Kristy's Exchange to University of Dundee | Scotland
My name is Kristy and I studied abroad at The University of Dundee in Scotland in Semester 2, 2018. At Murdoch, I am studying a Bachelor of Arts- Psychology.
The key factors for myself choosing to study at The University of Dundee were:
I wanted to live in Scotland and Dundee was
the only option to choose from.
A little about The University of Dundee, classes, the teaching system and contact hours...
As I was unable to study Psychology here I decided to take history called “Scotland and the wider world” which began influx of exchange students and students studying abroad from around the world. Dundee was definitely a with 16th century Scotland until the present day and, its connection to the rest of the world. I also took beginners Spanish and German for personal interest. The classes were about 15 to 30 people on average. We were only required to take 3 modules as this was considered a full- time load so about 30 to 40 hours a week. I had more class contact time with the languages as they were divided into two parts with two different teachers, that was for the oral component and the written. I like that we only had to choose 3 modules, it was a little easier managing 3 rather than 4 units, and I feel I had more focus for them.
I wouldn’t say the teaching system was too different to what I know but the registration process was completely different. We had to matriculate by going to a big hall on a specific day and sort out class time tables, ID, dentists, doctors and finance as well. This process was easy.
A little about the city I lived in, Dundee...
The people in Scotland were so lovely. So friendly, welcoming, talkative and they just wear their hearts on their sleeves. I really felt I was at home here. It was really hard to understand their accent though, especially in Dundee where they spoke a dialect called Dundonian. My Scottish housemate often had to translate her friends’ stories for me.
Dundee was the 4th biggest city in Scotland but in saying that it wasn’t that big. It had everything you needed though. Lots of shops, parks, restaurants, cafes and of course pubs on every corner. It is situated by the river Tay and is connected to other cities by train and buses. I lived in a place called Hill town which was a tiny suburb 30 minutes’ walk outside of Dundee. There were so many students looking for accommodation when I arrived that this was really the only option I had. I never took public transport in the town as it was quite expensive for short trips and it was healthier to walk.
My favourite place in town was the war memorial about a further 10 minute walk up the hill from me. It had an amazing panoramic view of the whole city and surrounding areas. It was a nice place to reflect and walk.
The best parts of my experience...
I think learning about Scottish history really helped me understand my own background as my ancestors had come from Scotland. It made the experience a lot more meaningful.
Also the best part of my exchange was meeting my boyfriend Adam, a boy from New Zealand who happened to be living and working in Dundee. He will be now joining me in Australia.
I struggled a bit with home sickness which is not common for me as I am usually off travelling and I have been on exchange before but this time I felt very isolated. I am a mature age student and I felt as a result I did not connect with the young people in my classes.
I understand this was all adding to my experience though and I knew it wasn’t going to be forever. I did speak to my mum a lot which I found helped, and I tried to keep busy with studying, but I felt I had to push past it as for me, it wasn’t an option to go home.
I didn’t feel I experienced culture shock as I had lived in the UK before and England was quite similar to Scotland. I knew all their supermarkets, banks, currency, types of food and their culture.
However, coming home is usually when I experience bad reverse culture shock.
A little about my student accommodation...
I didn’t live in the student accommodation as I didn’t want to spend all my time at university. I wanted to live with Scottish locals who could teach me their way of life. I moved in with two lovely Scottish ladies in a house on a hill just outside of Dundee. I preferred this as I had my own space. If you are a bit younger and it’s your first time on exchange I feel the student campus experience would be great especially if you were missing home and wanted to make a lot of friends.
A little about how I funded my Exchange experience...
I funded my own trip from my personal savings. I was receiving help from centrelink but they were not paying me correctly the whole time I was away, so I am now in the process of sorting that out. If they resolve it then most of my trip costs apart from the before and after travel would have been covered by centrelink.
Some places I visited included...
Yes! Before I moved to Scotland I met old travel buddies for a weekend of salsa in Madrid, and then 7 days in Morocco exploring the north and a couple of days back in Spain to see Seville. I then went to one of my best friends weddings in Germany and caught up with my old friends there.
For my 25th birthday I also went down to London where I used to live to celebrate and catch up with my old friends. It was an epic time!
I also managed to see a bit of Scotland including small country towns around Dundee including Broughty Ferry, Ansthruther and also bigger cities such as Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and, when mum come over we stayed in Stirling and travelled to Fort William, Oben and Glencoe Valley.
After my exchange I went back to Europe with mum, we saw Paris and Normandy and then spent Christmas and new Years with my friends and family in Germany.
My advice to you would be...
Make sure you really want to do it, that you are doing it for yourself and no one else. Be prepared, don’t leave things for the last minute. Do your research on your new place but also know that everything will always work out even though it’s not as expected.
Also, I would highly recommend staying for two semesters as I feel you could get more out of your experience and get to know the people and places more.
- Kristy studied abroad at The University of Dundee in Scotland
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