halloween – DU Abroad

This week started our fall break, or “reading week.” I decided to use my time to explore the UK even more and head up to Edinburgh, Scotland, with 5 of my friends! With luck, one of my great friends also lives in Edinburgh so I was delighted to catch up with her and hang out. The trip up there lasted about 9 hours, as we had decided to take an overnight bus from London.

Pros: the bus was very cheap (compared to the train and/or plane) and hypothetically you would be sleeping for most of it.

Cons: Something could go wrong, and you’re delayed a while and then can’t go to sleep.

We all started off with high spirits and headed towards the Victoria coach station Friday night, excited to start this little trip to Scotland! Unfortunately, it didn’t go as planned. As we got further away from London and towards Heathrow (which is an hour away), a guy on the bus made us aware that he was not completely in his right mind. He was singing, and mindlessly talking when people were trying to sleep. So, at midnight the bus had to pull over and have help from the police in the area, who promptly took him off the bus and spoke to those who were around him. While the incident was calm and handled well, we were about an hour behind the schedule, and we still had 8 hours on the road to complete. Next, was the fact that neither me or any of my friends could fall asleep for more than an hour at a time. I was so exhausted when we finally arrived in Edinburgh! The bright side? I got to see the Scottish countryside during sunrise!

While we were all tired and wanting to take naps, we wanted to hike Arthur’s seat more! So, we separated for some breakfast, where I went and met my friend and dropped off my suitcase at her apartment. And then, off we were to hike Arthur’s seat! Truly, an easy hike up, and it was quite a warm sunny day! However, the wind at the top was so insane, I stumbled and felt like I was getting pushed! It was so much fun to experience the wind, the view, and being with my friend in Scotland!

This trip truly was wonderful, with amazing memories and people. I got to hold an owl, which was so surreal, and explore the Edinburg castle, as well as try the surrounding cafes. We also walked around Dean Village, which was a charming little village that reminded me of Germany and Austria. It was similar to the countryside of England, where it was very silent and a peaceful place to walk around. My friends left 2 days before me, as I wanted to spend as much time with my other friend and in Edinburg as possible! While my friend went to her classes, I walked around more and explored on my own! It was so much fun to explore and go where I wanted to, on a whim. I ended up sitting at a park, journaling, while having a wonderful view of the castle. I also got over my shyness of asking someone to take a photo of me.

However, as the trip came to an end, I smiled at all my memories and the beautiful city, said a “see you later” to my friend, and headed back to London, but this time on the train. I always wanted to take the train from Edinburgh to London (or vise-versa) and it was so much fun to travel like this. I got a window seat, and looking at the beautiful countryside, the sea, and listening to my music made the 4 hours fly by. Alas, there was also something wrong with the train, so about 3 hours in, we had to make a train-switch, which by all means was easy and fast. It shows how things could go wrong in travel, but to make the most of it because it turns out to be wonderful. I still had an amazing trip in both Edinburgh and the train regardless.

Now, here I am after a jam-packed past few days, recounting all of this with a smile on my face. Not to mention Halloween! After Scotland, I celebrated Halloween with my friends. During the day, I walked around a beautiful park, with orange leaves littering the ground, kids dressed up as Harry Potter running around, and swans swimming in the lake. I picked up a delicious chai and chocolate croissant and enjoyed my time walking around, journaling (again) while sitting up against a tree and watching the people walk by. It was such an amazing day enjoying the nature hidden in a city and with my own self. At night, I rejoined my friends and had a fun time dressing up and hanging out with them. By all accounts, I had a wonderful past week, with some incidents, but it all makes for a wonderful story!

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Since most DU students go abroad for fall semester so as to miss only one quarter not two, a lot of people will end up experiencing what it is like to be away from home for some traditional American holidays.

Even though I studied abroad in Copenhagen, I ended up being in Zurich for Halloween night at the Youth Hostel Zurich. My friend and I spent all day in transit to get from our housing in Copenhagen to the hostel in Switzerland. By the time we got there we were absolutely exhausted and ready for a good night’s sleep before starting our exploration of Switzerland. I had totally forgotten that it was even Halloween. I remember I was getting ready for bed in the shared floor bathroom when I heard two giggling girls come in. All of a sudden one of them jumped out at me from behind a door! She was wearing black and white face paint but very little else that would suggest a costume. I admittedly jumped a little bit and she laughed. Her friend came out and they started joking in a language that I did not recognize. I smiled and left the bathroom when I was finished. In retrospect, I kind of wish I had tried to talk to them and ask them their plans for Halloween, especially since they evidently were not American and probably would not have grown up with the same traditions as me.

Thanksgiving is another holiday that most people studying during fall semester will miss. I remember talking to a number of Americans at my school about this, and many people were very distressed that they were going to miss out on their usual traditions, as well as traditional Thanksgiving food. Canned pumpkins are apparently not something that all countries like to carry in their supermarkets, nor are whole turkeys. This started getting people a little bit worried about what food they were going to have for Thanksgiving. I admit that I had a special advantage in making my Thanksgiving dreams come true. I had a thing called a visiting family which is a Danish family that I hung out with a lot but did not live with—mine was a couple named Lars and Lilly. Lilly was a former caterer; so needless to say, I ate like royalty when I was at their house. Come Thanksgiving, Lilly took it upon herself to prepare an entire Thanksgiving dinner for just for the three of us! It was spectacular! Even though there was no pumpkin pie, and the turkey that we had was just a part of a turkey and not the whole turkey, all the other elements of an American Thanksgiving dinner were present: cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans and more. And like with American Thanksgivings, we ate until we could barely walk.

My recommendations for other people who are abroad for Halloween and Thanksgiving is to make the best of what you’ve got. It may not be exactly the same as your American traditions, but that is okay. On the one hand, it is a shame that I did not have the opportunity to dress up for Halloween, but on the other hand it was interesting to see something reminiscent of Halloween in a completely different culture. As for Thanksgiving, not everyone will be as lucky as I was in being able to replicate American traditions, but finding a new way to celebrate can be just as rewarding whether it is making food and celebrating with a group of Americans, or having a nice sit down meal with local people and local dishes. In the end, I found that the holidays were an interesting way to observe a culture differently, and to experience something new out of something old.

– Rosa Calabrese, DUSA Peer Advisor

Tag: halloween

Why you shouldn’t (or should) go on an overnight bus.

Away From Home for the Holidays