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As I write this, I've been officially back in America for one week. (It's strange that I say "America" as if it was a foreign country.) It feels good being home, and I'm not yet experiencing any of the "reverse culture shock" I was expecting. Culturally, Scotland wasn't that much different than what I'm used to in Boston. They may have had accents, and ate some strange food, but if this experience has taught me anything, it turns out humans are a whole lot more alike than we'd like to think. Even in countries that I visited that were a lot different than the United States, I saw the similarities more than the differences.

My last week in Scotland was spent trying to do as much as possible before I left. I climbed Arthur's Seat to watch the sun set (pictured above), something I've been saving until the end. The first time I braved it, it was back in January when I first arrived in Edinburgh. I feel like I've come full circle. How much has changed since then. I feel part of me never really forgot about my life in Boston, that it was always in the back of my mind somehow, no matter what I was doing or who I was with. That makes me question whether I truly immersed myself in this culture, yet on the other hand, I realize that everyone experiences study abroad in different ways, and I shouldn't expect my feelings to be anywhere close to someone else's. If anything, I've valued this experience for what it was: the opportunity to live and study in a city that was different than what I'm used to, and to meet people with different life experiences. I've certainly accomplished that.

"I bet you've changed and you don't even know it."

Now, Fenella is probably the last person I'd expect to say something that stayed with me, but I gotta give the girl some credit: this one sentence certainly did. (Nothing against her, it's just that over the course of these four and a half months, she's doesn't really come across as warm or introspective.) However, it made me think: Have I changed? Before she said this to me, I didn't really consider it. I thought that maybe, I'd simply adapted to my new surroundings, and given how hard of a time I had at the beginning of all of this, that's saying something. I think back about how I felt before I arrived here, how I felt immediately after I arrived here, and how I feel now. Certainly not that same. I've gotten used to the subtle differences between American culture and Scottish culture, and I think I'm leaving on a good note. I'm definitely a little conflicted about my experiences here, but overall, I think it's been worthwhile. Despite my misgivings, I think it's really hard to have regrets. I tried a new thing, and I made it. I didn't leave. And well, that's certainly made me a stronger person.

Have I "changed?" Well, I suppose I'll have to wait and see.

Scotland Weather

OK, here is the requisite post about the weather in Scotland.

I don't like it.

Now, saying that, the weather here is much more consistent than it is in New England. We don't have extreme high and low temperatures, we don't see Nor'easters one day (or really, ever) and then blazing sun the next. It typically rains at least once a day, but the rain is rarely heavy. It usually consists of a drizzle, with some added wind. I'm not a meteorologist so I really can't take into account weather patterns or anything like that, so this is just a lay person's observation based on almost five months of residency.

It's now May 9. Yet today, the temps peaked at around 10 degrees Celsius, though it actually felt much colder since it was raining for most of it, and equals about 50 degrees Fahrenheit. That's pretty chilly considering that it's supposed to be spring time, and yet that's about how warm (being the operative word) it's been for the past six weeks or so. We've never had the bone-chilling freezing temperatures that Boston saw in January and February; yet on the flip side of that coin means we didn't see anything like this, either.

I like temperatures to be at least in the mid-60s at this point in the year, however, this is typical Scottish weather. By the time I leave, Accuweather says it might be around 15 degrees Celsius, which is about 60. Awesome.

Boston Globe death watch / News media in Scotland

Yikes. I've been following the Globe's predicament quite closely ever since the NY Times Co. announced in early April that unless the paper made $20 million in concessions, Times management would close the 137-year-old daily. In the short time that I've been living in Boston, the Globe has made a huge impact on my life. My first co-op was in Living/Arts section, followed by a six-month part-time gig at City Desk, and finally from May 'o8 to last December, another co-op at Boston.com's A&E section. Frankly, the prospect of co-oping at the Globe one day was pretty much the sole reason I chose Northeastern. During the past few years, I've made contacts, and even some friends there, and to think of a city like Boston without a thriving daily newspaper is just scary. Fortunately, even after tense negotiations between management and Union employees, it seems (at least for now) that the Globe will be saved by making deep cuts. However, even if it survives, I wonder how valuable it will actually be. Other than huge losses in pay and benefits, the elimination of sick days, paid vacations and (probably) lifetime job guarantees, both the co-op and summer internship programs will be cut. This directly affects Northeastern's School of Journalism, which reguarly touts the co-op program as a one of the main reasons for enrolling. Without the Globe co-ops, print journalism students are pretty much have squat. I mean, there's the Boston Herald, (which is a tabloid, and is actually fairing much worse than the Globe), the Weekly Dig, the Boston Phoenix, (both weeklies), and while nothing's wrong with any of them, let's face it, the crown jewel of journalism co-ops is working at the Boston freakin' Globe. The j-school will almost certainly lose prestige and probably a lot of interest from potential j-students.

