Jessalyn Soo
BSocSc Class of 2018
Edinburgh, also known as ‘Athens of the North, is truly a beauty.
I have made one of the best choices in my life by enrolling in The University of Edinburgh (UoE), one of the sixth oldest University in England and No. 1 University in Scotland, for my overseas exchange.
Why UoE?
Diversity Abounds
UoE had a large number of students joining them for overseas exchange during my semester. There were close to 1,000 participants, and note that this only accounts for the School of Humanities!
Safe Environment
Edinburgh has a low crime rate - streets are well lit and filled with people even until late night! However, I did not take this for granted as in my opinion; it will never feel as safe as it is back home. One of my key takeaways was stepping out of my comfort zone by living independently abroad as I have always find it intimidating and unfamiliar. I am glad that I had choose this location as my experiences was fill with fun, excitement and familiarity.
No Language Barriers
Communication was effortless as English is the main language spoken in Scotland, unlike other European countries. The only concern though is for the Scots to understand our strong Singaporean accent - Singlish! It took some time before my local friends could adapt and understand me as I would always catch myself saying ‘lah’ and ‘lor’ in daily conversations. They were initially puzzled but subsequently amazed by it. This was always a great topic for conversations, as they would be requesting me to teach them new Singlish words! It is so amazing to see how I was trying to learn and adapt to their culture and language, and vice versa, they were learning to adapt to mine. This is definitely, what I call a true cultural exchange experience!
McEwan Hall: A welcome talk for the international students (from the school of humanities) during welcome week
Royal Mile: A typical scene in the city of Edinburgh
Edinburgh Castle: View of the castle during sunset
Living in Edinburgh
Amenities
It was relatively easy to adapt and settle in in Edinburgh. As the capital of Scotland, it encompasses everything you need as there are shops everywhere. Along the main streets, you can find Post Offices, Banks, laundry-cleaning services, hairdressers, cafes, convenience stores and bigger supermarkets such as Sainsbury or Tesco. For cheaper options, one can always consider Lidl (similar to value dollar shop in Singapore), like what my friends and I did.
Travelling and Communications in Edinburgh
Travelling around is really quite simple as well. You can walk around the city, as it is small and of walkable distance. Generally, most people will take the public transport. The buses run on a single fare of £1.60 and a day trip ticket with unlimited rides cost £4.00. This is relatively cheap, comparing to neighbouring countries. If you plan to do lots of travelling, the Airlink bus (Service 100) which runs 24/7 from the City Centre to the Airport, costs £7.50 for round trip and £4.50 for a single trip.
This really aid in my travelling plans, as there were times when I had to be at the airport by 4am to catch my flight at 6am. For mobile plans, there are many options for students to choose from, e.g. Gifgaff and Lebara, which are the few that are popular among students.
School Hostel
I stayed at the school provided accommodation, as I wanted to meet and integrate with other international students. That was the first time I stayed in a school hostel and the experience is really enriching. I stayed in Pollock Halls, and it is one of the catered halls hence my meals (breakfast and dinner) were provided.
The room is sufficiently equipped, with sufficient storage space, central heater, single bed, desk, table light, and a sink in the room to wash up. The bathrooms were shared with those who stayed at the same corridor. Though it was shared with eight students, I never once had to queue for the bathroom. Bathrooms are generally clean, as it was well maintained by the lovely cleaners who cleaned them daily. There is also a laundry room at each house and it cost a total of £3 for a wash (£2 for the washing machine and £1 for the dryer). To be conservative, I would recommend accumulating the dirty clothes until it is sufficient for a full load. There is also a dryer room for hanging wet clothes, to prevent it from being damp.
Wide variety of food options are provided during meals and they are quite tasty. This made it convenient for me as I did not have to do any cooking or cleaning up like my other friends did on exchange (although on second thought, it might be a pity to have missed this experience). There is also a pantry at each level and a common room in the hall. These places created many opportunities for me to interact with others. ‘Fancy a nice walk?’, and you will find us hiking up the ancient volcano, ‘Arthur’s Seat’, for an amazing view of the city of Edinburgh. For me, I have hiked up at least eight times!
