Tale of Change

The city Newtonmore, Scotland, It may appear a quite countryside to visitors during daylight but at night it is totally different. I was in Scotland to experience the lifestyle for three months as international exchange student from small suburb of Columbus.

The city is located near River Spey, near Scotland. It is a very small village. All around the city there was same scent which was a mixture of fish and fresh cut of grass. People seemed to be content with their daily life. Locals are obsessed with biking and fishing, it is known for its scenic bike trails and fisheries. I found it to be strange because they looked healthy and fit.

At the beginning, I was ill-minded about whole arrangement of staying in middle of nowhere, but things started to get better when it was night. My host and I family went to a rave-like restaurant because of my dull behavior upon arrival, (I came to see cultural and historic sites, but instead I was stuck in a city where people like fishing and eat English muffin.) where people eat and watch other people dance on the floor. It was interesting to see how the people on the dance floor use the beats of the music to flow smoothly. My impressions of slow village live of the locals started to fade way because they didn’t seemed to care about their slow-paced lifestyle in the rave because they dancing and kicking right and left harmoniously to electronic music.

My first day Scottish school was in school uniform. I haven’t really liked the idea of wearing a uniform to place. I always felt uniforms are to deprive pupils from their individualism and questioned my peers about it. They answered aggressively in favor of uniforms. One of my classmates asked me about my home country and my adopted country music. I replied that my home country is pretty much in sync with each other, like any other countries in the world. I thought she thought that I was an arrogant and ignorant fellow. She addressed her opinion kindly with her CD of Armin van Buuren. I haven’t heard anything like it until that day. I immediately apologized for my ignorant behavior.

I opened my eyes completely after the brief chat with that girl. I still think music is the same. I guess you have to be open minded when you experience different parts of the world. Scottish school had one thing in common; they didn’t allow students to come in late but they allow the students to listen to music in liberal arts classes. In Upper Arlington, music players were banned or confiscated. The tiny things are a sense of democratic behavior in school with two tiny classrooms then multiple classrooms with communistic teachers and administrators.

My perspective of the culture of Scotland was guys in kilts and long sleeves and girls in blouse and tunics. Well, it was a wrong assumption on my behalf. People live enjoying their jobs and lifestyle. They go on fishing trips together and have a specific task. Music is the most cherished thing to them. My host sister took me to a rave during school nights where I saw lot of people from school. From that point I decided to mingle with the people and the end isolation. I enjoyed the music too; it was mix of beats and vocals which was totally a different experience.

Music and dance rave in Scotland taught me to live with an open mind. Technically, electronic music was a mix of many which I wanted to know from the experience. I gained a new perspective and friends as well as a family. Music made the dull life of Newtonmore much easier to handle. I learned that I can’t be a one man island which draws a wall between the people who I wanted to know.

After nine weeks that I spent in an isolated society near the river Spey came to an end but did not ended my relationship with my host family. The night before, my departure to Columbus, my hosts executed a really good farewell dinner honoring me. I was packing my bags and harmonica when my host mom called me downstairs to eat, but little did I know it was a surprise. I chuckled and was amazed at my friends who made me one of them. It was the moment that I first cried in Scotland.

As I write this reflection of my metamorphosis that changed me for the best, it feels I am missing something in Ohio right now. This made me search my attic for the faded memory into my present. I contracted my host family only twice after coming to Columbus and this piece made me do it again. On a note, they still remember me and we share some bi-weekly updates of our lives.