Blending in and heading out

Our last month. I am feeling both an excitment to be heading home soon, but also a sadness that I am not sure I can fully explain. In the last two and a half months we have immersed ourselves into our adopted country at full speed. We hit the ground running and did exactly what we came to do ... blend in. The rail (train) station boards that seemed so overwhelming to me, are now easy to read. I will call out what platform we are headed to before David even finishes buying the ticket. We know that when we get off the train in Dunkeld we will have to literally "jump off" as the sidewalk does not line up with the railway and we must "mind the gap!" Make a left at the station exit and head through the neighborhood yards to get to the main street in the village. We love that train station and we could do it with our eyes closed. The idea of walking around Perth without David used to make me a bit anxious, and now I know where our laundromat is, where my amazing dentist office is (hello affordable and excellent dental care) and how exactly the best way to church is. We can tell you what restaurants serve the best fish and chips, and which restaurant in town that you must make a reservation for. We have come to love certain areas of Perth that are our favorite places to visit on the rare warmer days. North Inch Park is at the end of our street and hugging the Tay River, and when we want to visit our favorite restaurant in Perth, McDonald's 😂, we walk the two miles around it before we treat ourselves to some nuggies. Occasionally we will run into Enzo peeing on the newly bloomed flowers surrounding the park. You remember Enzo - the pittie in flat 3. On warm evenings it seems the whole town is in North Inch playing football (soccer), practicing rugby, biking, and just enjoying the outside. It was a whole 50 degrees outside and to our fellow Scots it might as well have been a heat wave. David and I still bundled in our puffer jackets and beanies, and they in their short sleeve t shirts and shorts. You cannot help but smile and laugh at them. This is not making fun of them in any way; it is more of completely understanding why they are dressed this way the longer you are here. They celebrate small wins, and when the sun is out, that is a huge win. The sun illuminates their stunning country and the green is almost iridescent coming from the grass. I get it. We had friends who typically vacation in hot places, decide to come and visit last month and as luck would have it, it was one of the coldest and wet weeks in years (as we were told by the locals) for April. I think Scotland is cheeky. I believe it does not want people to enjoy it too much as then everyone would want to be here constantly, so it serves up the craziest weather for visitors sometimes. Maybe not, but in my mind Scotland is feisty and it is kinda funny. If you visit in the summer months, the best weather months, you are apparently eaten up with midges. They are gnats that hoard and swarm around you and they bite. See what I mean, cheeky Scotland. 😏

One of the things that is great about being here is the people you meet from other countries. I suppose I had not really envisioned meeting and becoming friends with anyone other than a Scot, and obviously in the states we are a melting pot of people. However, being here has opened the doors to people that we may not meet quite as much.  A serendipitous encounter at church has resulted in a new friendship that we did not see coming. Gaby, Cornelia and their lovely daughters Anna and Grace are from Romania and we have grown close to them for many reasons. Georgiana, their beautiful friend, has also come into our lives and getting to know her and where she is from, the life she has endured growing up, and the absolute badass she is, is nothing short of amazing. All of them truly have hearts of gold and welcomed us into their family right from the minute we met; not to mention making us the absolute best meal we have had since coming here. Romanians know how to keep the food flavorful and the wine flowing!! We adore them and should any of you be invited to a Romanian house, you would be crazy to not go. 

Have I mentioned the Perthshire Brass Band? This local band of talented musicians was literally one of the first contacts David made. Shocker, I know, but I am so glad he did. They are a hilarious group that allowed us to become their bus groupies on one of their competitions and while I was very apprehensive about getting in a bus with almost strangers, I am so glad I forced myself to go. Scots are natural storytellers and the band's leader George is hilarious. He has this dry wit sense of humor and his wife has the cutest accent I have ever heard. I am lowkey jealous because she can harass him and tease him and you can't help but laugh because the sweet songy voice of hers is truly getting him and she is good at it! Maybe I will start giving David a little teasing with a side of accent and he will be none the wiser. I will keep you all posted on that, ha! 