Arthur Seat: An ancient volcano that sits 251m above the sea level for a great view of the city of Edinburgh (located just behind Pollock Halls)
I really enjoyed staying at the hostel as it helped me to foster close connections amongst people. While I had my own personal space in my room, the shared corridors and meal plans allowed me to interact with my neighbours. For instance, my neighbours and I will always organise tea sessions at our pantry! We would bring all our snacks to the table, make tea and share interesting topics and events of our day. We would also arrange to go for meals together, movie nights or just hanging out in each other’s rooms. This was definitely the best part of my exchange journey and I will definitely miss these wonderful moments the most.
Baird House, Pollock Halls: My sweet friends planned a surprise party for me during my birthday
Differences between Singapore and Scotland Education System
The biggest difference I had noticed between Edinburgh and Singapore is the education system. In UoE, as the attendance is not taken for each class (unlike SMU where there is an added incentive for attending classes - class participation grades), students at Edinburgh would need to have good self-discipline and good time management skills. In my case, I have always believe in ‘working and playing hard’, hence for times when a lecture is missed, I would ensure that I will catch up through the online recordings.
The system at Edinburgh greatly emphasizes on self-learning and the tutor does less of 'teaching' by guiding the discussions during tutorial classes. I also realized that students were excited to participate and would express their thoughts and opinions during discussions as they are genuinely keen to learn. To a certain extent, I feel that at SMU, somehow we have lost the spirit of learning due to the mandatory class participation grades. Then again, Singaporeans are generally less vocal compared to their western counterparts therefore, the class participation system at least enables us to start somewhere.
Courses Taken at UoE
I did four modules at UoE; International Cooperation beyond Europe, Class: The Psychology of Wealth, Poverty and Social Rank, Parapsychology, and Sociology of Emotions. Just looking at the names of these courses and you would know that it is interesting, and indeed, they were enjoyable.
Parapsychology is a unique course as only a few universities offer this. During classes, we discussed about the paranormal experiences and examine the kind of studies that parapsychologists conduct to investigate the existence of paranormal. Classes usually include lots of discussion about your own personal experiences or those that you had heard of from others and it can get interesting and spooky at times.
Another module that I really liked was an international relations module. I took this course to clear the Global Regional Studies (GRS) requirement from SMU and to be honest, I did not like the course initially as the European politics (regarding European Union and United Nations) was very distant and unfamiliar to me. However, after some time, I started to be more captivated with the course, doing more research outside of my required readings to learn more about them. I guess that’s what a global education provides; as you are being placed in another part of the world, you have to learn about what is going on in that geopolitical environment and well, it is also the best way to excel in that environment. Fun fact: after my examination for this course, I flew to Brussels immediately after my paper and visited the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium (the European Union’s Headquarters). This was another memorable moment for me and I truly understood the meaning of “bringing textbook to life”.
Brussels, Belgium: Visiting the European Parliament hemicycle (where plenary sessions are conducted with all 751 members of the European Parliament)
Friends in another part of the world
The best part about this exchange is the people that you will cross paths with along the way. I met many friends during this short stint, and they will always be close to my heart. I am always fascinated by how this overseas exchange has changed my life, through the people that I have met are from another part of the world. The most memorable people I have met are the people that taught me life lessons, and these important life lessons are one of a kind because I would have never got the chance to learn them if I had decided to stay in Singapore and remain in my comfort zone. I really enjoyed the time spent talking to others, getting to know about them and their lives, how they interacted with others and understanding why they do or say things in a certain way, it just intrigues me to learn about others, and almost every day, I learn something new about this world.
Halloween: Experiencing my first Halloween dress up and party
Edinburgh’s Christmas Light Night: Experiencing the true spirit of the festive season
Edinburgh Christmas Market: First Ice-skating experience in the Winter
The Scotch Whisky Experience: What’s being in Scotland without learning how Scotch Whisky was made?
Advice for BSocSc juniors
‘Just go and you will know.’ This will be the advice for my juniors. Why deprive yourself of this experience and see the world through another lens? The best lessons that you will remember for life are the lessons you will learn outside your comfort zone. Cliché as all these advices may be, my comforting words would be, ‘you will never know until you try’. Every individual that goes on overseas exchange will have a different experience, some will have the best time of their lives, some may meet nasty people, and some would have met friends that they can keep for life. Whatever it is, the reality is that your experience will always be different from others, but what I can promise is; you will always reminisce these moments and be thankful to yourself in future for going on this journey. The key is to make the best of what you have and embrace this experience with open arms and open minds, and that will be how you will get the most out of this extraordinary journey.