The New Beginning

A Man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it.

-George Moore


I went from everything I knew, to find something I never thought I would be able to find. Ten days before I moved I spent most of my time consoling most of my immediate family that 'of course I'll keep in contact' or 'Yes Mom, I really will be moving half-way around the world to try to find the part of me I thought was missing.'

Hindsight is an amazing thing.

Five days I started buying the things I thought I would miss while abroad, one truly American concept.

So I packed Peanut butter, hair products, and enough razors to shave my face well into the next century. Because of course, why would the Scottish shave? I forgot how cold it is mid-December that close to the arctic circle, rather how wet and cold.

The night before I left with my laptop on the road, my foster family hosted a party and invited my mother, grandmother, aunt and both my sisters. It felt as if I was an Eskimo grandfather about to be sent off on a block of ice.

Which is fine, because of course, being cold and wet is right up my alley of world climates. That is before I started living in Scotland.

Now I digress, honestly I love everything about the country I gotten to know for a little over five months. I got to grab a 'pint down at the local village pub, spend my hard earned weekly living of fifty quid. Dance at a school hosted Ceilidh, happened to be one of the most heart warming things I have ever done. Doing something that has been part of the community I was staying in for hundreds of years. Plus they had 1.00 drinks...c'mon.

My flight had four different stop overs. B-town to Denver, Denver to Philadelphia, Philadelphia to Manchester, United Kingdom, Manchester UK to Glasgow , Scotland.

I remember flying into Manchester jamming to The Clash- London calling


It's amazing being glared at by a very staunch looking Englishwoman. Wondering of course why I don't have the address for my place of residence for the next 6 months.

"You're lucky I'm in a good mood." She glares down at me.

She stamped my work visa and I was officially a legal working resident of the United Kingdom.

Then after another short flight, and after being gathered by a slightly distraught fiery haired woman. I was off and on my way to Braendam family home....

-(Totally noticed how long this post was getting, So I decided to continue it a little later.)