Kirstenelise

The rain came back! That's good because it means I can sleep longer and take a taxi instead of walking to the station. I booked an early (noon is early!) train to Inverness from Queens Station in Glasgow. The cab driver, Douglas, has a daughter named Kirstin, who might need braces, lard hope she den't. He told me about some promising destinations to keep in mind this trip and said not to worry about the drive, to jest keep te the left. Rolling farmlands, verdant countryside, lush wood. The occasional castle. The cutest little boy exclaimed to his father: "DA! DED YE SEE THE WEE LAMBS?!" and I just about wept right there. Wee is a real thing and it's every day and it breaks my heart with goodness. Inverness is a stone town on a ... read more

My train arrived in mist, at a station half an hour from my hotel by foot. (You guys, this is good because of all the beers and no bootcamp). I need to get a waterproof cover for my bag so I can walk in the rain. My workout started at George Square, and took me up through wealthy Victorian era neighborhoods, on to plain brick tenements from the 1970s, and under a freeway. I found my modern looking hotel nested among chic restaurants and bars. My airbnb had fallen through in Glasgow so I ended up in a hotel in the up-and-coming West End, the recently refurbished hipster community. The Lorne Hotel is trying its best to keep up with the neighborhood, but, like a 13-year-old trying to manage make up, it's a little over its ... read more

The rain subsided but low clouds threatened the morning and I knew well enough to pack my rain pants (quick reminder- all of this is internally accented with a fine brogue). It takes some courage to get started the first few mornings of a journey. I have to brace myself for awkward misunderstanding and periodic puzzle-solving to make my way in the world. Of course, the language is a breeze here, and the culture is predictably Western. However, I tend to have the codependent problem of worrying about being polite enough, and I'm convinced that by simply being American, I'm ignorantly offensive in dozens of subtle ways. This gives me a nervous tick of uncontrollable bursts of thank-you-so-very-much and please-if-it's-not-too-much-trouble and I'm-so-sorry-to-be-a-bother. Meanwhile, I count my change like a baby who hasn't learned about numbers. It ... read more

The flight was fine. You do what you must on a transatlantic crossing. Movies. Gazing. Reading. Eating. I'm happy to have left in the afternoon; I was able to stay up all night until it was night in Scotland. It was much easier to acclimate this way. My abode is a sweet wee apartment in the West End, within walking distance of the castle and Old Town and New Town. The owner left me a bowl of fresh fruit, biscuits and jam, and coffee to get me started on my first day. Okay, I'm just going to have to say right now that, in my head, I'm hearing all of this in a Scottish accent. It can't be helped! I'm surrounded by brogue, farleh droonen' en eh'! My first day was so wet. I brought rain ... read more