It has not always been people from other countries but also some of the "locals of Perth" that we see on an almost daily basis. We have gotten used to them on our daily walks through town. Take for example the old man dressed in black from head to toe, cane in hand, and the very eccentric hat on top of his head with the largest feather poking out and upright. You genuinely see the feather coming from a mile away. I would call him Yankee Doodle Dandy if it weren't for the fact he was more a cross between one of David's family members (think long grey beard) and Johnny Cash. So, for now his name will forever be known as Cash to me, and I just wonder what his story is. He wanders around town on his own, walking here and there and he can be found all times of day and at any corner you turn. Never bothering anyone, never causing problems, never sleeping on the streets. There are the Marks and Spencer older lady clans. Their shopping bags on their shoulders, their Sunday best outifts even though it is Tuesday, and their stern looks as they are perusing the racks of the more expensive store in town. I love the Marks and Spencer Foodhall (fancy grocery store) and I will miss the hilarious way they describe simple things like ketchup and soy sauce. I have grown fond of the Perth dogs and their owners. Everyday, rain or shine (but mostly rain), they are in their harnesses proudly prancing next to their owners. I swear to you, the dogs are different here. It is almost as if they are more well behaved, more posh if you may. With the exception of Enzo, its as though they know they simply must hold their bladder on the pedestrian only streets and can only pee when told. Very rarely do you hear barking and when you do I am convinced that dog is visiting from the States 😏. 

I will not however, miss the teenage girls I talked about in a previous blog. You remember the ones who are orange and have the false eyelashes on? They are still scary and they still roam in large packs. Look, I am not trying to be mean, but I pray one day they embrace individuality and see the beauty that they already have minus the tans and the dirty mouths. Be unique, dress as the rebel you are, not because every single other girl looks exactly the same as you. My daughter had and still has her own style, her own way, her own beauty and I love that about her. She is who she is, and she is not a follower. Neither one of my kids are. Phew, I went down a rabbit hole there! 

It is starting to hit me that very shortly we will be going back to life, to work, to the daily grind of everyday. As I said before, we are beyond fortunate to have experienced this other life, and for me something I will never forget. I am positive David feels the same way. We have adopted another way of life and in many cases another way of thinking. Gone are the days for us where we think we have to have the biggest house, as we are fully capable of living in 480 square feet. I have also worn the same ten outfits for almost three months and let me tell you, never in the history of ever, have I worn the same outfit that many times in one month. There were times I thought for sure if I had to wear layers for yet the 700th day in a row that David was going to have to sign me in at the nearest haunted asylum because I am DONE wearing layers! Yet, I survived and today I am wearing a sleeveless shirt. I feel naked and exposed, but I made it! We learned that we can live without the convenience of a dryer and that having clothes drying on any flat surface of the apartment was ok and normal. Are my undergarments drying on the fridge door handle, well maybe, but that is how we roll now. The window is open in the living room to help the drying process (sans a screen because homes in the UK and Europe do not have window screens) and I kindly reminded David to close it a little more because a pigeon or seagull could fly in and steal his boxer briefs. This happens. He also knows if one flew in that I would try my best to keep it, so there is that. 

We will miss walking down our stairs and into the pedestrian filled streets to grab a coffee and a "yum yum" (that is a donut here), and the simpleness of just "being". We have learned a lot about ourselves individually here, as well as in our relationship together. We have spent almost every waking moment together and we are both alive and well! Life will change when we get back, and truthfully we are both a little apprehensive. Imagine being on vacation for three months! Don't get me wrong, he has been working while here, but we have also been touring and seeing things people only dream about. We have spent many days holed up in the apartment talking, like really talking, and we have not had the everyday trials you have when you are home.Things have changed at home in the states too. Almost all good, and some not so good. In so many ways it has been pure bliss and the idea of returning is scary at times. Having said all of this, there are things that are unequivocally true ~ we miss the kids and grandkids, we miss our animals, we miss all of our friends (shoutout to Beth who sends a calendar countdown weekly!), we miss the food, I miss my job and my friends there, and I miss the weather (David seems fine with the weather here. He is a honey badger). We can't wait to see everyone in person and hug them and talk about all the fun stories of Scotland over endless bowls of chips and salsa and margaritas. Then, we will get back to life and do the everyday things we do, and we will stop and look at each other one evening over dinner and we will both smile and say that we are missing our life in Scotland. I will tear up like I am doing now and we will make the plans, the plans to come back and just "be" again.