UQ Program: Bachelor of Laws/Economics
The choice of Glasgow University for my exchange came naturally enough yet was not founded on any particular reason. Going into my 6th and final year of my dual degree in Law and Economics, I wanted to travel but not postpone my graduation. Also, I felt if I were to be living in a foreign country, it would be best to go to an English speaking nation making it more easy to mix with the locals. For these reasons, an exchange in Scotland seemed to kill two birds with one stone.
Glasgow’s law school is very welcoming of incoming exchange students and there is an extensive list of courses which one can take there that are compatible with law electives at UQ. Also, opportunities to study subjects not offered at UQ such as the Forensic Medicine course I took mean there is enough on offer for any law student for at least a semester, if not two! With Scotland and indeed Britain in general facing the harshest winter in over 20 years, the weather certainly did take some getting used to. However, it was all part of a great experience, especially the night early in the semester when upon returning home to the student village, I was greeted with snowballs flying in every direction as hundreds of wily fellow students were engaging in the biggest snowball fight I had ever seen. And after being struck, it didn’t take me long to get involved as well. However, despite the freezing temperatures, the indoor heating and woolly clothes on offer in Glasgow’s sprawl of department stores meant the cold was only too easy to escape.
Glasgow Uni has a great extra-curricular culture which everyone seems to get involved in. I myself joined the swimming and water polo teams (although I do not take part in these activities at home) and the music team for the popular university radio station Sub-City through which I was granted free tickets to the Prodigy gig and assigned the task of interviewing the lead-up band. If you enjoy a drink, you won’t go thirsty in Glasgow with what seems to be the entire population crowding out the various pubs every night, presumably to escape the cold. However, its not all about the various ales and lagers that will be offered on tap with the pubs holding a more wholesome place in Scottish society than in Australia. It is not uncommon to observe an old lady having a mere cup of tea in the local at any time of day, or for the pub to double as a restaurant for the hordes of hungry students in the West End of Glasgow.
Friends were easy to come by as UG put on a social evening for all incoming exchange students in the first week as well as living in student ‘halls’ and through the various extra-curricular activities I pursued. Following the sad and sorry goodbyes to all my beloved new friends after the end of semester, I was fortunate enough to have enough spare time to travel in Europe for exactly two months during June and July before having to return home for semester two. Through it all I can truly say I had the time of my life and that the only regret I have is perhaps only limiting myself to only one semester.