UA students travel abroad to Scotland
by Katie Chong, ’18
Earlier in the school year, Scottish students accompanied their American hosts through a typical school day here in UA as part of the annual Scottish exchange trip. Over this past spring break, several UA juniors and seniors flew across the pond to Scotland for a week long trip. During their time in Scotland, they got to explore the rich culture and attractions that Scotland has to offer.
The students went to school with their Scottish hosts and explored numerous cities. In addition to traveling, the group got to experience Scotland’s unique culture. Senior Portia Silver was one of the students who got the opportunity to travel abroad.
“We went to a Ceilidh which is a traditional scottish dance, we learned traditional Scottish dances and then the bagpipe band played the bagpipes for us,” Silver said.
The group also explored St. Andrews, the home of St. Andrews University, as well as the cities of Dundee and Edinburgh. Although Scotland is on the other side of the globe, Silver doesn’t feel that the cultural difference is extreme.
“I think the cultures are pretty similar…there’s a lot of differences in the slang and I think it’s not as hectic as America is, but it was just cool to learn about another culture and meet a lot of great people,” Silver said.
For rising juniors and seniors, the Scotland Exchange Club is a unique opportunity to experience a different culture. Brian Chandler is the advisor of the club and applications will be available in late April.