Cactus Language Blog

Cactus Opinion: English Course in Edinburgh

Posted by Sarah under Cactus Languages Abroad, English, Learning a language

Ignacio Gimenez, Financial Assistant at Cactus, tells us about his adventures in the Scottish capital

To visit Scotland had always been one of my dreams ever since I was a teenager…and this autumn I went to Edinburgh to do an English course with Cactus and make my dream come true.

Before my arrival, I was a bit worried about the Scottish accent; my English was pretty good but I didn’t know if I could manage to understand the tough accent that I had seen in movies like Trainspotting or Braveheart. Surprisingly enough, I did not have any problem to communicate with the Scottish and realised that people from Edinburgh have a very soft accent (funny though).

I arrived in Edinburgh on a sunny day on 12th October…yes, it was sunny! They say that October is the rainless month of the year, and it must be true taking into account that in the ten days I spent in the country it only rained on one.

The first thing that usually impresses tourists is Edinburgh Castle, a medieval fortress on the top of a hill that dominates the city like no other castle I have ever seen before. However, that is not the only interesting thing in the capital of Scotland; The Royal Mile, the National Gallery, Calton Hill… Edinburgh has dark Medieval atmosphere that makes it unique. Nevertheless and in spite of its ancient heritage, the city is incredibly cosmopolitan and lively 24 hours a day.

I definitively had a great time in Edinburgh, although I could not see all the things that I expected to mainly because I wanted to keep one day off to go to Loch Ness, one of the most celebrated destinations in Scotland and probably in the UK.

I arranged a 1-day trip to the Highlands. I had heard before many people talk about the Scottish landscape, but not until I reached the top of one of the hills did I realize the amazing view I had in front of me. It goes without saying that it is even more beautiful in autumn with the mix of green, brown and yellow leaves all over the mountains. We have nothing similar in Spain. Apart from this, I find no words to describe the wonderful landscape surrounding the Loch Ness…I felt inside me the magic atmosphere and tried hard to find “Nessy” with my camera, but the only monster I saw was in the gift shops.

To sum up, I would like to say that all possible gossip, chitchat and comments happily made about Scotland are possibly true. I highly recommend everyone to visit this wonderful land. Not only did I enjoy my course trip but also I certainly improved my English…and sometimes I pretend to speak with a Scottish accent, aye!!!

Tags:edinburgh, English, scotland