Happy Tuesday and Happy May!
April went by quickly and in all honesty, I’m so happy to be seeing the back of that month that I won’t waste time on a recap post. It was a lot of overtime at work and I caught some sort of bug two weeks ago and I’m only just recovering. Hopefully May bodes better!
To start the month, I’m back with more about expat life in Scotland. It’s crazy to think, but I’m approaching three years of living in Scotland. I went from student to worker, from living in St Andrews to Edinburgh and now Stirling (and we’re probably moving again soon…), and my perspective on life in this country has definitely changed from situation to situation and from a place to another.
There are definitely things that I still notice about life in Scotland, that amaze me or annoy me about this different culture. I notice when it’s really sunny or when it snows – because it really diverts from our usual weather. I notice how much people drink – though I put that on dating a man who doesn’t drink a sip. The sheep dot the countryside and the wind is still a prevalent character in the story that is my life in Scotland.
But funnily enough, the idea for this post came to me with the realisation that there are now things that I don’t notice anymore. Things I’ve slowly grown accustomed to, like it was always a part of my life.
Things I don’t notice anymore:
– That it rains nearly everyday
– The awesomeness of travelling by train
– All of the sheep
– The mountains drawing the skyline
– Driving on the other side
– The lack of heating in general
– Plug switches
– How narrow buildings seem to grow next to each other
– The Scottish accents
– How short distances are here
– The lack of grid system in cities
– Edinburgh Castle
– Irn Bru, haggis and other weird delicacies
– The difference in Scottish notes
– Customer services (or lack thereof…)
– 4 seasons/1 day. Nuf said.
What’s most important to me though is that every once in a while I try to take time and be present and realise that I live across the world from where I came from. The minute I think of that, I feel grateful for this chance, but am also overwhelmed by all the things my expat eyes have grown accustomed to. I like those moments – they feel so real.
Are you an expat? Are there things you don’t notice anymore?xx
