After six long weeks on the road, I am slowly emerging from the haze of travel and putting down roots in Edinburgh.
I’m not exactly sure when I decided to call this city home. After landing in London March 8, I spent several weeks travelling the United Kingdom, exploring my options. In Cambridge, I cycled the English countryside and stood in the shadow of King’s College. In London, I awoke to the bell of St. Paul’s Cathedral and watched the clouds break over Big Ben at the stroke of noon. I wandered the rich greens and gritty streets of Glasgow.
But none of these places spoke to me quite like Edinburgh. The city had the balance of qualities I was looking for — not too big but not too small, friendly locals, good rail and airport links, and decent job prospects. I’m also distantly Scottish and eager to put meat on the bones of the myths of my family name.
A stroke of luck and a family connection led me to spend the next three weeks in the home of a Scottish family. They took me in and shared with me their perspectives on Scottish life and culture. They brought me to family gatherings, where I was humbled to participate in the simplest of things: an afternoon of kitchen table conversation. I am indebted to them for making this country feel a bit more familiar, a bit more like home.
I was also lucky to land a job right away. I’ve been on a steep learning curve as a server and bartender at two different pubs. A highly demanding role, but one that’s gotten me closer to the heart of Scottish culture.
This past week, I took another big step forward by moving into my own flat. It’s a bit surreal to be sleeping in a proper bed, not to mention gaze out my window onto a statue of Queen Victoria, stationed on my street corner. These realities take time to settle.
Now that I’ve got the big pieces worked out, I’m better able to focus on the next challenge: building a life here. Most of my energy is still focused on day-to-day living — every errand is an exercise in time and frustration. And there are days where I feel that it takes everything I have to hold myself together, to muster the energy and the willpower to follow through on my plan, let alone build on what I’ve established. But then there are moments that are pure and utter magic, which make the journey worthwhile.
I could not possibly describe every facet of what I’ve seen, learned, explored. But I will endeavor, dear reader, to capture the best of these moments and share their magic with you.
Six weeks ago I would have likened this experience to falling down the rabbit hole. Today I’d say it’s more like a kaleidoscope — with every turn, the day’s events, people and thoughts fall into place, reflecting my experiences and shifting not only what I see, but how I’m seeing it.
