Scotland: A Mind Opening Experience

Scotland is not its own sovereign nation.  It’s part of Great Britain, along with England and Wales.  Maybe you already knew that.  

I didn’t—that is, until I visited Edinburgh, Scotland, last summer on a free weekend during the UCBA study abroad program to Great Britain and France.

The information was helpful when recent headlines told me that Scotland voted on whether to secede from the United Kingdom (which includes Great Britain and parts of Ireland).  

When I arrived in Scotland, I didn’t go through customs.  My passport wasn’t stamped.  Later, when I looked at a map, I saw there were no borders between England and Scotland. 

Sure, I’d seen Braveheart and ogled at Mel Gibson’s blue bum as he battled for Scottish independence from England in the 13th century.  But I didn’t realize they had formed a union (in 1707) or shared a monarch (you know, all those royals in London’s Buckingham Palace). 

tudents stand at the foot at Arthur’s Seat, the highest point in Edinburgh, Scotland, during the 2014 UCBA study abroad trip to Great Britain and France. (From left) Melanie Baumann, Maya Odom, Hayley Day, Allie Smith, Chris Risser, and Alyshia Webb. (Photo by Chris Strohofer)

Before I left the English countryside for Scotland, Professor Eric Anderson told me he had once confused a Scot for an Englishman.  Profanities had ensued, along with threats. 

I didn’t bother to ask any Scots what they thought of England while there, to be polite—and safe.  It surprised me when I read Scotland voted to stay with Great Britain (only by a 10 percent margin), because the national pride and cultural differences seemed obvious. 

I read that Scotland’s liberal views helped to propel it from England’s conservatism.  That didn’t surprise me, because Edinburgh, to me, seemed as relaxed and carefree as Paris.

Traveling abroad gave me this global context.  Before I visited Scotland, I wouldn’t have been interested in its potential separation from the United Kingdom.  That’s a stereotypical, isolated American view of the world. 

UCBA study abroad made me globally conscious, for which I’m thankful.  Now, I’m interested in news about Great Britain and France. 

My interest in Kate Middleton’s clothes, however, is still nonexistent.

Hayley Day earned a certificate in Interactive Web Multimedia in August 2014 from UCBA.