We arrived in Edinburgh in the late afternoon, and fought through the crowds to find the bus station. The first thing Megan said to me was ¨There are too many people here¨. But then, we had just spent the last few days out in the countryside.
With the little time we had in the city before taking our bus to our CS host's place, we wandered a little.
The buildings lining the hills of Edinburgh are built with a grayish stone that gives it a dim feeling, but the intense green of the parks and the excitement of the people brightens it. The Fringe Festival was going on; imagine street performers everywhere, hundreds of shows, concerts, art exhibits, and events going on in venues scattered across town.
While the tourist shops in England have all the flags of the British countries, you will only find the Scottish flag, with the rare British one, in a shop in Edinburgh. The strong individual identity of the country would only become more apparent.
Our host lived in a town on the sea, about an hour north of the city. She had hot soup waiting for us when we arrived, and our room had a view of the water. After being a little flustered by the surging crowds of the city, we settled in with a cup of tea to chat.
We spoke about the Iraq war, relationships between Scotland and England (always bad), and the world's transition over time. Her intensity when speaking about these things seems to be common in Scotland: people express a feeling of being oppressed by their ¨neighbor¨, and frustrated with the state of the world.
After dinner, our host took out her guitar and sang folk songs for us. I feel that for me, and probably Megan as well, her kindness and wisdom gave us a short haven to express the challenges we're facing.
We gratefully fell asleep, and in the morning returned to Edinburgh to spend the dqy at the festival.
Scottishness. Cool.
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