Schooled In Scotland

Moving to a foreign country is almost like having teenagers again. The things I don’t ‘know’ are mind boggling. The only difference is that no one is actually informing me of my lack of knowledge. I’m just keenly aware of it.

I do not want to be the ‘ugly American’ living in Scotland. I want to be a good guest. I wasn’t sure if it is acceptable to hang ‘all’ of the laundry on the line. When I ended up sitting next to a kind older lady at church I said,

“Say, can I ask you a question?” I muttered quietly. “Is it considered acceptable to hang my husband’s boxers on the washing line? I try to keep them sort of hidden in the middle, but I’m not sure if I’m being rude to the neighbors.”

‘Oh, yes. It’s okay. Everybody hangs all of their laundry out.’

…but I still try to keep them hidden in the middle.

We hosted our first guests for lunch. I was determined to make them some ‘regular’ Ellen food. Taco chicken soup and Blondie’s for dessert. (Blondie’s were Mom’s way of making chocolate chip cookies in pan form). I have yet to find any chocolate chip cookies in North East Scotland and believe it or not but one cannot live by Shortbread alone.

I was only able to make the soup, because I brought back crucial dietary supplies from America in February.

I didn’t bring back Semi-sweet chocolate chips, as I’d mistakenly assumed everyone had them. Semi-sweet chocolate chips being a mainstay of civilization. I got schooled.

We could not find them anywhere and I was ready to give up. My Loving Spouse stopped at one more store and came back with these very small packages of dark choc chips.

I know the recipe by heart, so I started pouring the chips into measuring cups and to my relief they made the necessary 2 cups. The block of butter was 500 g. I needed 2 cups. Thank you Google for figuring out that one. 2 eggs is still 2 eggs. Baking soda is Bicarbonate of Soda. Everything else was mixed and stirred and looking close to normal. I had to call in reinforcements to figure out how to bake it properly in the oven using Celsius.

The lunch and dessert I am told was ‘fine’. Not American ‘fine’, which means just ‘okay’. Scottish ‘fine’ which means very good.

I also learned a new meaning to an old word. “Loonie” which means a small boy.

There’s two loonies next door who have already learned to love Blondie’s. We’re delighted to have kids nearby and I’m determined to not just be the ‘loonie’ (American style) gal next door, but one who is kind, encouraging and comes prepared to share American sweets.

I’ve also learned that in the land of tea, Amazon delivers almost anything.

I might not be much wiser, but I am blessed.