Now in Scotland, I don't really hear too much about print journalism in general, because well for one thing Edinburgh doesn't even offer a journalism program. Neither do the other two major universities in Scotland, St. Andrew's and Glasgow. Clearly, journalism training is not big in Scotland. When I first got here, people were pretty interested to hear about my major because they've never heard of anybody majoring in it before. From what I've seen, the two major dailies that are picked up in Scotland are the Observer (which is affiliated with London's Guardian) and the Scotsman. Scotland's papers in doubt exempt from the decline in readership that is plaguing American print media outlets, but I do notice an interesting and unconventional advertising ploy. Many times, I see that the Scotsman will offer random free gifts inside their pages, like DVDs and CDs. I've even seen commercials on television trying to sell newspapers through this method.

OK, so I did intern at the Skinny for roughly two days in early February. Dubbing itself "Scotland's cutting-edge culture magazine," the monthly mag houses its main office in a tiny office in the outskirts of the city. When I interned there, I had to bring my own laptop because there weren't enough computers available. Based on my experience, there were about five or six full-time editors that worked in the office every day, some who worked from home, and freelancers provided most of the content. The editors didn't look that much older than me, and while they all very nice people, didn't really have much journalism training. One of them told me over lunch one day that he was a former music video director (and former art school student) who one day decided he needed a more consistently-paying job. However, I was pretty impressed with their operation, and actually thought more than once that this is the kind of publication that I eventually wouldn't mind working for: an arts-focused print outlet with a fairly strong online presence that seems laid-back. And according to a recent Facebook message from the Skinny, they're actually hiring four new positions.

It's been well-documented how print media is a dying profession. When I picked journalism as a a major four years ago, I hardly thought that it might not exist by the time I graduate and am looking for jobs. Now I'm forced to reevaluate my goals and find ways to make myself marketable come graduation time. I've been considering grad school, to hone my skills in the art of online journalism and new media, but it's pretty expensive. I've toyed with the idea of finding a marketing or PR job, but I find it much more exciting to be able to tell a story, as opposed to selling a product.

Royal Botanic Garden

Yesterday, I also ventured out to Edinburgh's Royal Botanic Garden. Quite the hike I must say, even though it was only one bus ride, it took like half an hour to get there. Never thought I'd say this, but I actually - gasp! - miss the T. Even though it's painfully unreliable and actually may become more so (didn't think it was possible!). OMG, now I KNOW I'm homesick when that happens. Anyway, the garden was beautiful...so many trees, flowers, and other things you come to expect in a garden (including a fox sighting). What I liked most was the smell though, fresh-cut grass and flowers always put me in a good mood, they're just two reminders of summer, ahhhh. <3

I'd also like to take this moment to note that I have officially 22 days left, and I'm also 22 years old. (birthday was yesterday!)

Beltane Fire Festival

Last night I went to Beltane Fire Festival on Calton Hill in Edinburgh. Every year on April 30, thousands of people gather to celebrate the beginning of summer by covering their bodies in paint, lighting things on fire and banging on drums. That's a succinct, if somewhat irreverent, assessment of what went on last night. Actually, according to the Beltane Fire Society, which has been hosting the event for the past 20 years, it's an important cultural celebration which has roots in ancient Celtic tradition for hundreds of years. According to the website, it's attended by 12,000 people ever year, and by the look of things last year, it certainly felt like it. I had no idea what a popular event it was since I just had stumbled upon it by accident, but I'm definitely glad I was able to take part on it since it was for sure one of the coolest things I've seen here in Edinburgh. There's a lot more meaning behind it, which unfortunately I cannot begin to understand or explain...but read up on it here.

What I've been starting to understand lately is that it's been incredibly hard to try and describe what you see to people. Like, it's impossible to describe an event like this into words, because it's more about what you're feeling at that very moment, the smell of the fire, the atmosphere of standing with thousands of other people watching this go down. Even photos don't fully illustrate what this moment represents to you. This is how I feel about most experiences I've had in Scotland and through traveling. There's just no way to put some things into words.