My fiance made a bad joke once. He said we’d get married on June 24th when Britain voted to leave the EU. He’d grab me by the hand and whisk his immigrant away to the courthouse. Then I could stay, and we’d be happy. Exchanging the basis of my UK residency from an EU passport to a marriage visa wouldn’t really make us feel any … Continue reading So When Am I Getting Deported?
You can tell when a man is peeing. His feet are planted firmly on the ground, his hips are thrust forward ever so slightly, and he is usually looking ahead, shoulders relaxed, content in this moment of release. This is just how the English hipster in the hipster café looked last week. Humming quietly to myself, I pushed the bathroom door open and was met … Continue reading Is the Unisex Loo Making a Comeback?
“Are you living in the UK?” the American border guard asked me as he scrutinized my U.S. passport. My pulse began to quicken. I had given him my friendliest smile, answered his questions with confidence, and knew I had nothing to worry about. Yes, I was living in the UK, but my Hungarian passport meant that wasn’t a problem. At the same time, I also … Continue reading Talking like a Brit, Sounding like an American
The Dancing Bagpipe is having an identity crisis. It’s left Scotland and has embarked on a nomadic existence for the rest of the year. Come January, it will set up residence in Manchester. Which, of course, is no longer Scotland. So what to do with the Dancing Bagpipe? Does it continue dancing and tooting south of the border? After all, it was actually in England … Continue reading Am I British Yet?
The first day of summer has arrived. Well it’s the first day of summer for me anyway. Rumour has it that back in June, while I was away on holiday in Budapest, there was a heat wave in Dundee. My colleague could barely contain himself when I arrived back at work. “It was 23˚C!” he exclaimed. (That’s 73˚F.) I didn’t have the heart to tell … Continue reading The First Day of Summer (August 6th)
Did you know that 20% of emissions are caused by automotive traffic? Or that you use 30% less fuel by driving at 50mph instead of 70? Well if you didn’t, you might just fail your UK driving theory test. That’s right, the UK government thinks that in order to drive legally, you should know how to conserve fuel. Let’s review some questions: Why should you … Continue reading What I Learned From the UK Driving Theory Test
People experience temperature differently here in Scotland. Either their blood is thicker or their skin is. It’s just how they’re made. Then there’s me in my full length winter coat, vest, wool jumper, turtleneck, long sleeve shirt, underarmour, undershirt, replete with two pairs of socks and thick winter boots. Oh, did I mention the scarf? Setting out each morning on my arctic expedition, I pass … Continue reading Warming Up in Scotland
5. “Do I detect a twang?” After living and working in Scotland, you start to forget you sound different. Your colleagues are used to the way to speak, and you’ve become familiar with all the strange Scottish place names and their spellings (like Carnoustie – pronounced Kenusty – and Authmithie, which just sounds like gibberish when a Scotsman pronounces the word quickly). So it starts … Continue reading 5 Things I Didn’t Expect When I Moved to Scotland
Ye Pow’rs, wha mak mankind your care, And dish them out their bill o fare, Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware That jaups in luggies: But, if ye wish her gratefu prayer, Gie her a Haggis With his best Scottish accent, David deftly finished reading Robert Burns’ famous poem, “Address to a Haggis.” Ian, Grace, David, and I looked at each other, bewildered expressions on … Continue reading Ode to a Haggis: Celebrating Robert Burns’ Night
After all my hard work searching for jobs, filling out applications, and fine-tuning and handing out CVs, I find out that I can’t legally work yet. Only by the power invested in the national insurance number will I be able to work, and that number hasn’t arrived in the mail. So what’s a girl to do? Go crazy. Now I can truly enjoy myself without … Continue reading The glamour of the kitchen
The Dancing Bagpipe 