Epilogue

Now that we have been home for a few months, it is time to reflect on our time in Scotland.

Overall, we would give it a big "two thumbs up!"  This wasn't always a certainty, as it was doing something so far out of our comfort zone.  We did have the advantage of having been in the UK before and having had Alison, who has showed us so much over the years.  We also had the advantage of having driven there as well, so at least felt some confidence dealing with that issue.  Still, would we be homesick?  Would we be accepted?  Would the school experience work well for Rick?  Would Bob be able to keep himself occupied?  So many questions.

Fortunately, virtually everything worked out well.  We seemed to fit in well, Rick's school was great, and Bob and Dougal seemed to always have some sort of adventure.  Whew!

So, on to highlights:

Certainly the first would be the closeness of having Alison and Brian nearby to help us fathom some of the "indiocynrasies" of various things in the UK, and their help obtaining a car; we quite liked our wee Yaris.  Love you guys.

The school in Currie.  Doing an exchange is a leap of faith, and in this instance, Rick lept into such a great situation it couldn't have been better if we had planned it.  Thanks to everyone at the school who helped make Rick's experience so much fun and such an adventure.

Edinburgh.  What can be said about living in a city that has been described as the "Athens of the North" and is a UNESCO World Heritage site?  Oddly enough, after a while living there, we did find ourselves not noticing wonderful old buildings, as exposure breeds familiarity.  Oh, another castle?  Ho hum.  Being such a compact city, we were able to access almost everything we wanted without the use of the car.

Meeting up with the other Canadian teachers on exchange.  The meeting in York was so enjoyable and we couldn't have asked for better companions for the weekend.  Also, the Scottish former exchange teachers who planned the odd event to which we were invited.  We couldn't make it to all of them, but certainly enjoyed the ones we did.

Visiting Ronald and Margaret twice, despite Dougal's rather embarrassing behaviour.  

The closeness to Ireland, which gave us a few chances to enjoy our getaways over there and to see Robert and Eileen again.  That is always a treat!

Seeing the south of England.  We fell a bit in love with the countryside, although it may have been through the amber haze of cider.  Still, a "golden" opporunity taken.

Hogmanay with Heather.  It was fun to have family with whom to share a party with 75,000 total strangers.  It was a wild, festive, loud, musical and drunken time (not us, but the majority of the crowd).  We wouldn't attend that again, but are happy to have been there.

Skye.  If you have read any of this blog, you know how we feel about Skye and Lynn, Richard and Laura.  I may have left a piece of me there, so may have to return.

Mia Restaurant.  Beyond a doubt the best place we found and just around the corner.


So, were there any lowlights?  Well, now that you ask:

Edinburgh.  It is a lovely city, but it really seems to have trouble getting its act together.  The city council never really seemed to know Rick was there (they administer the schools), they spent almost one billion pounds on half a tram system (which bogs down in traffic) and seem to have trouble installing bus seating that isn't too high or even at a used bus stop.  If you think your city council is ineffective, rest assured that Edinburgh's is probably worse.

The flat.  You may notice that we haven't really spoken about our flat in any of the postings.  We were trying to be polite.  Let's just say that we weren't really expecting to live like college students again.  We made the best of it, but it really needed to be experienced to be believed.  But let's not dwell on it any more.


So, would we do it again?  Yes.  No question.  We hope that if there is a futher opportunity that we will be able to do just that.  There is no way we can convey just what a positive experience it was.  We hope this blog has given you some insight into it though.  Thanks for following.

Cheers and slàinte,

Rick, Bob and Dougal.

Goodbye, Mr. M.

I don't think you can teach a group of kids for a year and not feel a bond with them, particularly when they were as good a class as Rick had in Currie.  Going in, he wasn't sure about the slightly higher grade, but he thoroughly enjoyed working with the kids and helping them to discover just what they are able to achieve when they learn how to learn.

The downside to this bonding is that he and the class eventually have to part.  Normally, when a school year finishes, it is sad to see them go, but you know you will see almost all of them the next year at school.  Not this time around, however, as our leaving Scotland meant that Rick would be saying an almost permanent goodbye to his students, which was tough to do.  Fortunately, many of them have kept in touch with Rick during their next school year, and Rick is able to follow along with the school's events through its newsletter.

Rick also formed a good bond with the parents, and we were invited for drinks at some parents' house the evening of the second last day of school.  Rick wasn't sure he should go, but was encouraged by his head teacher.  We were greeted at their house with a nice bottle of beer and some tasty appetizers.  After a wee while, everyone, including their dog, headed off to the next destination, which we suspected was someone else's house, but turned out to be the local youth club hall where his students than their parents were lying in wait to surprise him with an amazing going away party that was totally planned by the parents and kids.  Nobody breathed a word to Rick, even though all the kids knew about it, which is rather impressive.  It would be an understatement to say that he was shocked and greatly surprised, not to mention greatly honoured.  It was a raucous, noisy time, with his kids flocking around him and having fun teasing him.  We were told by many of the parents that nothing like this has ever been done by the parents for any teacher, even ones who are retiring.  Nothing could have made Rick feel more appreciated.

The following photos feature a lot of adults and no children, due to the right to privacy that applies to children.  You will need to take our word for it that it was pandemonium!!

Surprise, surprise!!  Mr. M. comes face to face with the throng.

We wish we could show you how happy and excited the kids were.  Rick was overcome with emotion.

What better way to calm down that with a bottle of beer.  Rick felt really uncomfortable having a beer in his hand and drinking in front of his students.  Didn't stop him, though.

Brian and Hazel, who both helped Rick feel so welcome at the school.  Brian is the custodian and Hazel is a lollipop lady.  They are a fun and lovely couple.

Sally, who is head teacher extraordinaire!  While she made sure that Rick did what he was supposed to do, she allowed him to upset the teaching apple cart at the school on occassion.  Thank you Sally!!

Lynda, school adminstrator, and Margaret, business manager, from the school.  Rick helped Margaret with a lot of tech issues and became a good friend along the way.  She keeps Rick updated on life at Currie.

Drink in hand, Rick finally tells the parents everything that is wrong with their children.  Not really, but I am sure every teacher has wished they could do that on occasion.

The best idea of the evening - let them eat cake!  Nothing like a sugar rush to ramp up the kids!!

"Unaccustomed as I am to speaking..."  As this was such a successful surprise, poor Rick didn't have anything prepared when called upon for a speech.  He did very well, even when emotions caught up with him.

Decorating the teacher.

An exhausted, happy, honoured and well decorated Mr. M.

Rick took this opportunity to keep educating his students, as he corrected their grammar.  He told them it should say "you ARE great," as he doesn't stop being great just because he is leaving!  There was also an inside joke between him and the kids, as he ran his classrom as a glitter-free zone, so of course they took the opportunity to use as much as they could for the sign.