The host of always locked and the students are given a code for the front door allowing only the students and faculty allowed in the house. I always felt safe to go out alone during the day into town or into Edinburgh. Once it gets dark I would recommend always being with someone just to stay on the safe side. Health care in the UK is free so when students had to go to the hospital for when accidents happened, it was free. Because we all lived in a space together, once a cold broke out it was passed around, thankfully I didn't get sick until the end of the program. A cold went around a couple times. I would recommend bringing cold medicine or Emergen-C which is a powder you mix with water, one of my friends had that and never got sick. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
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Language
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Really think about doing this program, it was the most amazing experience I've had in my life. I made the most amazing friends that I am able to see even in the states because of this program. You get to live in this huge historical house that is a once in a life time thing. Students that don't know another language would benefit from this. |
