Visit Scotland: Meet the People

What can we say about Scotland that hasn’t been said before?  We could talk about the majestic mountains in the north, or the vast archipelago in the south-west.  We could talk about the ‘Water of Life’ internationally known as ‘Whisky’, or maybe talk about the delicacies you could enjoy which range from the very healthy and fresh seafood to the remarkably body-damaging ‘deep-fried Mars Bar’. We could talk about the wealth of Celtic folklore that is still celebrated today in various sites across the country, and we could talk about our national sporting passions of football and rugby.

But we’re not going to talk about that.

We’re going to talk about the people.

Coming to Scotland, an English-speaking country with a variety of accents so vast that it’s mind-boggling, can be quite a daunting experience.  We have a beautiful land which we enjoy sharing with the world, but it’s really the people that makes Scotland what it is today.

Take Edinburgh, for example, our capital city, which is situated on the cold, south-eastern coast, far away from almost all of the dramatic scenery you’ll find on the numerous postcards and tea-towels. And yet it has so much charm that it has become a city which rivals Oxford and Cambridge for international students looking to find a temporary (and sometimes permanent) home. 

Why? The people.

In Scotland we say that the people from the west coast, such as Glasgow, are friendlier than those on the east coast.  There’s not really any truth to this saying but it is testament to the friendly rivalries that occur all across the country. Rivalries without any malicious intent whatsoever…unless, of course, there’s a football match on TV.

We are ‘people people’. An unusual expression, but one that sums us up what it means to be Scottish quite succinctly. We are welcoming, we are talkative, we are open and we are generous.  We have a history that we are proud of, and a history that shames us.  We are defined by our own sense of belonging to this land but our doors are always open for all to see. 

So why should you come here?  Aside from the obvious reasons, Scotland would love to have you.  As our famous writer, Robert Louis Stevenson, once said: ‘There are no foreign lands.  It is the traveller only who is foreign’.

We have courses at ELA-Edinburgh which will help you in your journey across Scotland.  

We can teach you about the culture and give you the language skills you need to converse with the people throughout your stay.  We can teach you history and the folklore of the beautiful city of Edinburgh and you can then leave the written version and experience first-hand how our culture is reflected in our people.

Glossary

Majestic – having or showing impressive beauty or scale

Archipelago – an extensive group of islands.

Mind-boggling – overwhelming; startling

Tea-towels – a cloth for drying washed crockery, cutlery, and glasses

Succinctly – in a brief and clearly expressed manner

Converse – to have a conversation with someone