March 17, 2016
by Annemarie
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Reflection

Reflecting back upon the week long exchange experience, I believe I have grown personally and learned so much. I feel as though being a host for our friends from GCU has made me more outgoing, and aware of how different our country is from theirs. This week long adventure got me and my peers out to travel around our city and experience it with our guests. I feel like I know Boston better and see it in a new light now that I’ve participated in the exchange. Taking the exchange students to the sites and experiences in our city has also opened my eyes to the differences between here and the UK. Differences such as certain products that are sold here but not there and vice versa, also how sizes in clothing are done in both countries, and the differences in sports. Through this venture I also learned about the differences in the education systems from both the UK and the US. I found it interesting how things were the same in some ways and different in others. Comparing lab manuals was one way I was made aware of these comparisons. I learned not only more about Boston and the UK, but also about my friends. I feel that the exchange strengthened the bonds not only between the students in my community, but also between the three communities involved. I believe we have all come together as a family through collaboration, and enjoying the great times throughout the week as a team. If I ever get the chance to visit Scotland, or take classes there I would. Not only to see the great friends I made again, but also to experience more from the amazing culture than what the GCU students have shared with me while being here. Overall I can say that, as cliché as it is, this program has been enriching and truly magical, and I wish I could do it again.

March 16, 2016
by Velina D Batchvarov
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Boston Celtics and UMass Club

Photos, courtesy of Dr. Hagar

March 16, 2016
by geovanymolina001
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Falling For Scotlandiaaa

Scotland is one beautiful place that everyone must visit at least once in their life. Being there for just a week I have felt as if I was there for a month since I have learned plenty of new things in classes such as for Organic Chem to Biology. The education from the UK and here isn’t much different then ours. Being in their lecture classes was literally like being in a lecture class for Biology or Chem in our auditorium. They had discussion classes just like ours for chemistry that was filled with up with up to thirty students. One thing that I did learn in lab is how to work in teams. The way that they separated their work in a lab made them get out twice as fast than with the same amount of accurate data that a group of four working together would get. Collaborating with the students from Scotland was great since they were taking about the same classes that we were taking back home and any opinion one had they contributed to it as well. One thing that I did learn about myself being in Scotland was having an open mind can lead you to such joy in life, it allows you to appreciate everything around you, and you end up creating these amazing friends that you didn’t even think of becoming friends with to begin with. From what I’ve experienced in Scotland, I would be more than glad to pack my bags and head over there right now to take the rest of the classes that I need for the pre-med track that we have to fulfill. It was such an incredible and unforgettable experience with the ambassadors and the friends we made in Glasgow that I am honestly hoping that we get to go back to see everyone and experience Scotland’s education and community once more. Thank you!

March 16, 2016
by geovanymolina001
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Our Final Day’s in Scotland

On Thursday we ended up going to Chem lab where we got to wear lab coats! In our break Vivian and I decided to look for a water fountain and the bathroom. It took us about half an hour to look for it. The bathrooms are called “toilets” and water fountains don’t exist at GCU but they do have a snack room for students filled with water bottles, snacks, etc. After our classes we went out to eat and toured around. On Friday we went to University of Glasgow for The Museum of Anatomy where they had unique medical teaching material. We also went to this beautiful garden that they had in Glasgow. On Saturday we went to Edinburgh where we visited the dungeons. Ohhh boyyyy was it scary. But it was hilarious! They had people jumping from one corner to another to scare us. We then headed back to Glasgow to have our farewell dinner where they had delicious food with amazing dessert! We then headed back to the hotel where we all hung out and said our final good byes. Hardest thing ever!

March 16, 2016
by coltonsmith001
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The Journey of a Lifetime

The post-exchange blues are inevitable, but the experience was unforgettable. Being able to travel to Glasgow was amazing. At first, it was at times difficult to understand the accents of the Scottish. But after getting accustomed to the cultural differences it felt like I was internationally linked which was pretty cool. (By the way, they are not French fries… they are CHIPS!!!!) As far as the educational aspect of the exchange goes, things are quite similar yet very much different. For example, some of the chemistry they were learning was the same as that of our curriculum, (such as acid-base equilibria, kinetics, etc). In the biology lab we were doing experiments with how temperature affects enzyme activity, which is something we recently learned in our own biology labs. However in Scotland, education is much more geared to a specific career path from the get-go. What I mean is that if you want to become a doctor there, you go straight into a medical school rather than earning an undergraduate degree. Their classes are designed such that students will acquire all knowledge needed in four years, cutting out the undergraduate middleman. The students there seem to be more oriented around success as a group rather than as an individual student, which I felt allowed them to excel in such a way that they could contribute to society as a group. The students also said that college is free!!! I think that overall, taking classes in Glasgow would be very rewarding, and is definitely something for all students to consider.