A Warm (?) Welcoming

Day 1: 17° C and a light drizzle while we untangled ourselves and our luggage form the shuttle somewhere in the middle of Edinburgh.

Music: Doves in the Wind off SZA's Ctrl album--"You can never trivialize..." and Kendrick's part trailed me all day

...

Made it through the EDI airport by cracking jokes to score a short-term visa, apologizing repeatedly  for "being a mess", and brushing my teeth in the women's bathroom outside of baggage claim while Nora guarded our pile of baggage by an outlet to juice our phones enough to manage.

Half an hour later we were lugging our suitcases off the double decker shuttle and gathering bearings we had not yet developed. Determined to navigate this city immediately, I looped Nora into lugging our five massive suitcases 1.3 miles south to our AirBnB--up the hilly, cobblestoned streets of this city.

Above: Nora ready to lug these bags 1.3 miles up, down, and south to our place of rest for the night.

Now,  I have no doubt we could have made it to our first of final destinations to drop these bags--but that would have taken more than the hour long trip it took us to avoid lovely steps like these:

Granny's Green Steps, Old Town

Lucky for us, Scotland lived up to its reputation of being made up of friendly, welcoming people. Our savior came in the form of a lovely woman named Patty. By the time she ran into us, she had seen us lug our bags less than a third of the way--adjusting our grip, removing layers, all in all, struggling. Maybe it helped that cars drive on opposite sides of the road here, but a stranger's face popping out of the side of a minivan and offering two girls a ride never seemed kinder. 

You bet we took her up on that ride, packing our bags into her trunk and starting on the winding roads past the Meadows. She told us about how she had ended up living in Scotland, marrying a Scot she had met online--just as her daughter would come to do years later. Technology is crazy, yo. She asked us about our own journey and our families back home--I was in a haze. Here we were, in the back of the friendliest stranger's car in a new city where we hadn't had time to learn the ropes. For day one hour five, I smiled, I think we did pretty great. 

That first day in Scotland we not only got a great story of how sometimes life drives you to make somewhat reckless and crazy decisions, but how it can sometimes throw a lifesaver your way and help you out. Patty dropped us off in front of our first place of rest, and stepped out of the car to offer us a hug and an open invitation to dinner whenever we got homesick--our own Scottish momma. 

The rest of the day, Nora and I wandered. Not quite sure where we were going, but it didn't matter. How could it not matter, you ask? "Because we were together"--name that movie reference. We had a lot to catch up on, my travel buddy and me. But, we also had a lot to look forward to. We found some shelter from the cold night and comfort food at a random ramen place and as we sipped green tea stories began to fall out of us. 

Wrapping this post up with what may be seen as an unconventional or misplaced picture. Yet, this was the view we had as we made our descent into Edinburgh. Yes, it's as green as I hoped. Yes, they speak English here, as Nora had hoped. Our journey to our first night of rest proved wildly comedic, exhausting, and reassuring all in one. We would be alright here. Scotland holds so much beauty and potential for us, for me to grow. People like Patty, as well as this incredible view from above, left me with high hopes and excitement to explore as much as I can in my time here. Here's to hoping life will continue to look out for yo girls as we make our way into this city. 

[You can never trivialize... - SZA]