The Study Abroad Blog

Spring Break Begins at The Jigger

The Jigger in all its glory

It’s officially spring break, and we have two weeks off from class. Not going to lie, it won’t be much different than any other point during this semester, except for the fact that I don’t have my usual 4 hours of class a week.

New Hall has been pretty desolate so far. Most people have gone home for Easter or are traveling around Europe (which I’ll be doing come Friday – Paris, I’m coming your way). We have to make our own meals over break, but I’m too cheap and too lazy to make anything creative so I stuck with the same shopping list I’ve had for the entire year: pasta, sauce, peanut butter, bread, eggs, instant coffee, and the St. Andrews version of Red Bull that cost 40 cents. I’m assuming there’s going to be some pretty good food in Paris, so I only have to make it 3 more days.

Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to play much golf on my time off. I hear New England is getting a few inches of rain right now. You’re in good company. We’re getting rain, sleet and hail, mixed with 30mph winds, so needless to say, not a lot of golf to be played.

Realizing I only have 2 more months in Scotland, I’ve done a lot of reflecting on what I want to do with my time left here. It really comes down to this: whatever I haven’t done and want to do, I better do it now, because there is a very good chance I will never be back here. And if I do have the opportunity to come back, it’ll either be with a wife and kids, or I’ll be old and immobile, so I better take advantage of it now.

Since it’s about mid-way through the semester, I figure it’s a good time for an update on the progress I’ve made on my list of New Year’s resolutions. Here goes.

• I have officially played every hole on all seven courses on the St. Andrews links; however, it was almost pitch black on the last few holes of the back 9 of the Strathtyrum, so I’d like to play another round on that course one more time to make it official.

• In terms of traveling, I’ve made it to Amsterdam, Germany and Austria, and I’m heading to Paris at the end of the week. I think Dublin is going to be a little post semester vacation before finals start, and Edinburgh, well I’ll make it there one of these weekends.

• Still haven’t made it to the Bop, but it’s going to happen, I swear.

• I haven’t walked the pier on a Sunday morning yet, but I think I’ll do it the Sunday after next to cap off spring break.

• I’m doing just fine in my classes so far. I’ve only had one assignment, but I think it went pretty well, so I guess that covers “do well in my classes” and “go out more, stress about work less”.

• I’ve been to the Raisin a few times this semester, but not once have I seen the girl who worked behind the bar. I’m going to take a stab at it and say she doesn’t work there anymore. Somewhat of a letdown, but I think I’ll survive.

That brings me to my last resolution – live the dream. I think I’ve accomplished that with unequivocal success. Last Saturday, I was sitting at the Jigger Inn – which is connected to the Old Course Hotel – on the 17th hole of the Old Course with a great view of the 18th, drinking my favorite beer in St. Andrews, the Jigger Ale.

Me, Stephen, and Tris at the Jigger

Me and a couple guys had just finished a round on the Jubilee and the sun had started to go down. There I am, with the Old Course as my backyard, a place most golfers dream of getting to but rarely do, just relaxing with a beer in hand watching as people were playing up the 18th hole; probably one of the most famous, if not the most famous hole in golf. Talk about living the dream. I was sitting there without a care in the world for an hour, just soaking everything in.

There hasn’t been too many instances where I’ve been stressed out this year, but it’s moments like that that really make me appreciate this whole experience.

The rest of the semester is going to be crazy between traveling, work, golf, and whatever else pops up along the way. Of course, I won’t have to worry about any of that until after I get back from Paris on Tuesday.

My backyard

This is my response to a post written by Gary Arndt titled “Commentary: Put Down the Guidebook, Pick Up the History Book”. If you’ve never heard of Gary, he’s the man, and you should definitely check out his site. He’s a world traveler, and a pioneer in the travel blog community. (more…)

Need To Know Tips For Booking The Best Flight Abroad

I’ll be the first to admit, I had no idea how to book a flight before I came abroad. I didn’t realize all you really have to do is pick a date and time, throw down your passport info (if you’re going to a foreign country), and type in your credit card number. I’m not really too embarrassed about it either. Every time I’ve flown before, someone else has booked the flight for me, and I’m assuming it’s the same for just about every other college student out there. Well it’s time to take your flight booking virginity because if you plan on doing any traveling while abroad, I doubt you’ll want your parents doing it for you every time. (more…)

The sports you learn while studying abroad – korfball

Intense Korfball

I had my first assignment of the semester due this Thursday for my Medieval Castles class – a 15 minute presentation on Ayyubid Castles, exhilarating I know. I’m just pumped because I hate public speaking, even if it’s only in front of 20 people. Not to mention, I’m pretty sure I aced that bad boy. I had the same professor and the same assignment last semester, and I completely tanked it and still got a decent grade, so due to the fact that this one was infinitely better, I’m assuming I got a pretty good grade. No more assignments for another month. (more…)

The legend himself

Like the commercial says, Amsterdam is a “dam” good city. But there’s a few mistakes you can make that will ruin your trip. Now I’m no expert on the Dutch penal code, but I’ve picked up a few tips while I was there that will make your trip a little less hazardous and a lot more memorable. Here they are:

1. Don’t buy drugs from anyone in the streets, especially in the Red-light district at night. There are a few reasons for this, the first of which is really common sense. You have no idea who’s selling it to you, and you have no idea what it’s laced with. Second, while smoking marijuana is “tolerated” in coffee shops, sale of it on the streets is illegal. Cops are pretty lax, but they do have the power to arrest you if they feel like it.

2. Don’t take pictures of the girls in the Red-light district. I don’t know the legality of it, but I know they don’t take very kindly to tourists snapping shots of them in their underwear. It’s not like they can’t open the glass doors/ windows and come after you, and possibly yell at you (I saw it happen first hand). Everyone wants to bring back memories, but it’s not worth being harassed by a prostitute (for some of you, maybe it is). If you’re really desperate to take pictures, do it from afar.

3. Don’t ignore the advice of the staff at the coffee shops. Most places have a full menu of amenities to choose from, and I guarantee you don’t know what they all are. It’s a well known fact that the weed in Amsterdam is extremely strong, so if you don’t know what you’re smoking, there’s a good chance you’ll get hit hard. The staff knows what they’re doing, and they have no reason to mess with you, so take their advice and use it wisely.

4. Don’t try to bring your own drugs, especially hard drugs, into coffee shops. I don’t think it’s illegal to bring in your own drugs, but you wouldn’t bring your own beer to a bar, and I would assume it’s the same with marijuana. The Netherlands makes a distinction between hard and soft drugs, meaning the only drugs that are tolerated are marijuana and hash. Shop owners appreciate the fact that they can sell marijuana, and don’t want their shop disrupted because someone decided to bring in LSD.

5. Don’t smoke so much that you can’t remember your trip. I guess this is actually a matter of preference. Maybe you want to sit in a coffee shop high out of your mind for your entire trip, but for those who actually want to visit the sites and remember what they saw, pay attention to how much you smoke. Like I said, the marijuana in Amsterdam is very strong, so if you smoke too much, you’ll be done for the day. Things like the Heineken factory cost close to $20 to see, and if you’re too gone to remember it, or to take advantage of the free beer at the end, then you’ve really just wasted 20 bucks.

Again, I’m not an expert on any of this – I was only there for a weekend. But I would put money down that most of this post is pretty accurate . If anyone wants to correct any of these points, or to add some more, feel free to comment.