Wannabe Scot

[KiltedCodeWarrior]

Colin, great post! I also agree that not visiting local attractions, tourist or not, is denying yourself a great experience! Auld, other than Sears or Hancock, where can you have such a panoramic view of the city and lake? I am from upstate NY, and worked for a company based in Manhattan, and many of those people proclaim thire lack of visiting landmarks like the Empire state building or Statue of Liberty. How is that again? What is anyone rejecting? They are great monuments. Visiting them should be a treat. Now, I can understand not going every day, but when you feel like it or friends/relatives are in town would be a smash!

[GlassMan]

so what your trying to say that two weeks ago I was the only tourist in Aberdeen, I think not !
Second maybe I've missed the point but I'm no tourist, I was shopping.

Oh no, that's not what I was saying at all. I was trying to explain why the others around you might not want to wear a kilt if they identify that as a "touristy" thing to do.

And I too feel it is horrible that people avoid the attractions in their own backyard. I love going to the museums, arboretum, and more in DC. And my friends and family love it when they visit because not only will I take them to those places but I make the best free tour guide money can buy! Get me a Scotch at the nearest hotel bar while we take a rest and I'm ready to go another few hours!

And to comment quickly on visiting Scotland - I want to go there so badly.

[switchblade5984]

i dont think i wanna be a scot.. lol PROUD to be IRISH.... looks around... oops forgot the name of the site

[cormacmacguardhe]

Just read through a lot of the posts in this thread, and found lots of things I agree with. Where I live is close to a ski area and in the summer we get lots of tourists who come for the hiking trails and other natural scenery. If they would stray off the usual paths they would find some quite seedy areas. Even the nearest town has a problem with "street people" and panhandlers who frequent the downtown area, which the city fathers are trying to "revitalize". I think that you could find similar problems in just about every country in the world. We, people in general, tend to glamorize places we do not live. That is why we travel to different countries to see the sights.

As to Scotland, I have a almost visceral need to travel there and see the places that my grandmother told me about, I also want to travel through the countryside because the pictures I have seen give me the impression that it is a beautiful country. My ancestors came from that part of the world, I want to visit where they walked, see things that they saw. I hope someday to do just that.

Maybe my search for a connection is a grasping for something missing in my life otherwise. I am not going to psychoanalyze myself, and it really does not matter. Anything I can do to reaffrim my Scottish roots and to pass on pride of ancestry to my children, I see as a positive. My wife was denied half of her heritage, mainly because her father was a "fling" her mother had with a gentleman of Mexican ancestry.

A lot of people, especially in the USA take immense pride in their hyphen-American roots. Any way I am beginning to ramble so I will cut this short. I am not a wannbe Scot, I am simply trying to show pride in my ancestry, besides kilts are more comfortable than trousers. And the ladies like them more.

[Graham]

A lot of people, especially in the USA take immense pride in their hyphen-American roots. Any way I am beginning to ramble so I will cut this short. I am not a wannbe Scot, I am simply trying to show pride in my ancestry, besides kilts are more comfortable than trousers. And the ladies like them more.

Nice and simple, which is the way i like things
I think Glassman spoke of the way we are social creatures and most feel at some time a need to belong and identify.

Spiritually, I belong and identify with the God of the Bible (earlier Ron spoke of his spiritual belonging).
Physically, like here on earth, we have liberty to belong and identify as we please, at least in the free world we do.

I think just deciding to wear a kilt is in a way "reinventing" ourselves, taking on a new image and identity, one that is percieved as Scottish, whether we think of it that way or not.

For me, as long as there is harmony between the spiritual and physical identities (and I think there is), then I am both happy and unconcerned what others think or say.

so, to return to the comment that began this all, if some think of me as "wannabe scot", that's fine.
If some think I'm overly romanticising my love of Scotland, so be it (I'm a romantic http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/s...light=romantic )

In the immortal words of Popeye "I yam wot I yam"

[Ranald]

Just read through a lot of the posts in this thread, and found lots of things I agree with. Where I live is close to a ski area and in the summer we get lots of tourists who come for the hiking trails and other natural scenery. If they would stray off the usual paths they would find some quite seedy areas. Even the nearest town has a problem with "street people" and panhandlers who frequent the downtown area, which the city fathers are trying to "revitalize". I think that you could find similar problems in just about every country in the world. We, people in general, tend to glamorize places we do not live. That is why we travel to different countries to see the sights.

