You can take the girl out of Scotland ... but you can’t take Scotland out of the girl!
My name is Louise and I am an English language assistant this year in two primary schools in a Basque town in the south-west of France. I am usually a student of French in Scotland’s largest city, Glasgow, where it rains on average 201 days a year. So, moving to the beautiful Aquitaine region of France just over a month ago was a culture shock. Coming from Scotland has proved a great conversation starter with the teachers I work with and the people I have met on my travels. Although I absolutely love working with the children in my primary schools and am really enjoying exploring my new home for the next seven months, sometimes I just can’t help missing home ...
I was brought up in one of the northern-most cities in the United Kingdom, Inverness. Inverness is the capital of the Highlands of Scotland, a beautiful region renowned for its whiskies, shortbread, and strong Gaelic-Speaking farming traditions. Inverness is nestled in a valley, surrounded by mountains covered in purple heather and teeming with Scottish wildlife like stoats, golden eagles, hares, and deer... and some even argue monsters which live in deep Highland lochs! Every year it snows in the north of Scotland, sometimes for a couple of months at a time around Christmas when the days are so short that as a child I would go into school in the dark and come out in the twilight.
The questions I am usually asked about Scotland are: Is it really that cold? Have you ever seen the Loch Ness Monster? Do you really eat haggis? My challenge to you is to consider finding out for yourself one day. Take the scary but amazing jump of choosing to move away from your country and see what waits for you there. If you choose to live in Scotland you are guaranteed a warm welcome (despite the weather!) and will get to know a place full of history and culture. And who knows? Maybe you will even catch a glimpse of the Loch Ness Monster yourself ...
What do you love most about your country? What questions do visitors ask you about your country or region?
