T̶w̶o̶ One p̶e̶r̶p̶e̶t̶u̶a̶l̶ ̶e̶x̶p̶a̶t̶s̶ immigrant settling into home country number five.
We’ve been expats for a long time now. Trips back to visit the US are still strange, yet extremely familiar in their strangeness. There were no big moments of reverse culture shock on our Christmas trip “home”, but there was plenty of culture-based amusement.
Read moreScenes from an American supermarket, and other notes from a trip to the motherland
Our road trip through the western Highlands ended with several relaxing days on the Isle of Skye.
It was still raining as we pulled into Plockton, but the charm of this small seaside town was evident even through the dreich.
There are certain laments you hear amongst American expat communities the world over. “I miss peanut butter!” “Why is there no good Mexican food here?” “Where can I find canned pumpkin?” After several years out of the country, most of us learn to adapt to these grueling hardships one way or another. There are expats who lug giant suitcases full of ranch dressing and jello back from every visit to the US. There are those who just fill the peanut-butter-cup-shaped hole in their lives with exotic local sweets (Cadbury Egg, anyone?). And then there are those of us who use such deprivation as an excuse to expand our skill sets. Which is why I know how to make pumpkin pies without using canned pumpkin.
After Durness and Faraid Head, we spent a couple days slowly making our way back down the west coast of Scotland.
As if trying to prove to us that ever-earlier darkness isn’t such a bad thing, Edinburgh’s Royal Botanic Garden is putting on a special nighttime event this month.
We’ve been alternately curious and skeptical about the Edinburgh Dungeon since we moved to town, so when we were invited to check it out, we gave it a go.
Back to our road trip through the western Highlands. In our last post, we drove the beautiful strip from Ullapool to Durness.
Read moreScottish Highlands: hiking the dunes of Faraid Head
If there is one thing we have learned about the residents of this island we live on, it’s that they love baked goods. Cake comes up in conversation even more frequently than the weather. One of the most popular things on TV is the Great British Bake Off, a show which I suspect we’re going to have to start watching if we ever want to truly assimilate.
Read moreCakes! Scones! Sponge! Learning to bake like a Brit
If you look at a map of Scotland’s west coast, you’ll notice that it’s awfully jagged. One can’t exactly drive along it for any significant stretch; instead you just kind of drive near it, wherever the (often single-lane) road takes you.
Read moreScottish Highlands: driving the northern west coast