On Living Abroad

This post is going to step away from the usual travelling updates, culture, geography, and archaeology lessons. Instead, it's going to focus on something I rarely post and share about to those that still continue to read this little, tiny, blog. Instead, we're going to step back for a moment, and look at some key themes and issues that during my eight months living in Scotland thus far, plus the four months spent in Egypt many moons (okay, not many moons - three years) ago, and touch on some issues that some people, including myself, face when they move abroad whether it be for four months, a year, or five. Now I promise this post won't be full of doom and gloom, things you will never see or do or hear again, but there are some simple truths to living abroad, and some of them are not so pleasant. Others will make your heart sing and pride burst because let's face it, you moved to a different country.

On Islands and Travelling

"It is become customary in those of quality to travel young into foreign countries, whilst they are absolute strangers at home; and many of them when they return are only loaded with superficial knowledge, as the bare names of famous libraries, stately edifices, fine statues, curious paintings, late fashions, new dishes, new tunes, new dances, painted beauties and the like. The places here mentioned afford no such entertainment" - Martin Martin, A Description of the Western Islands of Scotland, c. 1695, p. 62

Martin Martin's book on the Western Isles might be extremely dated and not very useful beyond comments on the wildlife (namely the sheep, cows, and other croft animals) and the locals (particularly their drinking habits), but after giving a dissertation presentation two days ago which centered primarily upon the Western Isles of Scotland, I think in some ways he proves a point (the same point to which I will later disagree with). I've been to many different places the past three years: Egypt, Greece, Scotland, England, Ireland; the majority of things and tidbits of knowledge I have come back with from these places has largely been included in Martin's list in the quote above.