As to Scotland, I have a almost visceral need to travel there and see the places that my grandmother told me about, I also want to travel through the countryside because the pictures I have seen give me the impression that it is a beautiful country. My ancestors came from that part of the world, I want to visit where they walked, see things that they saw. I hope someday to do just that.

Maybe my search for a connection is a grasping for something missing in my life otherwise. I am not going to psychoanalyze myself, and it really does not matter. Anything I can do to reaffrim my Scottish roots and to pass on pride of ancestry to my children, I see as a positive. My wife was denied half of her heritage, mainly because her father was a "fling" her mother had with a gentleman of Mexican ancestry.

A lot of people, especially in the USA take immense pride in their hyphen-American roots. Any way I am beginning to ramble so I will cut this short. I am not a wannbe Scot, I am simply trying to show pride in my ancestry, besides kilts are more comfortable than trousers. And the ladies like them more.

Amen to that couldn't have put it better myself.
I like you have felt something missing, and have decided to find it, yes by actually moving here! This is where I was meant to be born but by some freak coincidence this was not to be.
Your right Scotland is the most beautiful place you've ever seen, actually it's better than the pictures that are around.
I assure you that tourist I'm not, and wearing a kilt is my choice, I do not wear it for notoriety, I didn't chose it as a easy option either,If I had wanted the easy route I would've been in breeks.
It has been said that the wearing of the kilt gives a lesson in human nature, boy your so right !
Oh and this is posted while I sit here eating my porridge oats...I'm serious.
My best.
Richard.

[macwilkin]

i dont think i wanna be a scot.. lol PROUD to be IRISH.... looks around... oops forgot the name of the site

Where do you think the Scotti came from? ;)

Cheers,

Todd

[Mike1]

I feel we just need to remember that Scotland is very much a real place. It is a place of the 21st century, although everywhere you look you can see signs of a much earlier age.

One afternoon, we were driving a single-track road through Sheriffmuir, making way for oncoming motorists and waiting to allow sheep to clear the way for us. The next day, we were in the press of the morning rush hour at Glasgow Central. I think this is one of the things that make Scotland so wonderful. The modern manages to exist alongside the ancient. I hope efforts continue to be expanded, so that other historical landmarks can be preserved.

We, here in the States, often look to things like our own Declaration of Independence as a sign of our history. While in Edinburgh, we visited the Scottish Parliament to see the display of the Declaration of Arbroath, the Lubeck Letter and the Ayr Manuscript. The Declaration of Arbroath is the most recent of those three documents and it was over 456 years old, the day our Declaration of Independence was signed!

Here is a photo I took from atop the Wallace Monument -



If you look at the very center of the picture, you can see a small, standing stone. The rugby pitches were built right next to it.

We are very much an international group and our customs and cultures are just as international. We can all learn from one another, in this place. Not only about where the hem of a kilt should fall, but also who we are and whence we came. To learn is to gain wealth.

[ByDand]

Daz, Your posts about Scotland now as apposed to the romantic ideas of Scotland are perfect. My wife and I have been there twice for a total of 5 weeks. We enjoyed getting away from the touristy places and met many warm and caring people. They were quick to point out where we should not be going late at night because of problems. They were also quick to point out areas and sites we knew nothing about that made our trip even more memorable. One gentleman in Huntly took the time to take us to where my grandfather lived as a young boy. I never would have found it were it not for him.

The country is the most beautiful I have ever seen and my wife refuses to go anywhere else on our next big vacation. The next time (roughly 2 years) we come over, I will try to get to meet all of our friends from this forum. :-)

[switchblade5984]

Where do you think the Scotti came from? ;)

Cheers,

Todd

ha!