Scotland!

      One of the easier parts of studying Scotland is that there isn't as much of a cultural gap between Scottish culture and American culture as there is between here and many of the countries that other students will be living in. Most of the student in our class are going to have it harder than me in the sense of having to get used to living in a society of different religion, music, language, family patterns, social classes, government, etc. This being said, I am also fortunate enough to have some travel experience under my belt that has taught me to appreciate and embrace these differences. I enjoy going off and doing things on my own, which I feel will be helpful while traveling to and first arriving at Napier University, but will have to push myself to integrate with the locals. I will need to constantly remind myself that the opportunity to interact with (and even maybe make friends with) other students will be invaluable, as I tend to retreat into myself in new situations. One of my biggest personal goals for this spring is to become a more independent person while pushing myself to be more interactive with people my age. I'm also thinking that I might embrace some Scottish drinking culture to help with this a bit (kind of kidding).

     When it comes to what aspects of “being an American” I will bring to Scottish culture I am not quite sure of. I like to keep myself busy most of the time and think of myself as a direct person. Like we touched on in class, I may be an American in the sense that I'm not usually one for small talk and tend to get right to the point. Overall though, I think most of my personality traits are more personal than a product of an American upbringing.

     Finally, I would like to help dispel some crude American stereotypes. Because I visit my (extremely blunt) family in Australia every couple of years, I have been exposed to what could be considered American generalizations. I also think it helps that I have lived in two completely different regions in America. I have a rounded view of different generalizations because I have been on either side of them, meaning I can somewhat understand a person making regional American generalization, also meaning I can better help to disprove them. All I really can do is be myself wholeheartedly and hope for the best.