Planning a semester abroad can feel like a journey across the world and back in itself. With so many questions that need to be asked, it’s hard to remember to stop and breathe. From the first stages of “Where do I want to study?” and “What countries do I want to visit while I’m there?” to the final stages of “Should I bring one pair of heels or two?” and “Do they wear yoga pants in Europe?” – preparing for your upcoming adventure is a whirlwind. The one question that usually doesn’t get asked, however, is “Do I want to be an active part of my home university’s student body?”
This wasn’t a question that ever crossed my mind while planning my semester abroad this past Fall to the University of Glasgow in Scotland. To be honest, I was more concerned with whether I was going to find my own Prince William like Kate Middleton did, who met her beau at St. Andrews. If someone were to tell me six months ago that I was going to join the University of Glasgow Cheerleading team, I probably wouldn’t have believed them. But that’s exactly what happened, and it changed my entire study abroad experience.
When I arrived in Glasgow in September, I knew I didn’t want to treat the experience as just a three and a half month vacation. Rather, I wanted to feel like an actual student. One thing that was great about arriving on campus in the Fall was that there was a whole group of incoming first year students who were also new to the University. This led to an endless array of student activity fairs and sports recruitment events marketed toward the new students, or “freshers.”
Having been at the gym the day of the sports fair, I decided to attend on a whim before walking the 25 minutes back to my flat. I’m pretty sure I was one of the only six-year-olds growing up in my neighborhood that didn’t play youth soccer or tee-ball, so needless to say, any chance of me having athletic ability was hindered at a young age. Walking around the tables of basketball, lacrosse, field hockey, and American Football teams, I felt extremely out of place. Walking past tables of things I didn’t even know were sports, like shinty, potholing, and snooker, I felt even more out of place. That was, until I saw a bubbly group of girls with black and gold bows in their hair in the far right corner.
Fellow cheerleaders Emma, Christina, and me at the annual cheer fundraiser
I’ve been a dancer my whole life, but I’d never really done cheerleading before, unless you count the couple of practices I attended of my older cousins’ when I was about seven, and the time I tried out for the team in high school and didn’t make it. For anyone who knows me, it’s hard to believe I was the reserved girl in high school that barely talked. I always knew I could do the moves and the stunts; it was my extreme shyness that hindered me from making the team. Once I finally broke out of my shell and let everyone see the bubbly, outgoing side of me that’s always been there, I regretted not trying out for the team again.
So here was my opportunity. What better time is there to do something you’ve always wanted to do than in a country where no one knows you? Not only that, but what better way to befriend actual full-time students from your home university!
Through the Glasgow University Cheerleading team, which is a competitive cheer team, I was able to be a part of the University and make life-long friends. Sadly, all of their competitions are this month, so I wasn’t able to cheer with them. However, while I was there, I learned all the dances and went through all of the training and stunting and tumbling, just as if I was competing. The team also had a social aspect to it and we would have get-togethers every two weeks or so, often with other sports teams, which made getting to know the girls that much easier. One example of a social we had was a joint “Athletes and Athletes” themed social with the football team (as the only American on the team, I had to try my hardest not to call it soccer).
My friends Seonaid, Katie, and me representing New England in Scotland at our Athletes and Athletes social
While becoming so close to this amazing group of girls made leaving Scotland that much harder, they’re now a reason for me to go back. Most of my other friends who were studying abroad in Glasgow only made friends with Americans or other international students. I lived in a normal dorm at the University and I had two Scottish students in my flat, but becoming friends with the girls on the team, who are mostly from Scotland and other parts of the UK, made me feel so much more like an actual student.
Fionna McDarby, a third year student from the National University of Ireland Galway who is studying here at BC for the year, has had similar experiences with becoming involved on campus. McDarby joined the Boston College Irish Dance club in September after stopping by the booth on Student Activities Day. “Being a part of a dance club here has given me the opportunity to meet and become friends with lots of American students and to experience what it’s like being a college student over here,” says McDarby. “I also feel like I fit in more by just being a part of a club on campus and getting to experience things that many of my [international] friends cannot, such as getting to dance at halftime for one of the basketball games.” As well as being able to meet wonderful friends through the club, McDarby says it’s a great resource for times when cultural differences make you seem lost!
So get out there and get involved! Even if you don’t join a team or a club, attend events on campus! Keep your eyes open for student activities fairs! Talk to students in your classes! Try something you’ve always wanted to do, because remember… no one knows you here!
Photo Source:
http://bus.wisc.edu/bba/study-