My first year in Scotland – the land of the brave, lochs and legends

Well, technically, it has not been a whole year yet. The sacred date of my arrival to Scotland is September 15^th, 2012. But hey, I managed to pass through a whole academic year in my University, and that counts!

Why do I start to blog NOW, a year later? I have no idea. Let’s say I had a hunch. And I feel the need to do it just now. Also, it quite makes sense considering the fact that in the beginning of any adventure, there are always so many things happening. Who would have time and the energy to share it and relive it again with their computer in the end of the day? I wouldn’t. But I do now. I have the time, I have the energy and most importantly, I have the will. And where there’s a will, there’s a way, right? J

My first impressions of Scotland? Let’s have a look:

•  Scottish “English”

What the heck? There is no way this has anything to do with the language called English that I studied at school!! As for many foreigners arriving to Scotland, this was truly a hard nut to crack for me. I mean a hard hard hard nut to crack. Even after 9 months it still happens to me from time to time that I have no idea what people are saying to me and it all sounds more like singing/humming some random letters than actually saying something meaningful. My apologies to all Scottish people.

• Surroundings

One word: beautiful. And that is hardly enough to describe the astonishing and breathtaking Scottish countryside.

• Scottish patriotism

If you heard something about how proud Scottish people are of their country and culture, it was true. First walk around my new town and I already met a guy who stopped me to give me an hour(ish) long lecture about Scottish history. As for the kilts, if your idea is that every second guy on the street is wearing it, not so true. During the time I’ve been here, I could count the times I saw someone wearing kilt on the fingers of one hand. But there is a whole bunch of shops with kilts on every second corner, of course.

•  Scottish hospitality

Hmmm, there’s no easy answer to this topic. Just like probably everywhere around the world, in Scotland, you can find all sorts of people. I have been lucky enough to usually meet the nice and kind ones. And especially funny ones. On the other hand, I had the pleasure to meet (let’s say) not-so-tactful people in my school as well. The kind of people who are staring at you like you’re an idiot just because you didn’t immediately understand what they told you. When did asking “I beg you pardon” or “Sorry,what was that” become a crime? No, I get it. Some people don’t like foreigners simply because in their opinion, they should have stayed where they came from. All I’m saying is that working in a group during workshops and tutorials with people who are unwilling to cooperate or take the fact that you are an international student into account…well, simply put, it can mess up with your self-esteem. And it definitely won’t be a part of my “Best of life in Scotland” scrapbook any time soon either (not that I have one). BUT the positives still dominate. People on the streets are more interactive than I'm used to from home. Guys are stopping me to have a beer with them or go sing some karaoke on daily bases (not just the ones who want to pick me up but granpas and granmas as well!). And noone has attacked me or robbed me yet, which is also great, especially considering the fact that I (supposedly) live in one of the most violent part of Scotland. Guess which part it is!

*To Be Continued (promise)*

Yours,
Di: