ORONO – Cory Larose had an unusual summer.

The junior winger on the University of Maine men’s hockey team spent two months in Scotland working as a laborer and then spent three weeks touring Europe.

Larose went to Scotland with his best friend, Trevor Cook, who had relatives in Dundee.

“I just expected to work a few hours but as soon as we got there, we got in with a good group of people and we got full-time jobs. We went all over the country. We got a new perspective on life. It was fun. It was a good experience. We met a lot of really good people,” said Larose whose job included cleaning up construction sites.

Larose said he and Cook visited the British Open course at St. Andrews but didn’t play it “because it was too expensive.

“But we played mini-golf on natural terrain. It’s the first time I’ve ever done that. It was just like a huge green. It was fun,” said Larose.

He said the terrain was gorgeous.

“The hilly areas were so green. It rains there all summer. I think we had two days of sun the whole time we were there. The Highlands were amazing. It was the most beautiful terrain I’ve ever seen. We went hiking and everything else,” said Larose.

He did notice that being a Canadian was advantageous.

“For some reason, there’s a stigma about being an American over there. You’ve got to tell them you’re Canadian. It’s an unfound stigma but that’s just the way it is,” said Larose, a native of Campbellton, New Brunswick.

He and Cook rode trains across Europe and enjoyed that experience as well.