Scotland is a lot like Newfoundland in some ways (especially the people living a more relaxed way of life), but…it’s a whole lot different in other ways as well:

Not only do you drive on the other side of the road and the driver’s seat is on the opposite side, but other little things that you wouldn’t even think of are different as well. The hot water tap is on the left side instead of the right side-I found that one out the hard way! They have to pull a string to get the hot water in the shower to turn on-thank goodness I didn’t find that one out the hard way!

Their sayings are different but cute: ‘That’s Magic’, my Aunt in Law said to the Taxi Driver when she called the taxi to pick us up at the airport. They use words that we don’t usually use here (or we use for different meanings ) on the East side of the world such as ‘brilliant’, ‘lovely’ and ‘cheers’ for thank you and good bye. I think the cutest thing ever is to hear a little child speaking with a wonderful broad Scottish accent-we got such a kick out of that!

Even their signs are different: ‘To Let’ instead of ‘To Rent’, ‘Toilets’ instead of ‘Bathroom' and ‘Take Away’ instead of ‘To Go’, just to name a few. They call a Stove/Oven ‘The Cooker’, a Vacuum is ‘The Hoover’ and the Dryer is called ‘The Tumbler’. When I spoke to the people at the stores they would ask me where my accent was from…I never thought of myself having an accent living in Toronto other than my ‘Newfoundland Accent’ that comes back to me when I visit home.

Their ‘Roundabouts’ are so confusing for ‘non British/European’ people. On a car trip from Glasgow to St. Andrew’s which is supposed to be a 2 hour trip, took us 6 hours…some advice for anyone driving in Britain/Europe to rent a car with a GPS in it! I don’t think I would personally be able to drive over there and I had my eyes closed for many of the trips, especially when big ‘Lorries’-their name for big Trucks, would be coming towards you. Their Public Transit is really really good and much more securer for a ‘non British/European person’!

But we got to see more of Scotland which was really really nice to see. We started off in Clydebank, which is close to Glasgow, drove past the turn off to Callander which we had visited early in the week, took pictures of Stirling Castle and passed through little towns with the quaintest names such as Dollar, Kinross and Cupar. We stayed in a lovely Bed and Breakfast in Strathkinnes by At. Andrew’s. Got to see some great Football/Soccer in a tournament right next to ‘The Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews’ and had a lovely supper before we headed back. It was the first time I tasted Celaric soup.

Their currency is also a little different. They do have coins for their $1.00, which is called a pound and not a dollar. They also have the 5p (pence) and 10p, they don’t have a 25p but they do have something different from us which is a 20p and 50p coin which we don’t have in America. As a bit of a coin collector, I like to see the differences and the uniqueness of currency in different countries.

And last but not least one of my favorite things to do which is ‘the Art of Letter Writing/Card Sending’ is a little different. I fell in love with their ‘Post Boxes’. I even had to mail postcards to my nieces and friends from the really different ‘Post Boxes' that they have! As with the houses over there they’re made or built to last and deal with the rainy weather and damp days.

The differences are minor and unique but they add to the character of a wonderful country of rolling green hills and beautiful countryside. I’ve visited Scotland a few times now and each time I discover something new and different-I hope to visit more of the country with each subsequent visit~   Submitted By: Alicia "Celeste" Loughrey