Chelsea Baker

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Why did you choose this program?

I could only do a summer program since I did not want to miss out on an athletic season. I chose Scotland because they had a class I thought would be interesting, and it seemed like a great place for the outdoors -- I love hiking and I hiked a bunch!

What did your program provider assist you with, and what did you have to organize on your own?

I first went to someone at my university for help. They didn't really know what they were doing so they sent me to an online program provider for help! Once I found the right program I wanted to go to it was pretty easy after that. The program provider helped me figure out what kind of program to choose.

What is one piece of advice you'd give to someone going on your program?

I knew this before going but I should have done a better job. Go through your bank in your country for the best exchange rate! I did this for a little bit of money and thought I would just use my credit card when I went abroad. Something I did not know was, in Scotland, they do not accept Discover credit cards.

Luckily I brought a debit card also! But when I used my debit card they would automatically exchange rate the amount AND charge you a little extra (most of the time a few pennies) for having to exchange it.

What does an average day/week look like as a participant of this program?

I got super lucky and only had classes on Monday. I could travel Tuesday through Sunday! But for this program, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday were for classes. Thursday was for a group trip to another town, Friday was for your class excursion (one per class), then if you didn't have your excursion that Friday, you could travel Friday through Sunday!

Going into your experience abroad, what was your biggest fear, and how did you overcome it? How did your views on the issue change?

I had two big fears, understanding people with their accents and being able to get to places.

It took me a while to be able to understand what people were telling me. I had to ask a people to repeat themselves a lot. With the transportation problem, that went away fast! Scotland has an excellent transportation! I took buses, taxis, trains, and planes while I was abroad!

Is there anything you would have done different?

I would have traveled more! Or made plans to stay later. I wish I would have thought less about how much money I was spending and more about the experiences I was making and/or could have made.