<p>I'll be studying abroad in Scotland this semester. The school I'm going to has a shorter semester than other schools - about 4 months instead of 5. Any tips on what I can/ anything I should do would be much appreciated :)</p>
<p>What school are you going to? Well, first off you should pack A LOT of warm clothing before you even think about stepping on your plane. Otherwise, the difference between you’re normal semester and the Scottish semester is negligible. From what I’m aware of the courses here pack a lot more content into the school year when compared to the U.S. so you should be more more than fine transferring credits and such. </p>
<p>You could even do some travelling in Europe with the month you’ll have free!</p>
<p>I’ll be going to Stirling, and do you know if it is much different than New Hampshire? If not that’s fine :). Do you recommend sticking around the UK with the time I have there or should I try to explore other places?</p>
<p>If you’ve never been to the UK before, then I tend to think that you should go and explore it properly whilst you’re here. There’s a great diversity in terms of what you can see here (the UK is about the size of one US state, and you’d never get quite so much variety within one US state). I tend to think that it’s better to do one country properly than to “do” two or three countries in very little detail. Otherwise you get into the stereotype of the American tourist doing Europe in a week and “it’s Tuesday so it must be France”. </p>
<p>If you can tell us what sort of thing you might like to see, then I can give you some ideas of places to go, although I’m much more familiar with England & Wales than Scotland. In the meantime, there’s another thread going on CC that might be of interest. <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1447547-british-isles-trip.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1447547-british-isles-trip.html</a></p>
<p>I’ve never been to the UK before, this is actually my first time out of the USA. I’ll be there from 4 Feb. to 1 June.</p>
<p>I’m pretty into architecture, so I definitely want to see as many castles/monasteries/abbeys, even if it is just a ruin. I don’t want to go to a bunch of places that are really tourist-y, with the exception of a few (like Edinburgh castle, Stirling Castle, and a few places in London). As weird as this might sound, if there is something like the catacombs in Paris in the UK I might want to try to visit that.</p>
<p>I also love outdoor adventures, are there some really good places to hike? And of course there is the Highlands to check out.</p>
<p>If people I end up traveling with want to visit other places, where do you recommend?</p>
<p>There are catacombs in Edinburgh. Sometimes referred to as the vaults. </p>
<p>Not sure why the Highlands are not enough hiking for you! Almost certainly Stirling uni will have a walking/hiking/rambling club which I advise you to join. Probably going off on your own in the Highlands would be a bad idea.</p>
<p>Outside of Edinburgh castle and Loch Ness the vast majority of Scotland is not touristy at all. I like the west coast the best. Plus the islands. I’ve only been to the Hebrides but I’d love to go to Shetland and Orkney. </p>
<p>Get a good guide book and off you go (and I don’t see why you can’t have cheap weekend in Paris at some point too).</p>
<p>I assumed the Highlands would have amazing hiking :), but what about Wales or England? The club would definitely be something to check out if they do have one, which they probably will. </p>
<p>I’m glad it’s not too touristy! That’s part of why I picked Scotland over somewhere in England (it seems like everyone I know who studies abroad in an English speaking place goes to London and I’ve always avoided/ tried to avoid what is super popular).</p>
<p>Are there any guide books you recommend? My aunt got me a Lonely Planet one on visiting Europe, as it puts it, on a shoestring. Do you think that should be sufficient or should I get more specific ones?</p>
<p>You should go find David Tennant :)</p>
<p>If you join a hiking club at the uni they may well go on trips all over the country including England and Wales. This was my experience of the Oxford walking club anyway.</p>
<p>If you need specific advice on walks in a specific area I would check out websites about the areas you are interested in. There are thousands of miles of walking paths in the UK so it is hard to recommend anywhere not knowing your interests. I know there is a coast to coast path along Hadrian’s wall which I think is St Bees to Wallsend (yes, it’s really where the wall ends) which is all in England but very close to Scotland.</p>
<p>The lake district is another popular walkers choice but the main towns there are extremely touristy during the summer. Away from Windermere and Keswick much less so. I bet if you went there now it would be deserted too ( but lots of snow).</p>
<p>I’ve heard of the path along Hadrian’s wall, and from the looks of it, it looks really nice! I sort of do whatever kind of hiking - smaller mountains/ hills or long hiking trails so I’ll have to check out some areas to see what they look like. </p>
<p>Thanks for the input!</p>
<p>If you like architecture, then the National Trust has lots of stately homes that are open to the public all across the country. You’ll probably like Bath too - lots of gorgeous Georgian architecture (Royal Crescent being the piece de resistance) the Roman Baths and Bath Abbey. York is also very pretty. Some towns were very heavily bombed during WWII and so have little of their original architecture (Coventry is noted for this) but you’ll find interesting architecture that’s far older than anything you’d get in the States whatever town you go to. </p>
<p>In terms of hiking, I second the suggestion about the hiking club - I have a friend who’s been involved with Manchester’s one, and has enjoyed it. Bear in mind that if you want to go hiking alone, then you will need to hire a car to get to many places.</p>
<p>Awesome! I’ll have to check that stuff out! :)</p>
<p>Another question: I’m staying with a host family for a few days, but I don’t know anything about them and I want to get them a gift. What sort of things might be good to bring?</p>
<p>Anything apart from Hersheys chocolate (Europeans in general don’t like it, and when you’ve tasted their chocolate you will understand why).</p>
<p>My daughter in Scotland is not staying with a host family, but I’ve heard students say they brought something from their home area…a nice book on their state, maple syrup from a girl from Vermont, an I love NYC bag with some local trinkets from another student…depends on whether it’s just adults or you want to bring something for the children.
I agree no chocolate, they have it covered. : )</p>
<p>Yeah I agree, Hershey chocolate isn’t even real chocolate anymore, even their dark chocolate isn’t real dark chocolate…</p>
<p>Getting something to represent my state is a great idea! I’m not sure what the family is like, but should be able to find something they’d like!</p>
<p>I think bringing something from your home state is a great idea. However, if you’re planning on bringing food then you need to check what you can and cannot bring in - the details will probably be on either the DEFRA or Customs website.</p>
<p>Get yourself a Lonely Planet Scotland. The Europe one will be too general for you. If you get the Scotland book ASAP, I guarantee that you will be very, very excited about the possiblities that await by the time you get on that plane. You can also check out Lonely Planet’s website right away. For other instant gratification fun, try Googling the “Castle Aargh.”</p>
<p>Lonely Planet is very good…got it last minute on Amazon Prime for my daughter (2 day shipping) and I had bought her a nice smaller one for just Edinburgh…She liked it because it had all the cafes, museums, parks, etc. and what was going on month by month.
She already hit 2 castles and 2 “famous” coffee shops. When the weather gets better she hopes to do more on breaks and long weekends.</p>
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<p>Well that’s terribly optimistic :p</p>