OXFORD, Miss. – Susan Price of Madison, a senior English major at the University of Mississippi, spent the spring semester studying and traveling in the United Kingdom.
She was enrolled at the University of Edinburgh, made possible through an exchange partnership sponsored by the UM Study Abroad Office. Her three, five-hour courses count toward her UM degree.
Summing up her four-month sojourn, she said, “It not only taught me to function as an independent individual but also strengthened my dependence on God. In general, I believe the experience reinforced my character and confidence.”
Although Price found the education protocol at Edinburgh to be somewhat demanding, her experiences at Ole Miss, including membership in the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, helped prepare her for such a challenge, she said.
The Honors College provides undergraduate students from all disciplines with a vibrant center of academic excellence, merging intellectual rigor with public service, to help them become outstanding in their fields and engaged citizens of their communities.
Even so, Price said “studying abroad definitely encouraged me to push my limits.”
“The curriculum forced me to learn new ways of studying and how to adapt to different academic pressures. Grading there is ridiculously tough.”
With more than half the student population at Edinburgh being other than Scottish, there was plenty of interaction, with everyone making friends with people from different cultures, Price said. She also became close friends with members of Edinburgh’s Charlotte Chapel church, which she attended.
Getting the most out of her experience, Price mixed pleasure with her studies by traveling around the country, mostly by train or bus.
“I visited some really great places: Loch Ness, Skye, Comrie, Lindesfarne, Liverpool and London.”
She said she especially enjoyed visiting in and around London.
“The hostels may have been a little smelly, but it was totally worth it,” she said. “I spent way too much money on Shakespeare paraphernalia at the Globe, saw paintings by Picasso and Van Gogh at the National Gallery and fought Darth Vader beside the London Eye.”
In February, Price took a bus tour to the Isle of Skye, which turned out to be a most memorable experience. Her tour guide, Stevie, asked for volunteers to act out a story from local lore. Price participated and was cast in the role of Flora, an awkwardly betrothed woman who was kicked in the face by a horse.
“I was just fine playing along until the part where the Faery King offers me eternal youth and beauty if I just stick my head in the river,” she said. “Stevie actually wanted me to stick my head in the river. In February? In the highlands of Scotland?”
Being the good sport that she is, Price obliged. Stevie also talked everyone else on the tour to stick their heads in the river as well.
“In the end, we all left Skye dripping wet, very awake, but also thrilled to have gotten a chance to interact with the Faery King,” she said.
Other surprises during her stay included the somewhat disagreeable springtime weather, which she said she wasn’t expecting.
“Most of the time, it was chilly, rainy, windy and just all-around icky,” Price said. “If it’s sunny and in the upper 40s, people around there get so excited that everyone starts walking around with ice cream cones.”
Price is slated to graduate from Ole Miss in May 2011. She plans to continue her studies and begin a teaching career by joining the Mississippi Teacher Corps.
A 2007 graduate of Madison Central High School, she is the daughter of Scott and Lena Price.
During the spring semester, 109 Ole Miss students participated in UM’s Study Abroad programs. Each year, the Study Abroad Office sends around 600 students abroad offering programs in more than 80 countries covering Latin America, Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa.
For more information, visit http://www.outreach.olemiss.