First week in Aberdeen

It has officially been an entire week since leaving America – so I thought a first week update of Aberdeen, Scotland would be in order:

I still don’t really know where much is, I’m slowly learning the bus system here and I’m sure I look extremely confused when reviewing the bus “time table” a.k.a. schedule. Which reminds me that although they do speak English here, and I can nearly always understand what everyone is saying, phrases and words are quite different. My favorite question to answer is “Where abouts are you from in America?”

Some other Scottish phrases I’ve picked up so far: “wee” is used in everyday speech to refer to something that is small. “Lad” is commonly used to say “man”, a “mate” is a friend, “brilliant” is used to describe something that is really great. My newest vocabulary discovery is that “snooker” is a game similar to pool. Everyone refers to my house here as a “proper” house – meaning real or actual. “Fresher” is what they call “Freshmen” here, and I also learned they do not use sophomore, junior, and senior status, it’s just “first, second, third, and forth year”. And “Cheers” is often used in exchange for “thank you”, but is also a way to end a conversation or say hello.

The money is obviously different than American dollar bills – and where as we have four types of coins, a penny, nickel, dime, and quarter – I swear there are a thousand different types of coins here! 2 pounds, 1 pound, 50 pence, 20 pence, 10 pence, 5 pence, 1 pence…their might be more, but that’s all I’ve discovered. Most embarrassing moments have definitely been going to pay for things and not knowing what to hand them, I usually just laugh it off and say “Oh, I’m still learning”, in which people respond with a look revealing they want to laugh at me, not with me!

I’ve not seen a single person in an actual kilt – one of those stereotypical Scottish things, that is not an everyday occurrence. The only people I have seen wearing kilt like, plaid, skirts are the younger school children walking home after school and still in their uniform. When I asked some Scottish friends that I met about kilts they informed that they do represent your “clan” or family – this originated when in war the Scottish were fighting and would use different patterned kilts to distinguish between troops. The Scottish invented the kilt to fight in because it was loose fitting and allowed the men to run and move easily across the terrain made of rolling hills. Still today, men are typically the only people who wear kilts, and kilts are most commonly worn by men at weddings and when playing Rugby. Although two very different occasions, the kilt can be dressed-up with a jacket or dressed-down with boots.

A week in, and I have still not met one American! I did meet a girl who is half American, half Egyptian. She studied in Texas for 4 years during her undergraduate. As soon as she started talking, I picked up a hint of an “American accent” and was stunned that she used “like” in her sentences as much as me! Immediately I asked where she was from.

I have been absolutely shocked by the international community here in Aberdeen and around the RGU campus – I have only met about a third of my classmates, only about 20 students are in my specific program, although I do share large classes with many postgraduate business students seeking a masters degree, and of those classmates that I have met India, Slovenia, Ireland, Taiwan, China, Nigeria, Scotland, and America are all represented! I can’t wait to learn from each other and be immersed in a truly global learning environment. I have also been surprised by the number of students from Nigeria that attend school here – the largest international student groups are from Nigeria and India. I was told this is because of the oil industry that Aberdeen is known for.

I also must admit that I am surprised at the weather here. I had prepared myself for cold, and maybe it was just me trying to have a positive attitude, but I never expected in to be this cold! The weather is a mix of cold, wind, and rain – sometimes separately, and sometimes all at once. It is bearable during the day, but at night, all I want to do is drink hot chocolate and tea, turn up the radiator as high as it will go, and get wrapped up in a big blanket!

I have been spending my free time, when I’ve not been in my “introduction” classes to the university and for my course, scouting out different organizations to get involved in and attending The Christian Union events on campus. I went to The Christian Union weekly meeting, an acoustic night in a local theater, and also to “Amigos” – an International Student outreach held at the YMCA in Aberdeen. Today they had the “Freshers Fair”, basically an organization fair where all the different clubs and societies promoted their causes – I signed up for the Running and Triathlon Club, the Christian Union, a traveling enthusiast organization, and also the Golfing Club, because I was told by many people that I have to take up golf while in Scotland. I’ll keep you posted on the successes of each of these.

If you have any specific questions, or want me to blog on any certain topic, just let me know – e-mail me anytime - Perry.SarahMarie@gmail.com.