CONFESSIONS OF A
GATOR ABROAD
Amidst the chaos and uncertainty that has been 2020, I made what perhaps could be called an unusual decision: I decided to go ahead with my exchange program this Fall, and spend several months studying in Scotland. Since September, I’ve been taking English and Scottish Literature courses at the University of Glasgow through UF’s College of Liberal Arts and Science’s Beyond120 exchange programs. I chose to go abroad back in February, before COVID-19 overwhelmed the U.S. When lockdown occurred
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Fall 2020
and summer study abroad programs were cancelled, it seemed likely that Fall exchange programs would be next. I waited anxiously that summer, monitoring case numbers in the U.S. and the U.K. When the fall programs were given the go ahead, my choice came down to taking UF online classes at home or taking online classes in Scotland. I decided that I would be safer in Scotland, considering Florida’s high COVID-19 numbers, and I’d at least have the possibility of traveling and meeting new people. So, at the end of August, my friend and fellow UF Honors student, Sasha Vagos, and I flew over to Glasgow. Following the U.K. pandemic guidelines, we had to quarantine in our dorm for two weeks, so we made sure to arrive early before classes began. Quarantine was probably about as interesting as you would expect—we would have groceries delivered, and I focused on reading and trying out new hobbies like embroidery. Since we moved in before anyone else had arrived, we even threw
