Ben Pierce is a third-year Sturgis fellow from Fayetteville, Arkansas, studying history and political science. During his yearlong study abroad at the University of Edinburgh, he has had the chance to travel around the whole of Britain and gather a fuller picture of the island’s complicated histories.
I wanted to title this blog post “Eighty Days in Edinburgh.” I liked the sound of it, the alliteration and whatnot. But the first bit is a lie because I have only been here sixty-three days. The second part, too, is slightly dishonest. I have spent my time abroad traveling throughout Britain — from London to Durham to Glencoe to Inverness — and confining my study abroad experience to the University of Edinburgh rings false.
A example of the historic buildings in downtown Liverpool.
Last Friday, I took the train from Waverly station in the heart of Edinburgh to Liverpool. I have wanted to visit the city ever since my embarrassingly long Elvis Costello phase in high school. The Beatles are a plus, too, I guess. The train crossed the England-Scotland border, travelling down through the Lake District towards Liverpool. My window overlooked wind-swept pastures with herds of sheep ambling near the winding tracks. At Preston, a large group of old men I can only describe with the Google results for “soccer fans” boarded my carriage. They were loud yet joyful, exchanging pint cans at ten in the morning. I was lucky when I arrived: it was the first dry day in a week.
The Liverpool Cathedral spotted on my walk around town
Liverpool is a beautiful city on its surface, an amalgamation of Victorian buildings bordering wide avenues. Leaving the station, I was immediately greeted by a grouping of classical buildings in St. George’s Quarter. Turning left, I made my way down the shopping district towards the Liverpool Cathedral. It was a goliath in red brick. I was unable to tell whether it was larger than Durham Cathedral, which I had visited last week. Large panels of stained glass covered the inside, overshadowing a somewhat odd line of scripture in pink neon. I then walked to the coast and spent the rest of the day in the Tate Liverpool, the International Slavery Museum and the World Museum. But something about Liverpool’s beauty feels wrong. Liverpool was one of the centers of the English slave trade, and its beautiful avenues were lined by the offices of different English banking giants. The World Museum itself houses a large collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts, likely ill-gotten.
I think that my experience in Liverpool and the United Kingdom more generally points to something fundamental about study abroad. I visited the UK back when I was twelve and it was perfect. It was old looking and therefore it had history. But studying abroad has a way of granting perspective. The place being visited is no longer some idyllic fantasy. It is as real as any place in the United States. Its history is as blemished as Arkansas’s. Nonetheless, my time at the University of Edinburgh has been absolutely wonderful. I love my classes and how the ways of thinking and teaching differ. I adore the city and how it looks even prettier in the rain. It is amazing to the point where I run out of synonyms for love. Studying abroad has thus far been a highlight of my life, and I highly recommend it to anyone who has the opportunity.