Hellos and goodbyes

The one year mark has come and past. On this day last year we had just arrived in Glasgow and spent a rather difficult day searching for bank accounts, national insurance numbers and cell phones. Rereading my post from that day brings back the overwhelming feelings I had of both frustration and hope.

 

We felt completely indestructible when we left Calgary that day a year ago. When we tearfully said goodbye to our families at the entrance to security in the airport, we looked at each other and said well, it’s you and me against the world now. And I have to say that we’ve done a pretty good job against this great big world.

 

Now on this blog I’ve kept everyone up to date with all the fun things and amazing places we’ve seen. It might seem like we’ve really just been on an extended vacation. And while this year has had elements of that, vacation is far, far from the reality that we’ve lived here. We had to start this life we’ve lived from the beginning. Everything that you take for granted back home like a bank account or a SIN number, those things that you got as you were growing up or your parents started for you, we had to do here all very quickly without any help. The first two banks we talked to basically told us no thanks, flat rental agencies were skeptical of us being foreign, the job centre people didn’t understand what it was we were doing trying to take jobs away from locals. And as much as this country speaks English, definitions, connotations and accents were far from easy to understand in the beginning.

 

My difficulty letting go of my identity as a Coast Paper employee lead to entirely too much time being unemployed. And even though I have had a job for the past ten months, that didn’t bring in nearly as much money as we’d hoped. We didn’t allow this to hold us back or keep us from doing the things that made us happy, but it definitely didn’t make it easy. Both of Brandon’s jobs have caused him so, so much stress and he’s been tired for an entire year. Physically and mentally he is exhausted. But he’s kept everything together and been an absolute rock this entire time.

 

Life here in Edinburgh has not been easy. But we have had a whole lot of fun. We’ve met some amazing people who have helped us through and given us so much. We were given some advice when we left Canada to get in a pipe band as soon as possible - that would ensure we had people. And that was really some of the best advice ever given. The friendships we made with the people in our respective bands (and a few that overlapped) have been essential to us. Without the girls in the tenor corps, I wouldn’t have had a social life. I wouldn’t have had people to text when I had exciting news, wouldn’t have someone to take me to the craft store, meet for lunch, go hike up a hill or sit in the pub with. Brandon wouldn’t have had someone to travel to practice with, go for cheeky MacDonald’s, attend games days and competitions, spend a week soaking up island life, or talk pipes with for hours on end. Saying goodbye to all of these people is going to be difficult. They’ve really made a difference in our lives that won’t ever be forgotten.

 

We’ve been so lucky to have entertained so many visitors in this year. The hellos at the airports and train stations were unforgettable. We’ve felt so loved and so missed this whole time and re-energized and re-excited to see the sights with each of our visitors, even though I could run my own tour company at this point! Each of my seven trips to Craigmillar Castle was worth it. I feel privileged to have introduced so many people to Scotland and to have shared my love of this magical place with them.

 

Our flat has been an adventure in itself. We’ve had to learn how to avoid dampness, to expect the hot water to take forever, how to bathe using an electric shower, heat an under insulated home so it doesn’t cost a fortune, how to cook without an oven, how to do laundry and get it dry when it’s almost always raining outside, and how to sleep in a seriously small bed. But it’s all taught us how to be comfortable with just what we actually need instead of all the things we want. And that the best way to keep warm in a cold, damp winter involves two people, a TV movie, a couch and a big cozy blanket!

 

We’ve lived life here. There are things we’re both going to miss, the very least of which is chips, cheese and gravy from The Clam Shell on the Royal Mile. We learned how to grocery shop when the shelves hold things very different from what we’re used to and the names are strange:

 

Courgette = Zucchini

Coriander = Cilantro

Aubergine = Eggplant

 

We say strange words and use inflections that are not Canadian at all. And we’ve learned how to live life without a car. Very little of what we’ve learned or come to love will be easy to do without.

 

This is our last week at 18 Elgin Terrace. We move out on Tuesday with just what we brought in - a backpack each. All of the extra bits and pieces that we acquired along the way are either back in Canada already, in a box ready to spend the next eight weeks in the care of the mail system, or in Ikea bags going to a friend who’s just setting up his new flat. And suddenly it feels like there’s not enough time. We’re being treated to some fun with work and pipe band friends this weekend and on Monday we’ll spend a few hours saying goodbye to the city that has given us so much and been such a character in so many of our stories.

 

Our memories of this year may fade. My ability to recall where every photo was taken may not last forever. But Edinburgh will never be far from our thoughts because this year has truly shaped who we now are. As individuals and as a couple. And I can truly say that we have lived here. We’ve experienced as much as we could and adapted ourselves as much as we could to a Scottish life.

 

~

 

But up next…vacation! Amsterdam, Rome, Ancona, and a Croatian cruise. And then, on October 21^st, that big Canadian flag on the wall in the customs hall in the Calgary airport will have never looked sweeter.