After being gone for a week, Glasgow seems to have blossomed into a new season. I am not sure what to call the season. Spring? Summer? Tourist Season?
Flowers are in bloom everywhere. I have to wonder if Glasgow residents spent the whole time I was away hard at work in their gardens and queued up at garden centres.
This morning I awoke to a beautiful sunrise at five am. Now I sit enjoying the setting sun at half nine. Gorgeous long days. The vibe of the city is a wee bit different. More buskers. More tour buses. On the way home from work I spotted groups huddled around their trusty Lonely Planet guide books. I was even able to help a couple from Switzerland locate their chosen restaurant.
When I was back in the states, a friend asked me what has been the hardest thing for me. I didn't have an answer in the moment. Before I could think of an answer, I was curious as to why the question stumped me. I think the reason is that I have not, for a moment, re-considered my decision to make this move. No reason to focus on what is hard when I am happy with my decision and dedicated to overcome any hurdles.
With that figured out, I thought about what has been the most difficult. For me, it is letting go of the feeling that I am an "outsider". From the moment I moved here, no one has treated me as an outsider. I feel as if I am considered part of the fabric of Scotland as much as the next person. (I am not counting the banks and other entities who only care about my credit history). I have been accepted at any social gathering I have wanted to attend, have access to public services, and have even been asked for my opinion on the referendum for Scottish independence! Sure people want to know where I am from as it is clear I did not grow up here. But there is no cold treatment or exclusion.
Granted if I had moved to some of the small isles, I suspect I would be treated as an outsider even if I lived there the rest of my life. Not in Glasgow. I didn't grow up in a particularly closed society. I don't know where this idea that I would be an "outsider" got into my head. It is not the first time I have moved to a new country. All I can say is that with this realization, I finally don't feel like a foreigner.
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