Before coming to Glasgow, Scotland for my exchange program this summer, I think I had an idea of what buildings in Europe would be like. I knew they would be older than anything in the United States, that was for sure. A fact I know I’ve shared with most of the people in my program is that only 2% of Ireland is covered in native trees (as opposed to the contiguous U.S., which boasts 881 native tree varieties ). I had this neat idea in my head that the U.S. wins out when it comes to natural age, but the history housed in Europe, and in Scotland, would be unmatched.

I was largely right. I’ve spent many weekend excursions wandering through decaying castles, tripping over uneven cobblestones and facing not only the history of the country, but of the buildings that stand around me, still u

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