and now for the rest of the story...

I think the best part about Scotland was the people. Did I mention that they are super friendly there? Because they are! I met more people during our short stay in Scotland than I did on any of our other excursions throughout the semester. It was great! One encounter though will forever stick out above the rest. It all began on the train ride to our hostel.....

Since we had to be up and out for our Sunday flight by 5:30 in the morning we decided to book a hostel as close to the airport as possible. And because we wanted the cheapest tickets possible, that airport wasn't exactly in Glasgow but rather in Prestwick which was a mere 30-45 minute train ride away. So after exploring Glasgow a bit, we caught a train to the airport and began the journey to find our hostel for the night.

Only a few stops after we got on, a whole group of Celtic fans loaded onto the train. (The Celtic Football Club is Glasgow's official soccer team) And of course one of the very exuberant fans sat next to us. At some point while Sierra and I were chatting, we noticed our train buddy paying close attention to everything we were saying. She kept looking over at us and smiling.

Finally after a few minutes she asked us where we were from. As soon as we said "Texas" she exploded with excitement. She started asking us all sorts of questions. She couldn't believe we were actually from Texas. Apparently there is some show called "Dallas" from the 80's that is a huge hit over there now.

Apparently the show is about some man named JR Ewing. IMBD describes it as: Popular evening 'soap-opera' style television drama. The show was set in Dallas and chronicled the exploits of wealthy Texas oil millionaires. Many of the plots revolved around shady business dealings and dysfunctional family dynamics.

So the mental image of Texans came from this JR Ewing guy


She kept asking us about cowboy hats and why we didn't talk like the people on the show. It was hilarious. Of course neither of us had ever heard of this show before so we had no clue what she was talking about.

My favorite part was when she started trying to talk like us. She would pick up on specific phrases we apparently kept saying and would way them back in a high nasally voice with her face all scrunched up. She sounded so funny. Her favorite thing to repeat was "Ohh man." She would just say it over and over again.

Her husband and his friend were a few rows down so she kept leaning over to them and bragging about how she was talking to "real live Texas people and they sound nothing like JR." Basically we just spent the whole train ride laughing. It was a blast. She kept going on an on about how she would get to tell all her friends that she met real Texas people and that the show Dallas isn't what Texas people are like.

At some point in the conversation Sierra started talking about music and the band S-Club 7 came up. I have no clue how it all started, but we ended up rolling as our new train buddy started singing one of their songs at the top of her lungs. It was a mess.

When we all got off at our stop, we were introduced to the other men (Ed and George and her name was Ann)


George on the right and Ed on the left


Ann...our new train buddy

Ann began explaining to George and Ed everything we had talked about and when the S-club conversation came up, the men broke out in laughter and began singing "Reach for the stars...." (apparently thats one of their songs) and dancing. So naturally I busted out the camera and took this lovely video. Unfortunately my camera doesn't have sound, but you can at least see the craziness happening on platform 2...



After our little dance party they started asking about our plans for the evening and decided we were going to join them in the airport restaurant/pub and they would treat us to a beer. They had to catch a plane home that night but had some time to kill so they wanted to hang out with us some more. Since we had nothing better to do as well, we decided to tag along.

Ohh man. I have never laughed so hard in my life. (ohh and for those wondering...don't worry Europe hasn't corrupted me. I had a coke, not a beer. Just thought I should clear that up) During all the laughter and crazy stories, Ed leaned over and explained that he wanted to make a trade. My beanie for his Celtic scarf. Immediately I laughed and turned this offer down. The next 2 hours basically turned into an off an on conversation about making this trade. He was determined that he wanted my beanie.

I kept asking him why in the world would be want my beanie. His reply: "when people see me wearing your beanie and ask me where it's from, I will be able to tell them that I traded my cherished Celtic scarf with a beautiful young real live Texas girl who is actually from Texas and isn't anything like the show Dallas. And how many people can say that."

You see Ed is a HUGE Celtic fan. He has been to almost every game no matter where it is and he has always had this scarf with him. He started naming all the countries it had been and explained that it was over 20 years old. Man he really wanted my beanie. I don't know who had a bigger attachment to their accessory. Me and my beanie or him and his scarf. But he was willing to trade so he could have a neat new souvenir with a fun story.

It took a LOT of convincing and I almost didn't do it. But just at the last second before they had to leave to catch their flight....I gave in. So after 2 hours of debating, I left that night watching my beanie walk away in one direction and I in the other while holding a new piece of cloth that contained quite possibly the coolest story ever.



the trade...


ohh Ed...

When we finally got to our Hostel we met yes again another person who wanted to talk our ear off. The lady that worked at the hostel talked to us for probably 30 minutes before she finally gave us the key and left us alone. And then of course our cab driver the next morning was super friendly. As soon as he heard us speak he said "the US? Ohh I love to hear the American accent." haha

So Scotland was absolutely AMAZING! From the scenery to the people, you can not ask for a better place to visit. I for sure would not mind living there! I think it's the only place I have ever been where the people wanted to hear my "accent" just as much as I wanted to hear theirs! Who knew Scotts were infatuated with the American accent.