Everyone should leave their country of origin at some point if they can. This may seem like a no-brainer but so many people get the chance to see so little and that\u2019s unfortunate. Very often it\u2019s for monetary reasons; a huge number of U.S. citizens don\u2019t have the means to travel due to always struggling to keep their heads above water financially. I don\u2019t exactly have lots of extra money either, so I\u2019m very appreciative of the chance to leave the country for study, and I\u2019m aware of the privilege that comes with it and that not everyone is able to take advantage of such an opportunity.<\/p>\n
Scotland and the rest of the British Isles have intrigued me for some time. I cannot go to Ireland, the place of my ancestors, because my father\u2019s been saving up since my birth to take me, but in general, the rolling hills, crags, and grassy vales of the region exude a tone which is somehow nostalgic to me even before I\u2019d ever been there. J.R.R. Tolkien\u2019s masterpiece, while Eurocentric, is so similar in geography and climate to the U.K. because that is the area he related to and empathized with most, holding it near to his heart and allowing the setting he created to be so reminiscent of his homeland.<\/p>\n
I have a checklist of things to do before I leave, and a rough timeline of the festivals and sites I\u2019m going to. A book a week starting the week before I leave, one museum or art gallery a day, and a whole week set aside for my time out of the two cities, in the country. That will be the most unstructured time, and I\u2019ll have to play it by ear. Compared to that, my time in Edinburgh and Glasgow should be easy to fill. The last time I was in the area for only five days and I saw firsthand that there\u2019s far more activities and entertainment than I could possibly handle, so I imagine this time around I will have an ample amount of potential activities to fill any unscheduled time with. Before I depart, I need to set up arrangements to stay at a B&B in Edinburgh for two of the weeks. The time I spend in Glasgow will be easier to coordinate because I can use my step-brother\u2019s apartment as sort of a home base, but I\u2019ll still be sleeping in different parts of the city on some nights, so I\u2019ll need to come prepared with extra money in case I find myself in an unfamiliar area.<\/p>\n
For me, this trip will just be the tip of the iceberg. I have many plans for traveling to other countries and I have no idea when I\u2019ll be able to make those happen, but I feel a motivation to be productive in my research and study that I\u2019ve not felt since before high school, to be honest. I\u2019m somewhat nervous about being completely alone in a foreign country, but English is by far the primary language of the country, so that will make things a bit easier.<\/p>\n
That brings me to another thing that will be strange for me, which is the lack of racial diversity in the Scotland. Over ninety percent of people living in Scotland are White, which will be pretty strange for me since I\u2019ve lived in the extremely diverse San Francisco Bay Area for the majority of my life, so that will take some getting used to. Also, even though most people are white and speak some form of English, Scottish accents are thick and enunciated very particularly; last time I was there I had some trouble understanding people, but found it easy enough to locate someone I could understand when I needed to.<\/p>\n
My brother tells me it is quite a heinous crime to wear green in Glasgow, especially on a sports jersey or track suit and especially near the West End. Apparently this is due to a political and religious sectarian rivalry between Roman Catholics and Protestants, who are symbolized by two football teams: the Celtics F.C. and the Rangers F.C. Historically, many Irish Catholics emigrated to the East End of Glasgow due to economic hardship, creating increased competition for housing and employment.<\/p>\n
Today, street gangs and thugs in Glasgow and other parts of Scotland tend to wear lose fitting tracksuits of varying colors instead of the signature oversized clothes and different colored baseball caps that we see have come to expect many street gangs in the U.S. to wear. To wear a green tracksuit near the West End is asking for it, apparently.<\/p>\n
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