FIFE, SCOTLAND — I never thought studying at St Andrews would be a rude awakening. I was wrong. Hearing stories from Elon students who had previously studied abroad colored my ideas of what studying abroad would be like.

I thought, for example, that I would find amazing, fashionable and worldly international friends who could educate me on topics I could not find in America. My friends at home and I took immense pleasure in imaging me meeting my own prince and falling in love before I came back. St Andrews, after all, has had a reputation for decades as the place where people find their spouses. Over the summer I made a list of countries and cities I would like to travel to while studying abroad. I pictured independence, joy, and new experiences on a daily basis. Not unreasonable, right?

My expectations did not meet my reality. The friends I have at St Andrews are all American, save two from the Seychelles and one from England’s Lake District. I have frequently been the source of jokes for simply being an American. Instead of traveling to Paris or Copenhagen on the weekends, I study for 8 to 10 hours in addition to studying on the  weekdays. St Andrews expects a lot from its students, whether they are studying abroad or not.

Just the other day I was wallowing about how flat my expectations fell from reality. As I sat in my friend’s room thinking about my other Elon friends studying abroad who have visited Rome and Barcelona and Switzerland every weekend, I happened to glance out the window.

Photo submitted by Meghan White.

Framed by the ruins of the Cathedral tower, with the clouds in the background and the sun shining on the weathered stone, stood a rainbow in the sky. I am not a superstitious person, but I couldn’t help but smile when I saw the rainbow framed so perfectly. I realized that there wasn’t anywhere else I would want to be at that moment. I am living in a dorm where a girl fell in love with her prince. I am surrounded by 600 years of living, tangible history, which, as a student studying history, couldn’t be a more perfect situation. And at the same time, I am not sacrificing anything. My friends at Elon will still be there when I come back. My parents will save an ornament or two for me to decorate our Christmas tree. And although I occasionally crave Simply Thai  and wish I could hold my dog, St Andrews is where I need to be right now. I only needed a rainbow in Scotland to remind me.