My personal experience with Erasmus in Scotland was incredible! I believe everyone has at least minor doubts about switching their environment and moving to another country. Still, the Erasmus coordinator, Mrs Jandejsková, was very reassuring and helped me with everything I needed throughout the preparation. I filled out the necessary paperwork, booked my room in student accommodation, bought plane tickets, and the journey began.
I arrived around 10 pm, and I was brought to my apartment in Paisley, near Glasgow. The condo had enough space, a large bed and a bathroom (a shower and a toilet). Although it might seem harsh, not sharing my personal space with anyone and having my own bathroom was great. I shared a spacious kitchen with all the necessary equipment with 5 more residents. My neighbours were from France, Spain and the USA. All of them were nice, well-behaved guys with similar expectations from the Erasmus programme. On the second day, we decided to go to the local pub and immediately became friends until the end of our stay. Speaking to French people was challenging because their accents are quite strong and not exactly natural to Czech people, however, I saw significant progress in understanding them better.
It took me approximately 5 minutes to get to class because the University building was next to our pleasant accommodation, especially in the winter. I had 4 seminars lasting 3 hours each. All of them were in the same classroom, and I found them interesting, and they fulfilled my needs and expectations. Most of my classmates were middle-aged people with University degrees from different countries and fields of study. What I loved about that was the dedication they put into their studies and it motivated me to the extent that I did all the voluntary homework, probably for the first time in my life. As I was the only Czech student there, the exposure and speaking in English 100% of the time improved my writing and speaking skills significantly.
Despite the oral exams and essays, I had much time to travel. Most of the time, I travelled with my French classmate and friend, Lola, who did all the necessary planning. Therefore, all I had to do was to appreciate the city's architecture or explore nature, and Lola had to deal with the „yapping“ when we were occasionally lost:). If I had to pick three places I enjoyed the most, I would go for the Highlands, the picturesque countryside in the Northern part of Scotland was breathtaking. If you are in love with football as I am, visiting the Celtic stadium and its famous Celtic pubs is the best way to understand the mentality of locals. The last recommendation is to go to Edinburgh, one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. Do not forget to take a raincoat and book your flight to Scotland. It is worth it!
