A Few Things I’ve Learned In Scotland

• People are friendly and obliging. If you ask for directions, and your destination isn’t too far, don’t be surprised if the person offers you a lift.
• Roundabouts can be scary! And if you’re taking driving lessons, you can be dang sure your instructor is going to make you drive around at least one of them! I’ve witnessed people in driving school cars gingerly making their way around our little roundabout at the edge of my town. Good luck when you hit the big, multi-lane ones!
• Contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t rain here EVERY day.
• Train station signs that tell you which station it is, are written in English and Scottish Gaelic.
• In Scotland whisky is spelled the way I just spelled it. In Ireland and other countries, it’s spelled whiskey.
• You don’t pet a cat or dog, you clap it. Sounds a little harsh, doesn’t it?
• We still have pennies and tuppence (2 penny piece) as coins. Then 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p, a pound coin and a 2 pound coin. I have to empty my change purse every week lol!
• If you’re looking for eggs at the grocery store, they are NOT in the chilled dairy section. You’ll find them down some regular aisle, at room temperature.

Words and Phrases

Grilled cheese sandwich = Cheese Toastie

Zucchini = Bourgette (No wonder I couldn’t find them at the grocery store!). Oh, and by the way, grocery shopping = getting the messages.

An oven or stove = cooker. Kitchen appliances as a whole are called “white goods”.

Varieties of milk and cream also have different names. Partly skimmed = semi skim. Creams are single or double, but don’t attempt to put double cream in your coffee! Soured cream (yes, sour cream) comes in the same type of container as pouring or cooking cream. Beware!

Having been here for 2 months now, I’ve come to realize how much of the terminology I’ve forgotten since childhood. I’m a quick learner though, despite saying dollars instead of pounds yesterday, lol!

I hope you enjoyed this little semi-educational post. Please give it a “Like” and don’t forget to follow my blog.

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