“It is hard to believe that we are so close to the end of the semester and our time here.”
I have found myself thinking this out loud the past few weeks, as my final assignments are due at the end of November and my only final exam is due on December 6th. My program ends on December 13th officially. So, yeah… we’re right at the cusp of it.
Being this close to the finish line how do I feel about this whole experience?
Well, I have mixed feelings. Though I have loved being in Scotland and I feel like this whole experience has been a surreal, almost like an alternative universe. The program that I came here with was less than helpful and it felt as though I was utterly alone. And I wouldn’t complain about this, especially having worked in a study abroad office and having done this before, but this was so different.
The program that I am a part of has other sites and an instagram where they share the activities that you can be a part of during your time abroad depending of the region. The thing that has really upsets me is seeing the other programs in other countries having a blast. The pictures from the other programs from the provider seem to be really considerate of the students and worth the huge expense that study abroad incurs.
These programs mostly have a director on the ground and have their trips and extracurricular classes planned for them. I saw a program in france had a going away ball/party put on by the program with personalized cards for all the students to sign.
My program got notices for our field trips a week out, and my friend didn’t get to go to either because she never had dates to plan around. And these trips are part of our tuition fees! I’m not sure why, but knowing that there are better planned experiences by other providers I feel I chose the wrong provider.
All that aside I loved this semester so far. As we get closer to our departure dates I keep getting sad loosing my new friends. We all live all over North America and not having them so close is going to be a rough adjustment.
We are hoping to meet up soon, and to avoid disappointment I keep telling myself that we are all going home with less money. So our reunion may take longer than we would all want. To help me get through the harsh reminder that we are all leaving is making the most of our time together. We had a slumber party in our kitchen, long talks, extra trips into town, etc.
The end of the semester here is in Stirling is so stressful. It could be due to all the construction going on leaving very limited study spaces and not many people in my classes knowing what we’re doing. However, it’s not something I am not used to. I will be glad to once I am on the other side of all these deadlines.
Isaias Dassum 