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HC Abroad: See Ya Later, Scotland!

My world tour is officially over. After interning in Australia for the summer and studying at the University of Glasgow for the fall, I can’t believe it’s time to go home.

During my last week abroad, I didn’t waste any time; I traveled around Scotland and soaked up the holiday spirit in Glasgow.

I went to the Glasgow Santa Dash on Sunday and saw thousands of people dressed in Santa suits run a 5k around the city. It was absolutely hilarious—check out this video I took. How can you not love this city?

The next night, I went ice skating in George Square, another part of Glasgow Loves Christmas. It started to rain at one point, but it was still fun skating in front of the city chambers. I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of this ongoing event.

I also took day trips to North Berwick and St Andrews. North Berwick is a cute, coastal town just east of Edinburgh. I loved seeing the beach, eating delicious fish and chips at a pub and having afternoon tea at a local café! St Andrews is beautiful as well. I channeled my inner Kate Middleton and visited the University of St Andrews, the oldest university in Scotland. I also went to the St Andrews Castle and Cathedral—must-sees in the area!

St Andrews Castle

On Friday, I went to 12-hour Christmas Cheesy Pop at the Queen Margaret Union. Yes, 12 hours. It was a huge event with live performances, games, karaoke and movies. I’m sure going to miss being a member of the QMU and going to their weekly events, especially the pub quizzes and Cheesy Pop! 

They had a photographer too—we loved posing for professional holiday photos. So much fun!

The gospel choir performing at 12-hour Christmas Cheesy Pop

Soon it was time for me to catch an early flight home on Sunday. I lugged two huge suitcases and a carry-on bag filled with about ten international issues of Vogue (so heavy, but so worth it) back to Texas. It’s been an amazing six-month adventure, and I am so thankful for this experience. I met amazing people, visited beautiful cities and studied at one of the oldest universities in the world. Europe—this isn’t “goodbye,” it’s “see ya later!”

Thanks for following my journey abroad, and be sure to check out my personal blog and follow me on Twitter! 

Lesley Siu graduated from American University in May 2013 with a BA in Film and Media Arts and minors in Marketing and International Business. Originally from Hawaii, she loves photography, fashion, travel, social media and everything Parisian. She has interned at GLAMOUR magazine in New York and Washington Life Magazine in DC, but her proudest accomplishment is founding Her Campus American in 2011 while interning in Melbourne, Australia. You can usually find her reading a magazine, enjoying a hazelnut latte or posting a photo on Instagram... and sometimes, all at the same time. Follow her on Twitter: @lesleysiu and visit her blog.