Taking the “W” In Stride After Edinburgh

Edinburgh Castle

This week marks two months after my return from studying abroad in Edinburgh. That being said, I have been wanting to write about my Global Seminars experience for a pretty long time now. But how do I even begin to describe the very best month of my life?

Started from the bottom and now, 246 steps later, I'm here
 (atop the Wallace Monument)

 Let’s start at the top: My name is Tiffany Phan. I am a Revelle student who has just entered her fourth (and hopefully final) year at UCSD.  I am a General Biology major and Interdisciplinary Computing, Arts, and Music (ICAM) minor, as well as a Technical Communications student at UCSD Extension. I used to spend way too much time inside the house as a kid, and as a result I’m something of a jack-of-all trades. My hobbies range from fashion to filmmaking. Prior to Edinburgh, I had never been out of the country before in my life, unless you count an afternoon across the Canadian border.

To say the least, I was unsure of who I would be abroad. Would I rise to the occasion, or would anxiety get the better of me?

So much to do, yet so little time

During our first full day in Scotland, Chelsea and Sahara, our wonderful program coordinators at IFSA-Butler, held an orientation presentation. Their presentation covered everything from early Scottish history and current sociopolitical tensions to dating etiquette and the complexities of Irn Bru soda - basically a quick-start guide to being a college student in Edinburgh.

We were told that many people who travel abroad experience something called the “W curve”. Normally it goes like this:

please excuse the graph quality, I swear I'm a STEM major

1. Immediately after arriving, the traveler is elated to be in an exciting, new environment.
2. The excitement gradually dies down as unfamiliarity and discomfort become apparent.
3. Homesickness begins to settle in, and the traveler reaches a low point in their journey.
4. The traveler gradually gains familiarity and comfort with their surroundings.
5. Although not as excited as they were initially, the traveler is content with being abroad.
6. After returning home, the traveler once again feels out of place but in their home country.
7. A second low point is hit as they are unable to recreate or fully communicate their experience.
8. The traveler gradually readjusts to being back home and moves on with their life.

My own W curve was more like a segmented line between Scotland and Post-Scotland. It looked like this:  

ooof

Chelsea had told us that W curve would hit us all in different ways and to different extents. She recommended keeping a daily journal to track our experiences and to reach out to IFSA-Butler and each other for support. I didn’t keep a journal (though I should have), but her advice was solid. I can confidently say that my quick acclimation to Edinburgh was thanks to the amazing friends that I made. My global seminars cohort was full of amazing people that I wish I still lived with! I really appreciated being taught about the W curve because it provided a framework for us to talk about how weird, wonderful, (and sometimes embarrassing!) adjusting to a new country was.

The real adventure was the friends we made along the way... or something cheesy like that 

View from the roof of the National Museum of Scotland

I often get emotional when I try to speak about my time in Edinburgh. It’s no exaggeration when I say that I had never been this (consistently) happy in my life. I actually woke up every morning excited to go to class and go on adventures with my new friends, and went to bed every night wishing that there were more hours in the day. I even ended up making unexpected work connections and meeting lots of lovely people (but I’ll save that story for another blog post). I kept on waiting for the moment that homesickness would hit me out of nowhere, but that moment never came. To tell you the truth, our living accommodations at Brae House and Edinburgh itself was much better and safer than the conditions I was used to back home. I never even thought about home until I started packing. I felt comfortable enough that I wouldn’t have minded living in Edinburgh for the rest of my life.

Me, being dramatic (per usual) on the side of an extinct volcano

The flip side to falling in love with the city so quickly, of course, was that I was blindsided by the fact I had to leave. Logically I knew that I couldn’t stay forever and had planned a full day of souvenir shopping and last minute sightseeing for my last day in Edinburgh. But I was so overwhelmed with sadness that my time there was coming to an end, ironically I ended up staying in bed for half the day. After returning home, I hit my lowest point HARD. I know it sounds melodramatic, but I couldn’t even eat or drink without feeling like I had seriously downgraded by coming back home. The food had tasted fresher back in Scotland (because it was!) and the water had tasted cleaner (again, because it was!!). It was difficult to talk to other people about my trip for fear of being obnoxious; I didn’t want to be that person who brags about their trip abroad endlessly.

I never thought I'd miss walking up and down the steep
cobbled slopes of the Royal Mile every day but here we are

Two months later, I think I am finally coming to terms with being back in the US.  Again, I am incredibly thankful that I have my seminar cohort to talk to; missing Scotland together was a bittersweet comfort. After the summer ended, some of us arranged a casual hangout in the park to catch up. It made me really happy to think that we could continue to keep in touch and go on trips together, even if our time abroad had come to an end. A handful of us are even planning to speak about our seminar at an upcoming study abroad tabling event! I hope that I will be able to convince potential students to study abroad and experience all the wonderful ups and downs themselves.

Whether you plan to study abroad, or just travel one day, here are my tips for getting through your own W curve:

• Before you leave, take the time to do a little research to calm any apprehensions you may have.
• Don’t be afraid to reach out to people in your group for company. You all are in the same boat, why not make the most of it? A larger group chat across the entire group, and smaller chats among friends are key.
• Figure out which comforts from home you need, and which ones you don’t.
• Keep a journal, photo diary, or vlog to document your journey from start to end!
• Make a realistic “bucket list” of things to do while you are abroad to motivate you and prevent any regrets.
• Talk to your friends and family as frequently as you would back home. Figure out time differences early on and mind the hour!
• If it suits you, take an active role in planning fun outings with your group.
• Keep the time you have left in mind- but don’t dwell on the countdown.
• Get involved! Seek out locals who share your interests and learn what it’s like to be a part of the community.
• View every new day/food/experience/thing as a new adventure! Even the most embarrassing and uncomfortable situations are great stories to tell later (stay tuned! :P)
• If you’re feeling uncertain about anything, Google and your study abroad program partners are there to help.
• Take time to breathe and have “normal” days free of any major planned events.
• Towards the end of your trip, take a day to walk around the city and reminisce about the memories you’ve made. Don’t rush your goodbyes and make peace with the moment.
• Don’t forget to pick up meaningful souvenirs and take pictures to look at when you’ve gone home.
• After you’ve returned, continue the friendships you’ve made abroad- there’s no reason that they have to end.

Hiking Arthur's Seat with the whole class :)