Scotland, baby!

Dear Sue........

To be honest, I hadn't realized just how involved Paideia was with the Study Abroad program until after the first meeting, but that's cool because I'd been planning on it anyway. Studying abroad makes perfect sense for Paideia now that I've thought about it since the whole point is to stretch the liberal arts ideal till it hurts, right? Basically, I've known the whole time that I'm hoping to study abroad in Scotland (Stirling or St. Andrew's more specifically) just like I've known for years that I would be an English major. So far I'm planning on studying abroad during the summer before my senior year seeing as there are too many classes at SU I want to take and no reason that I can see for me to simply take an unnecessary slack-off vacation when I could be doing something productive in a country where everyone eats haggis.

I'm hoping to be able to take some courses centering around Shakespeare and medieval literature (though I know there are less courses to choose from in the summer) and I figured the UK would be the ideal place for furthering my studies in those areas. The only real worry I have about the program is affordability--a worry which obviously puts a limit on the "how long" question. I'd love to study in Scotland for an entire year but I don't have any delusions about that--even a single summer would be absolutely wonderful.

The Basics

I signed up for Paideia because I thought it was a program that really championed the ideals of a liberal arts institution and that it would help me to become a person more accepting of other opinions as well as better able to form my own. I signed up for the Human Behavior group in particular because I think it will yield some wonderful benefits and open some great windows for me as an English major that I wouldn't otherwise get to enjoy.

As far as study abroad is concerned, I know I want to go to Scotland and, in particular, St. Andrew's because I think studying in a smaller (but still prestigious) school would better enable me to spend time with Scottish people rather than living in a dorm full of other American study abroad students.

I don't know yet what I want to do as far as approaching this issue for civic engagement/community service but illiteracy in America is a problem I feel very personally and immediately threatened by and something I hope to help fight whether as a part of my Paidiea experience or not.

The only real challenge I can see for myself in regards to Paidiea (besides my car's non-existance) is simply getting myself organized and dedicating enough time to really stretch the program for my fullest benefit. Of course, while I am anxious about my own hectic schedule, I can't see this as becoming an issue of any real substance.