Writings for Professional Blog

The following is a blog that I wrote for the Indiana University International Programs blog.

I was excited to see that International Programs was an option to blog about because I just so happen to have gone on an International Study Abroad trip to London/England for two weeks during the summer of 2015. I was 5 months pregnant when we took off on a plane that would last almost 13 hours.

I knew it would be more of a challenge keeping up with the class, but I participated in everything that was asked of the students and even went out venturing with my best friend and other classmates on our own. Yes, my best friend was with me on the trip. Actually, it was her idea to first and when she told me about it, I told her I was coming too.

Photo Credit: Teara Moore

The above photo was taken in Scotland. We were visiting the Highlands, and we were on a steamship cruising Loch Katrine. It was colder than we expected, so we improvised with covering our heads with our scarves. We look like a couple of old ladies!

Photo Credit: Amanda Robinson

This is a stunning picture of Loch Katrine. It was taken while on the steamship known as SS Sir Walter Scott. It is named after the gentleman who wrote a poem about the Loch called The Lady of the Lake.

One of our class assignments before the trip was made was to read and analyze this piece of history so that we could get a better understanding of where we were visiting. The poem has 3 main plots, which were, a contest between 3 men, to win the love of Ellen Douglas, and a war between the highlands and the lowlands. It is not the easiest read, but the story is entertaining if you can grasp what is happening.

Photo Credit: Amanda Robinson

We were also able to hang out and feed some harry coos bread. That was fun, and possibly a once in a lifetime moment for me. They are beautiful animals, and there was even a baby harry coo that came to check us out.

For those of you that do not know, harry coos are native cattle of the Highlands. They are known to be humble animals. But, watch out if you dare attempt to pet them. The have sharp horns that can cut you (no one or harry coo was injured during our encounter).

The experiences with the Scottish people were even more special than the sceneries. Everyone was just nice and welcoming with lots of stories. One thing about the Scottish is that they love to tell stories. You may never know what the accurate history is for sure. Depending on who is telling it, the story may alter some due to adding the individual personalities. Either way, their accents are too cool to care who is fibbing and who is not.