One of my strongest memories from my time abroad happened soon after I checked into my dorm. I lived on a floor with students from all over the world. When I was in the kitchen near the start of term, I met a girl from Ukraine. When she found out I was an American, she told me she didn’t wish to offend me but she wondered who I voted for. This surprised me. In the United States, I would not easily discuss politics with someone I had just met, and especially not my choice in an election. 

A few months later, I was in the laundry room of the same dorm, when the man fixing one of the units started a conversation. Again, after finding out I was an American, he began to discuss politics, telling me his opinions on President Trump’s policies and how he believed they could apply in Scotland. This one was a little nerve-wracking as he was standing between me and the door. I can say with confidence he did not intend the conversation to be threatening, but he also did not care too much to hear my views either. 

In the United States, religion and politics are two almost “taboo” topics. You can talk about them, but only in mutually accepted spaces and contexts. Otherwise, you can be seen as too out of line or too controversial. I was surprised to find that this is not the case everywhere, specifically with politics. This wasn’t something I could discover by researching the country before I went. I could only learn by experiencing it. 

I’m still not sure how I would have handled either of these situations were they to happen again. My cultural gut reaction is to be wary when someone comes off strong with politics. But I am interested to know what would happen were I to be just a little bit freer with my opinions and just a little bit more willing to discuss difficult topics with new people. I think I’d be forced to look at my own understanding of the world a bit differently. The experience would be invaluable.

Near the end of last year, the Oklahoma State Regents decided to terminate a set of low-performing programs at the University of Oklahoma (OU Daily). Among these programs were B.A.s in French, Chinese, Arabic, and German; a B.A. and a B.S. in Geography; and an M.A. and an M.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies. 

There were also other programs on the State Regents list, but I highlight these  because I find the trend concerning. I’m not sure which is worse – that the Regents are defunding a set of programs that focus on cultural education or that there weren’t enough students in those programs to keep them alive in the first place. 

I feel the loss especially, as I centered my time at OU around cultural education and experiences. I will be graduating in one week with Majors in Creative Media Production and a Planned Program in Multicultural Studies, with a minor in French. I have a great love for people and the stories that make them who they are. College has given me the opportunity to learn about and to connect with people I never would have otherwise. I’ve changed so much in how I talk about people who are different than me and in how I approach cultural conversations. 

I think a cultural and an international education are so important. Even if a student doesn’t want to focus on social studies or humanities as a degree, these educational departments offer events that they can still be a part of. They offer opportunities for students of different cultural and educational backgrounds to interact. Thankfully, only a handful of OU’s cultural programs have been terminated, but it is a trend that worries me. The devaluing of the humanities leads to a narrower understanding of our world, something I don’t wish for OU.

Source: 

Caldwell, Ashtynn. “Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education terminates 16 OU degree programs, suspends 3 others.” OU Daily, 10 Dec. 2025, https://www.oudaily.com/news/ou-oklahoma-regents-degree-programs-termination-suspension/article_5faf5494-ff0d-4ad9-a797-3aceb26c4a1c.html

Did you know that there are four main languages in Scotland?

According to the Scottish Government, there are over 150 languages spoken in the country. But four are the most common. English is the primary language spoken, but three others are promoted on a governmental level: Scottish Gaelic, Scots, and British Sign Language. 

Many have heard about Gaelic, and the presence of Sign Language is no great surprise, but Scots is lesser-known. Hearing it spoken, it can be misinterpreted as a dialect or manner of speaking by Scottish people that is hard to understand. In reality, it is a different language altogether. Scots shares some common words and sounds with modern English, but it branched off from Middle English on the Germanic language tree. 

Because of its close relation to English, some English speakers can understand large amounts of Scots when it is spoken, but reproducing it is another story. While it may sound familiar and make sense to us grammatically, Scots has a whole unique vocabulary that English speakers would be unable to define if asked.

I learned a lot about Scots during my time in Scotland (even bringing home a Scots edition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone), but I was introduced to the language through poet and Scots advocate Len Pennie. She’s found on Instagram at @misspunnypennie, where she posts Scots words of the day to raise awareness for the language and its place in Scottish culture.  Her account is a great place to get an introduction to the language from a native speaker.  

Sources:

“Languages.” The Scottish Government, https://www.gov.scot/policies/languages/

“Scots.” The Scottish Government, https://www.gov.scot/policies/languages/scots/

One thing I miss about my trip to Glasgow is the free third spaces I found there. Many of the museums in the city, as well as the botanical gardens, had free entry. The same was true in Edinburgh. There was a huge national museum with free entry that would take multiple visits to see everything. The castles and monuments often had paid entry, but there were many cultural and artistic locations that were open to all. 

Like public transportation, these also exist to some extent in the United States. The National Zoo and the complete network of Smithsonian museums are free in Washington D.C. But outside of the capitol, I have very rarely seen free cultural spaces. This results in a lack of accessible third spaces. If I want to get together with friends, we must pay for our event 90% of the time. This can mean anything from buying coffee to paying for an escape room. But in Scotland, I spent hours in the Kelvingrove Museum without having to spend any money at all.  

Since the United States is so big, I wish that there would be more publicly-funded projects across the states. Even if they could only exist in the state capitols, I wish there were more free third spaces in the U.S. 

I saw in Scotland a different attitude towards public funding for the arts and culture than I do in the U.S. While the U.S. is defunding its programs, Scotland is strengthening theirs. This attitude towards education, culture, and productive uses of free time is one of the many things I miss about my time abroad.

Ever since I came back from Scotland, I have wanted to go back. It is my dream to plan another trip there one day, this time not tied to academics. There are a few elements of daily life that I miss compared to my experience in the U.S., and this post looks at the first of them.

One big difference I noticed in Scotland as compared to the U.S. is the presence of public transportation. In the U.S., there is good public transportation in big cities, and Amtrak connects many of the major cities across states. In Glasgow, I could get anywhere I wanted in the city through a smooth bus system. I didn’t qualify for this as I was not in the country long enough to be considered a resident, but Scottish residents under 22 years old get free bus fare across the country.

With just a mild inconvenience in getting groceries, I was able to get everywhere I needed to go without a car. Thanks to a strong train and inter-city bus network, I was also easily able to travel between Scottish cities. We had to rent a car to get to the islands, but the mainland was easily traversable without one. Scotland is a smaller country, so this type of network is more achievable, but I don’t see anything nearing its scope in the U.S. 

One thing relying on public transportation did was it required me to slow down and take in my surroundings. When I visited new cities, I was required to walk. I could see anything I could get to on foot in a day. I learned to enjoy the small things like country lanes and small houses. While I could see these things from the windows of a vehicle, walking made me appreciate them all the more.