One week: Saturday morning musings while I drink coffee (Starbucks Venti)

 Sabbatical Day 9: I arrived in Scotland a week ago, right here in Glasgow. What a week it’s been. Some observations:

I am struck by number of people who smoke cigarettes, or vape.

I’ve been in two major cities, both of which are old and have a lot of dirt and trash. This is no different than any major city in the states. It’s just that I’ve lived in a small city for eleven years and trashy streets and sidewalks are not as prevalent. I do see people out cleaning up the trash, its just that the sheer number of people, particularly travelers, makes the job endless. 

Seagulls. Tons of them. And they are loud. Yesterday I observed someone drop a pile of food on the sidewalk and before she could walk away the food was bombarded with gulls. They flew in from every direction, knowing that the food was there. Then most of them flew off the minute a bus drove by. 

Children. I don’t know if parenting is different in Scotland than the US, but what I’ve observed, from the few children and parental interactions on public transit is that the kids are generally chatty, singing little songs, and eventually, as kids do, melting down. Tired? Perhaps. The Scottish lilt is particularly charming in children, “Mummy” and “Daddy”…parents generally seem calm. Although one set of parents appeared to be a little too lenient until their kids starting climbing around in potential risky ways. Then, when they tried to discipline the kids they kids were reactive. I can still hear the mom saying, “That is not act-ceptable.” And,  “say you are sorry to Daddy.” And so on. The kids did not escalate into full blown temper tantrums, and eventually seemed to settle down My first day here, at the Queen Street train station waiting for the train to Edinburgh, a little boy had a complete melt down. I think he was reacting to the announcer over the loudspeaker announcing arriving and departing trains. It’s very loud. At one announcement he covered his ears, burst into tears, screaming, and then threw himself on the ground. The mother was gentle and calmly spoke to him. One of the station attendants, not sure what they are called, offered her hand and helped him. Then she gave him some little something, I couldn’t see what. He repeated the ear covering and screaming a few more times, then followed him mom and sister some place away from me. I though of all the moms in the US who seem to carry a different level of anxiety about the behavior of their children. Or, maybe it’s a difference in the people observing the interactions. I often think that people in the US are judgmental. Maybe people are less so? I don’t know. I am only observing what appears to be a greater level of overall calm around and with kids. And, I have only observed a couple of incidents….

Weather: nearly every day the forecast is for rain. However, it only rains off and on during the day, not all day. And it can turn sunny in an instant. Or, cloudy and rainy. The rain that I have experienced is drizzly. Only once, in Edinburgh, was I walking in actual rain, and that did not last long. It reminds me of Seattle. It’s also been, mostly, in the 60’s. But that does not feel cold or even cool. The humidity is high.

My preparations for this trip: I did a lot of research about where to stay and how to get around and what I needed. I have to say I did a good job. I have so far been really well prepared. I’ve found my way around with relative ease. I’ve had what I needed, including packing Aleve Cold and Sinus for the COVID symptoms. I needed the Aleve for about 24 hours, taking one Thursday night and one Friday morning. I haven’t needed it since, congestion now is mild. I did pack very lightly, as recommended by the retreat leader (the retreat I am missing because of COVID). And, I used the packing organizing bags that compress clothes. They’ve been quite handy. I packed one pair of jeans and wore another. I packed socks and underwear for a week, I packed one long sleeved shirt, and a turtle neck, and wore another long sleeved shirt layered over a sleeveless t-shirt. I also have a skort and t-shirt. I have one pair of waterproof walking shoes, that I have worn all day every day. And, I threw in a pair of Rothy’s because they are light and easy to pack and would give me an alternate shoe for short trips (or wearing around the retreat center). I intended to do laundry once I got to the retreat center. Instead I have washed clothes in the sink of my hotel room and found ways to hang them to dry, with a portable room fan blowing on them. It’s worked. I also carried a backpack with my iPad, vitamins, zip-lock bags of herbal tea (thank goodness I brought some herbal tea, I’ve needed that being sequestered to my hotel room with COVID). And, I brought my Brita refillable water bottle. I brought my headphones and my knitting, phone, charging cables, and the right kind of plug to use in the UK.  The only thing I didn’t bring was my coloring pencils and coloring book. So I went out yesterday in search of these and found some at a local store that sells school and office supplies. All in all, I did quite well, including being prepared for COVID.  I also had my hair cut with lots of layers so I could just let it go, no hair dryer or straightener. It’s been fine. 

Hotel rooms: the rooms have been small but not uncomfortable. Toilet seats are remarkably smaller than in the US and are difficult to flush. It must be the water pressure or the plumbing or maybe an effort to conserve water? I don’t know, but it takes several attempts to actually get a toilet to flush. I seem to have figure out a generally effective technique. 

Language: although we speak the same language, different words are used here for things. Elevators are lifts. Carry out food is take away. The train announces “mind the gap between the train and the platform.”