Author Archives: Colleen
The Study Abroad Arrival Checklist
There are few things more exciting than watching foreign ground peek out from the fluff and fog of clouds as your plane descends. The moment you arrive abroad, you may find yourself either eager to explore and indulge in unabashed tourism or, if your have had a particularly long trip, ready to do nothing but […]
From American College to Scottish University: a Vocabulary Primer
One of the first things any student moving from one side of the Atlantic to the other will encounter is a wave of new academic vocabulary. You may find that some terms make sense and perhaps seem more logical than the terms you were used to, but others are plainly perplexing. Since these seemingly small […]
So long Scotland, see you in 2017!
While I had my back turned, or my nose buried in a book, or while I was wandering around that seaside town, my first semester at St Andrews stole away leaving a pile of notes on John Milton and an endless string of remembered laughs and cheer shared with friends over many, many cups of […]
A Highlands Excursion
Contrary to any impression my recent (and horribly infrequent!) posts may give, my life here is not really just a series of fantastic trips to photo-worthy places. In reality, it involves a lot more time spent learning to document sources according to the Chicago Manual of Style and scrubbing seagull droppings off of the handlebars […]
Adventures in the UK Part III: St Andrews, Only the Beginning
I have been here a month, and St Andrews seems to have left me without words; I am not sure if that is because it is an indescribably amazing place, or because I have written so many essays in the past few weeks that my vocabulary is just too tired! Well, it is probably a […]
Adventures in the UK Part II: Edinburgh
In the previous installment of my adventures in the UK, my mom and I had just taken the night bus from London to Edinburgh. As we approached Edinburgh, the rising sun in the curtained windows of the bus revealed black outlines of windswept lowland trees and foothills. Soon, we were hurtling through the empty streets […]
Adventures in the UK Part I: London!
Wednesday the 24th of August, with our little Volkswagen piled with luggage, ready to begin a great adventure, my mother and I set off to Starbucks, then to Toronto, and finally to London’s Gatwick airport. Upon arrival, we caught a train to Victoria Station at the heart of the city where we dragged our unwieldy […]
Keep Calm and Fly to London
Searching for proof that prayers are answered and dreams can come true? Just look, I made a successful souffle! Oh and tomorrow I fly off to begin my greatest adventure, that is fairly convincing evidence as well. I have wanted to make another attempt at a souffle for awhile. Previously, I tried making souffles a […]
Books+Art=Perfect
What do you do when you are one month away from turning 20 and less than a week and a half away from moving across the Atlantic? Well, in my experience, you binge read Harry Potter books. Call it escapism. Yes, there is a lot of packing to do, but I did toss a few […]
Dorm Room Inspiration
Move-in Day at St Andrews is a month from tomorrow, now would be the time to get excited (that is if I hadn’t already been ecstatic for the past six months). Last week, I got my housing assignment and was delighted to be placed in my top choice. I will be living in a “self-catered” […]
