Department of Criminal Justice Sciences student Kaitlyn Goodrum traveled outside of the United States for the first time this summer on her trip to Scotland. She shares her thoughts here:
I’ve always been interested in travelling, but before this experience I had never traveled outside of the United States. The U.S. is a wonderful country to live in, but the world has a lot more to offer than just what is in our backyard. Once I had study abroad on my mind there was no chance of me letting that dream get away. The hard part was convincing my parents. I took the initiative and spoke with the Study Abroad advisor. I got all of the information I needed and was all organized. About a month into talking about possibly studying abroad in Scotland, my parents gave in and told me it was my choice if I really wanted to go. Obviously, that was all I needed to hear; the next thing I did was fill out an application for my passport!
The United Kingdom was my host country; specifically, I was living in Glasgow, Scotland. I do not speak a second language so the places I could go for a whole semester were limited. I had heard that Scottish people were nice, and in my experience I found that to be true. I had looked at pictures online of Scotland and it looked magnificent. Of course, it looked better in person.
I attended Glasgow Caledonian University. I was enrolled in three courses there, which is equivalent to five classes at Illinois State University. All three courses dealt with the criminal justice field. The courses were Crime Media and Culture, Understanding Violence, and Youth Crime and Justice.
The duration of my stay in the U.K. amounted to four months. I visited quite a few places in those four months. Of course, I saw a lot more of Scotland than anywhere else. In Scotland I visited Stirling where the William Wallace Monument stands (from the movie Braveheart) along with the Stirling Castle. I visited Isle of Skye, which is a beautiful island off the northern coast of Scotland. There is a famous rock called Man of Storr that is known to create a spectacular view. Unfortunately the weather was not the best and we were unable to see Man of Storr but it was still a great trip. I also visited a place called Loch Lomond which had a 360-degree view of snow-capped mountains at the top of a mountain. I went to Loch Ness and tried to spot Nessie; however, I had no such luck. During the Loch Ness tour I stayed in the biggest city in the northern part of Scotland called Inverness. It was definitely bigger than I expected it to be. I also went on a day tour to see the famous Glenfinnan Viaduct, best known as the famous Harry Potter train bridge.
The first place outside of the U.K. that I visited was Berlin, Germany. Berlin wasn’t on the top of my list to travel to but I really enjoyed it. Everyone spoke English and the transportation there was quite cheap and very easy to navigate. Berlin is a great place for history lovers like me. The city has so many historical sites to see, and it was a wonderful experience. I also visited London over Easter weekend. While I was there I saw basically everything in London. I also took a day tour to see Stonehenge, Windsor Castle, and Oxford University. England in general was probably one of my favorite places I was able to visit. I visited Dublin the week after London. Something about Dublin just put me in a jovial mood; maybe it was the luck of the Irish. I got to visit the Old Jameson Whiskey Distillery and the Guinness Store House. While I was in Ireland I got to visit the Cliffs of Moher, which was one of the greatest places I will ever experience in my life.
I also visited Paris, France. I think I would have enjoyed Paris more if it hadn’t rained both days that I was there. However, the Eiffel Tower was still quite a sight to see. Even better was when we went to the top of the Eiffel Tower to see the whole city. It was still beautiful despite the cloudy weather. I also visited the Palace of Versailles, where Marie Antoinette’s living quarters were located. Last, but not least, is Rome, Italy. Rome was my favorite city out of them all. I love Roman history and art in general. No matter what street we went down there was some building with beautiful architecture that told a story. Oh, and let’s not forget about the Coliseum; going inside the ancient wonder transported me back to a time as if I was there.
If you had told me last summer that by this time I would have been out of the United States, visited several countries on my own, and made it back successfully, I’m not sure if I would have believed you. I wasn’t afraid to travel on my own; my parents were worried for me, but that is what parents do. I met people from all over the world and I will stay in contact with them. Because of this whole experience, I have a newfound confidence in myself. I won’t let anything stand in my way of accomplishing something I have my heart set on. About a month into the exchange program my grandmother passed away. I was worried about that going into it. She and I were very close, and I regret not being able to be there for her when she was at her worst. However, I don’t regret going and having this amazing experience because she supported me in my decision. I believe I came out a stronger person.
You never know how strong you are until you’re all alone on a totally different continent having to deal with the death of a loved one. Despite that, it was the experience of a lifetime. This just makes me want to travel to other parts of the world to explore and make more memories.
