I think many of you know that I spent a year of my life in beautiful Edinburgh, Scotland. Every now and then I lose myself in nostalgia for that mysterious, rainy place I called home for just a while. This morning is one of those times. I’ve been back in the US long enough (since August of 2008) that I’ve readjusted to life back here but find I’m still changing because of my time away.
Given the recent hoopla on our blog, it seemed like the perfect time to post something light, yet hopefully still interesting and productive.
So, I give you my list of my top nine Edinburgh insights.
1. If you order a caramel latte in the UK, it will taste like coffee with a hint of caramel. Not like ours here in the US that taste like caramel with just a touch of coffee. If you have a sweet tooth you’d like to cure, perhaps you should consider relocating out of the country for a while.
2. If you sit down to drink your latte inside a busy coffee shop, don’t be surprised when a stranger comes up and asks if he or she can sit at your table. If you’re sitting at a table for four and three empty seats remain, expect at some point that strangers will sit across from you. They will not bother you or try to strike up conversation, but they will utilize your table. It makes sense, really. Why not sit together rather than be forced to take your coffee with you?
3. There are times to be loud and times to be quiet. There are times to speak and times to listen. There are times we are right and times we are wrong. There are times when our opinions matter and should be voiced, but this isn’t always the case.
4. Life will not stop if you don’t have a cell phone. It can actually be very liberating to be unreachable, to not check your phone every five minutes, to not always know the exact time (if you’re like me and don’t own a watch), and to have to be present when you’re with friends rather than being distracted by e-mail and text notifications.
5. If you think you’re smart, chances are you simply need to meet more people—especially Harvard-educated people who discuss film theory for fun.
6. Anything can be deep fried. Notice I said “can” there—not “should.” (Deep-fried pizza, anyone?)
7. It is not necessary, nor is it productive, to drive around Wal-Mart’s parking lot for a full five minutes to find the closest spot to the store. A few extra steps won’t kill you—in fact, they may just undo those M & M’s you’re about to buy inside and eat on the way home.
8. Along the same lines, if you want to eat whatever you like (including aforementioned deep-fried anything), try walking everywhere, and taking public transportation when necessary. You will most likely maintain your weight, feel healthy, and realize that cars are overrated headaches.
9. If you are a Muslim and a store owner, and as the sign on your storefront indicates, you close your store for prayer for one hour every afternoon, no one will bother you. No one will break your windows or spray paint your walls. No one will call you names or tell you you should return to your home country because you dare to practice your religion in your new one.
Do any of these resonate with you? Have you had the privilege to live in a place, whether internationally or in your own country, where you feel like a foreigner? Where you’re able to sit back, observe, and absorb the culture and practices around you? What insights do you have to offer?
I miss England. My wife and I had the opportunity to live there for four years, and most of what you've written could be applied to London, or the small village just west of there where we lived.
We did feel like outsiders, but I think it has helped me to be more compassionate towards people who find themselves in the minority.
One of the best parts of living overseas is that you realize how inward focused we are in America. I never had a clue that other countries had sporting events that they were just as passionate about as we are about March Madness or the World Series. The FA Cup…The Ashes…Champion's League…it was a lot of fun learning more about the traditions of a place where most people never watch the Super Bowl.
Thanks, Michael. I've always had a fascination with Asia, but at the same time, it's SO different from everything I know that the thought of going, even for a visit, quite honestly terrifies me.
I never witnessed kindness to that degree in Scotland, but I did notice that the people there were generally warmer than we Americans are. I wonder if it's because we're always in a hurry and alone far too often. Maybe if we bumped into each other on the street rather than passing them in our enclosed cars on our way to our next thing, we'd view life a little differently. Just a thought…