I just finished driving my last trip home to Glen Rose from College Station, maybe not ever, but at least for the foreseeable future. Since I hope to stay in Scotland through grad school, my days spent (physically) on the A&M campus are behind me, and I’ve finally finished unpacking all the boxes of A&M t-shirts, banners, blankets, and any and all other paraphernalia that represents my three years spent at College Station. I’m leaving in three days, and it’s beyond surreal at this point.

I’ve studied abroad with A&M before; I had the great privilege of going on the annual summer marketing trip, back when I was actually a marketing major. It was amazing—I was able to see so many new things and go through such great international experiences with friends—but this is completely different. This time, I am alone. This time, I am not going as a part of an Aggie group, a Texas group, or even an American group. It’s just me; all the events, side trips, classes, residences…everything…is planned completely by me. As amazing as this is (and believe me, I am floored that it’s even possible), it makes the process a bit more stressful than a typical study abroad experience.

For instance, let’s look at the simple, necessary issue of money. Everyone uses it, needs it, and works with it daily. So, in today’s global world, it should be no problem setting up a system where money is easily accessible no matter where you are, right? Easier said than done. I needed to pay tuition to the University of Edinburgh for this year. Okay, what do I normally do for A&M? Pay with a credit card? Well, the credit card companies charge a 3% fee for changing currencies between dollars and pounds—this may not seem like a huge rate to you, but think about how much out of state tuition…percentages add up!

Question two: why don’t I just pay when I register in Edinburgh on the 15th? Issues: 1) it takes longer than 5 days to set up a bank account (which I can’t do until I get there) in Edinburgh, 2) I don’t feel comfortable carrying all that cash with me, and 3) the Finance department doesn’t like cash payments!

Ack! But wait, a light emerges in the confusion of international commerce! Duh da da duh! Wire transfer!

I live in a small, small town that doesn’t, in a normal day, send a whole lot of wire transfers in pounds sterling to Edinburgh, Scotland, so this wasn’t quite as easy as it sounds. The UK bank system has ‘swift codes,’ ‘sort codes,’ and, for international transfers, long numbers known as the IBAN numbers. While I am completely unfamiliar with these, my local bank wasn’t super familiar with them either. HOWEVER, I think we figured it out today, and hopefully, I have successfully made a wire transfer that will solidify my educational experience for the next year. We’ll just have to make sure I didn’t accidentally send the money to Bora Bora or Germany or somewhere…

Anyway, though, I think I can now move money around the world with a small degree of success. I find it fascinating that for all the corporate world’s forays into an international community, everything is still as complicated as it is. I suppose that it is in fact less complicated and I’m just not up to speed on the best ways to move money internationally, but it seemed much harder than it needed to be.

Now, for a truly revealing glimpse into my personality. Yes, I’m being responsible and somewhat timely on paying all my fees, but here’s the kicker: I haven’t started packing yet. I leave in three days. Three. Somehow I always find myself in this situation, but I think it’s because I function best when I simply must get things done, not whenever I find it convenient.
That being said, I’m going to quickly grab a few hours of z’s before waking up and deciding how to pack for a year in two large suitcases. Phew. Wish me luck, and I hope everyone is having a pleasant and productive week!

For the last time in Texas for a while,
Erika