A Change of Place

Since last year, the form of learning hasn’t changed much but for teachers, I think, it must be challenging to find the best ways for online teaching. Lectures are not an issue. They are mostly pre-recorded or live with additional online discussions. A bigger issue are lab practicals which became largely theoretical. For instance, we can only watch the experiments from videos and collect data from pictures. It can be quite frustrating when you can’t identify an organism or when you can’t see what would normally be visible with the naked eye. Nonetheless, I assume our lab classes, compared to practicals from other fields are very well delivered.

For most students, online learning is probably not ideal, so we might be very fortunate to have such great teachers in Edinburgh. Honestly, I am quite curious about how the interaction with them in school buildings would look like. Even though it’s still far in the future, I guess it will be like meeting some famous movie actors.

Comparing studying at home to studying in Edinburgh, the main differences are of psychological character and convenience. My tiny room at university accommodation contains just the most important things that I need, so the school stuff draws most of my attention. Contrarily at home, I get to studying with a clear mind which eventually seems more productive. Those who have been abroad for a long time probably know how much uncertainty the start involves. Those who have talked to the Scottish will likely agree that it’s not always easy to understand. Both things require practice that is accessible only in Scotland. However, both Czechia and Scotland have a wonderful nature which can regenerate our cells stupefied by a computer. Thanks to these days, I appreciate nature even more and (not just because I study it) I hope more people do.

Once the world gets back to normal and schools reopen, it will probably seem like a second new start. Many things will be completely new to us and after more than a year, we’ll meet crowds of students with similar ambitions, again. After a year, I may also discover various places within the university. There are so many things that cannot be very easily transferred through computers and motivation from teamwork is one of them. Although online discussion has taught me much (e.g. better organisation of my thoughts), they lack stronger interactions between students and teachers as well as a kind of natural atmosphere. Soon, we will hopefully do some research near Edinburgh as it was initially planned. Those who have seen the Scottish Highlands and local lakes will know how magical the landscape is. Moreover, Edinburgh sits on the coast of the North Sea, which provides places for diving and for observing whales.

I extremely look forward to all these activities. Till then, I wish all of us to stay healthy and be patient! Don’t forget that in nature we can always find all we need.