I spent 4 weeks in Edinburgh studying English through a cultural exchange company (Interstudio Viaggi). I stayed with a Scottish family in Edinburgh and studied English at the Edinburgh School of Art with an intensive course (5 hours in the morning + 3 in the afternoon three times a week). It was a very nice experience because it lets you live like the locals. You eat with them, delve into current affairs topics, learn their customs and habits (some of which will stay with you for life!). The family was rather unusual with a very young divorced mother and two small children (8-10 years old). Incredible how every weekend the mum's boyfriend changed!! The house was on the outskirts and to go to school (in the centre) you had to take a bus and travel for about 30 minutes.
The families that host students are mostly in need of money and do it for this reason (few are those who do it for cultural exchange). So you'll hardly end up in the homes of wealthy people in the city centre. The important thing is that they're clean and decent and that the people are hospitable and pleasant. She was a hairdresser and often, when I came home after class, she would cut hair at home (right in the kitchen while we were eating!) The school is excellent, with native-speaker staff (obviously) who don't speak a word of Italian. There's also the chance to meet lots of young people who come from all over Europe. Your address book will become fuller and fuller with names and addresses. It's a beautiful experience and a great feeling of freedom. At the weekends we did (organised by ourselves) lots of excursions.
Scotland is very beautiful and I highly recommend a trip around the Highlands, Glasgow and Dundee. All easily reachable by public transport. The cost, I realise, isn't accessible to everyone because I paid 2,200,000 lire but I think that now 2 thousand euros wouldn't be enough. But if you want to learn English it's certainly the best solution. Enjoy your study holiday in Scotland!
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