St Andrews

Today is the 60th day since I arrived in this town on Scotland’s coast. I dropped right in the middle of a whirlwind 60 days ago, and it hasn’t stopped; nor is it likely to stop anytime soon...

The Halls

Many of those who arrive in St Andrews cannot shake the feeling that they took a wrong train and, instead of the place where golf was born, they arrived in J. K. Rowling’s Hogwarts. First year students (and some of the older students too) live in several Halls spread all over the town. And, as in Hogwarts, the Halls compete, be it in sports (korfball is almost as weird a sport as Quidditch), academic debating, saving electricity, and noise on the dance floor (my John Burnet Hall – the smallest local Hall – has scored the impressive second place).

The Bubble

They say that St Andrews is not a typical Scottish town. Reportedly the sunniest part of Scotland (yes, the horrible Scottish horizontal rain has occurred just twice here so far!) with the world’s oldest golf course, the third oldest university in the English-speaking world, and the numerous academic community, it is somewhat detached from the rest of the world. Well, I wouldn’t say it’s detached – rather, it lives its own very colorful life. Students made this town of twenty thousand citizens a Bubble full of vibe, traditions, fun and student leisure. Almost 200 student clubs and more than 60 different sport clubs can provide you more than enough fun. Honestly, I haven’t had time enough to be bored here yet.

Lifesaving

I was told I should start something completely new at university. So, in addition to Chinese, I got into the sport of Lifesaving. If you don’t know exactly what it’s about, it’s a sport that combines first aid, swimming and other skills needed to save lives, and not just in water. It’s not all about boring first aid instruction (which, by the way, is not boring at all!) – it’s also about competing in and testing your skills during mock accidents. In addition, given that UK’s other lifesaving clubs are in England only, you get to know a large part of the UK (most notably the M6 motorway, which has already taken me to competitions in Southampton and Warwick, and will take me to Bristol next week).

So far I haven’t regretted a single moment here, and I hope this is how things will go on for me here. So what can you expect from me next time? A bit of our academic traditions, and more stories about the life of a student living in a Scottish Bubble.