Well, technically, it has not been a whole year yet. The
sacred date of my arrival to Scotland is September 15th, 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:
Di:
