Meet the Locals

June 12, 2017

Throughout our travels here, I have met locals easiest when we visit the traumatic brain injury events and sites that our dialogue itself has been surrounded on. In total, we have visited three different traumatic brain injury rehabilitation and therapeutic sites as well as two Head Injury Information Days (conferences) in Edinburgh and Glasgow. During our time at these places, I have had the opportunity to interact one-on-one with local professionals, representatives, volunteers, and patients. Each local I talk to always comes with a different story despite working/being apart of the same facility or occupation. In addition, I have also been able to interact with locals by conducting the research portion of this dialogue with five separate memory capability study surveys. With these surveys, I was able to gather the information needed for our professors research while also communicating and interacting with locals from all over the country. In fact, one of the women I surveyed at the Glasgow Head Injury Information Day shared with me that she has a nephew who also attends Northeastern University in Boston; small world!

With regards to money and currency, it has been pretty easy for me to buy things here just as I would at home. At the beginning of this trip, I had £150 in cash which lasted me almost two weeks… I was very proud of myself! Once this cash ran out, I have used my MasterCard ever since due to almost everywhere accepting it. This is honestly much easier for me than taking out cash because personally, I prefer using cards over paper as much as I can. Coming here, I estimated about $1500 US dollars in spending money and surprisingly, I am actually below what I anticipated in spending. I really have only spent money on food to eat and souvenirs for my family and friends with the intention of trying to save as much money as I can. I have been more budget-conscious with the knowledge that once I get home I have to buy myself a new laptop and sunglasses. Other than food and souvenirs, I haven’t really bought anything out of the ordinary! I purchased some lambswool scarves, Scottish whisky nips, and Whisky fudge to bring back home for my family. I’m hoping to find a place that serves vegetarian Haggis so I can say I tried the traditional Scottish dish without actually consuming the true animal guts that make up the non-vegetarian Haggis. Overall, I am happy with each purchase I have made and am beyond proud of myself for not indulging in all that meets my eye.

Written By

Audrey Brigham

As a student studying health sciences, a dialogue encompassing research, cultural differences, and exploring the various fields embodying each aspect of healthcare could not have appealed to me more. My goals for this trip are to actively engage in every opportunity that presents itself to me. I hope to learn from the research I am assisting with, the professionals I am shadowing, as well as the patients I am working with. During this program, I also hope to take in all of the scenery and culture I can. Outside of school, I am the Vice President and member of the Northeastern Club Field Hockey team and am an active runner. I spend most of my time outdoors so I hope to catch some beautiful sights on my travels and runs throughout Edinburgh. I also have a passion for nutrition and cuisine so I hope to be able to indulge myself at some of the local restaurants as well. Overall, I cannot be more than grateful for the opportunity to document this experience and share everything that I can!