July 12, In Retrospect

Two years ago at this time, we were just finishing our time in Tallinn, Estonia. It was a rainy day there, so there weren’t too many pictures taken, as visibility was poor. We took a tour bus around the town, listening to the commentary until we got tired of being slightly damp. We’d just finished our first full year in Glasgow, and were enjoying a bit of a break in the midst of D. writing his Master’s dissertation / thesis. We loved the red-tiled roofs, and the mixture of old Europe with modernity we found in Estonia. We also enjoyed seeing a different ethnicity and realizing that, yes, Estonians are a different ethnic group, despite being fair of skin and hair. For Americans, it was a big difference; that’s just now how it is in Ye Olde melting-pot of the U.S., and it’s rare to see such a strong set of features repeated across such a large group.

Last year at this time, we were just wrapping up our trip to Oban and Mull. It was, again, a rainy day, yet we’d enjoyed some glorious days of absolutely stunning sunshine and marvelous company. We weren’t quite ready for the return to rain, but we at least felt that we’d gotten a decent amount of sunshine, and had experienced a taste of The Islands.

This summer as D. buckles down for this last year of the PhD – data analysis, writing, rewriting, more reading, and more writing – we’re thinking back on our time, here in Scotland, wondering where we’d like to end up. We really have no idea what doors will open, so we’re trying not to hope we’ll end up anywhere in particular … but we’re sort-of looking around, saying, “where have we enjoyed being?”

Just about everybody we know or meet asks us whether we’ll be going “back home” when this is done. We think … we think we’re still up for an adventure, but perhaps one which doesn’t include quite so much rain, nor quite so much cold, nor quite so much darkness. On the other hand, we’re also told that one gets used to the snow: our Norwegian friend claims that, “they know how to deal with the snow, there!” And with full-spectrum bulbs in just about every room of the house … well, we’ve come to deal with the darkness, if not the rain or snow.

And the Norwegians believe in hot tubs. And saunas.

So, where will it be? Probably nowhere which has bagpipe bands practicing in the firehouse, due to rain. But possibly somewhere just as small, and quaint, and quiet. Or not.

-D & T