My First Impression – Ryan Fennell

To be honest I was extremely nervous to be coming on this trip to Glasgow. I was very excited and knew it was such a great opportunity but of course the nerves were present and that was what took over my brain. I have left the country a few times before when traveling to Ireland when I was young and Costa Rica last summer, however those were both with my parents and family. This would be a new challenge for me going on a trip of this caliber by myself.
The trip started on a rough note when two of my flights were delayed leading to myself and a few others missing our connecting flight from London to Glasgow. This resulted in a 3?4-hour layover in the London Heathrow Airport, which if you have ever been, is a large place with people from all over the world. Although I was bummed to be delayed and missing the first small tour of my trip, it was interesting to get a small glimpse of the other side of the world and I had tons of time to explore such a large airport. Once arriving I instantly fell in love with the country of Scotland. The people are genuinely happy to hear of Texans coming to their country to study and learn about their culture, and they take pride in their sustainable projects.
I am writing this only 4 days into my trip and I have already learned so much and made some great memories and friendships. Dr. Panina and Professor Phinney have helped us get acclimated to the culture and been great teachers in our classroom activities. I feel lucky to have such a great group of students to share this experience with and I know we will only grow stronger and closer as a group. I hope to continue to get out of my comfort zone and grow not only as a student but as a person.