the best 31 days of my life

Well, this is it. I’m sitting in Glasgow Central Station getting ready to board a train that will sadly take me out of the great Kingdom of Scotland. I can easily say that these past 31 days have been the best of my life thus far. I have seen sights and met people that I will never forget. Every single day was packed with adventures. Even the few days when I had to buckle down and do homework most of the day, doing homework in Scotland is still more fun that doing it in California. 

I have never been more proud to be Scottish. My proudest moment came at the Salvation Army in Glasgow with a very old women that remembers my family since the early 1900s. She told me that it brought her “such joy” that there were still members of my family living in this world, even if we’re not in Scotland anymore. I also was honored to meet my great grandfather’s cousin, Lily. 

I’m also proud of the history of Scotland, especially the history that my ancient ancestors were involved in. I’ve always love studying American history, but it’s different since I don’t think anyone in my family came to the USA before the early 1900s. While US history is a part of my history as an American, it’s not exactly a part of my family story. Where as the Scottish Wars of Independence, I know my ancestors in the MacFarlane Clan fought in those wars and others. I love America and everything she stands for, but I feel a different kind of connection to Scotland. Scotland is in my blood.

That’s why one of the most meaningful days of this trip was spent walking through the pass between Loch Lomond and Loch Long. Those were the old clan lands for hundreds of years. My ancestors lived and died for those lands. Being there, I could physically feel a connection to my forefathers. Their blood runs through my veins. We stumbled upon an old Clan MacFarlane Kirk and graveyard on the banks of Loch Long. I stood above the graves of my ancient chiefs, proud that I still resemble them. I’ve never disliked being a ginger, but I have occasionally felt out of place, not here. I am honored to have red hair and honored to pass on the traits that have been passed down to me by generations of Scots.

Seeing the isle of Skye was also a highlight of this adventure. I’ve seen pictures of it for years, and it surpassed every expectation I had. I can’t wait to go back and explore more of it; my dream would be to one day walk it. In fact, my dream is just to walk Scotland in general. The entire country is mapped out in trails that run up and down the coasts, zig zag through the highlands and lowlands, cutting through every hill and glen in between. If I was healthy enough, I’d walk this entire country. If I am ever healed of this back pain, the first thing I will do is fly back out here. It would just be me alone with God for a year, walking where ever He takes me. 

My faith has definitely been tested and strengthened this month. With my ever present back pain, I knew before leaving that this trip wouldn’t be possible on my own strength. It’s only been through Gods grace that’s I’ve been able to push through my pain and not let it stop me appreciating my homeland. At every corner I’ve had to fall back on Him to get through each day. He has been faithful on this trip even when I wasn’t. About half way through, while in Inverness, I was beginning to think I could do this trip on my own. I was getting too confident on my own strength and I was paying for it. My pain was getting worse and I was questioning how I was ever going to get through the next few weeks, let alone the next four months in Europe. That’s when I got an email from Westmont saying the live worship CD from our Chapel Band was out to buy online. I downloaded it and listened to it repeatedly on the long train from Inverness down to Stirling. It was the humbling experience that I desperately needed. There’s something extra special too about hearing my friends sing worship. The song that spoke to me the most was Healer, sung by my friend Jasmine Guerrero. It was exactly what I needed to hear, sung by my favorite person at Westmont. 

My sister Janelle was also a huge blessing on this trip. She hans’t let me put any pictures of her on my blog, but she has been with me basically every step up the way. I was sad to see her go on Wednesday, she was the extra motivation I always needed. Occasionally I got frustrated with her because she likes to really take her time getting to places, but I really appreciate that now. It forced me to slow down and take in my surroundings. I’m so grateful I got to spend this much time with her! She lives in San Francisco now, and I don’t think we’ve ever spent more than the few weekends I’ve visited SF alone with her! We defiantly bonded and grew a lot closer as brother and sister. That might be the longest impact of this trip actually, our relationship. 

I’m now on the train back to London (first class, free wifi… booyah!). I’m watching the Scottish countryside fly past me, knowing soon it will be English and not remotely the same. I probably only have an hour or so left. It’s an extremely strange feeling leaving here. First because I’m not on my way home! My trip to Scotland is about to end, but my trip to Europe is still just starting! My semester abroad begins on Friday, and I still have three months of Europe and an entire month of Israel ahead of me! The adventures will continue! 

Secondly, I know that it won’t be very long before I’m back in Scotland. It was almost six years in between my last trip to Scotland and this one. I know that my next journey will come much sooner. I’m leaving this country with an plan to do graduate school here. It’s something that has been on my heart every day here. I figure, if I’m going to study International Relations, why not go international! We visited a handful of Scottish colleges, and I’m confident I’ll be at one of them getting my masters in a few years. St. Andrews University is definitely my first choice, but University of Glasgow is a close second. I’d also consider Aberdeen, Dundee, Stirling, Edinburgh… as long as it’s in Scotland, I’m down.

I guess this concludes my log of Scotland. I am so unbelievably blessed to have journeyed here, I will never forget it. 

“You can take a man out of Scotland, but you can never take Scotland out of a man.”

Cheers Scotland! See you soon