Why I Love Scotland -- long version

I might be obsessed with Scotland. When it comes up in conversation, people ask me how I became so obsessed. As with most things that one loves passionately, it can't be reduced to one simple reason.

First of all, it might be helpful to talk about why many Americans love English culture/people/stuff. It's because of a certain duality. America inherited much of her culture, at least in the beginning, from England, as a British colony. At the same time, English culture is distinct from American culture (some say America doesn't have a culture because its culture is a mix of the many different cultures of the immigrants who have come to this country, so it's hard to pinpoint one distinct culture). So you've got the English accents, the sharp wit, the quirky creativeness (the British invasions in music, the YBAs in contemporary art, the talented fashion designers that continue to come out of Central St Martins). In short, Americans like English culture/people/stuff because it's foreign (different) but not too foreign, like, say, Sri Lanka, which feels less accessible.

So having established that, Scottish culture/people/stuff can be characterized by what I've described about England but more extreme. The accents are more distinctive, less common (at least here in New York), and more exotic than your standard English accents. Scottish people do "strange" things -- they eat haggis, wear kilts, play bagpipes, speak Gaelic, but they're still part of the UK (remember the shared heritage) and pretty much speak the same language as us. For such a small country (around 5 million, about a tenth of the population of England), it has managed to churn out some of my favorites -- one of my fave bands (Franz Ferdinand), one of my fave designers (Christopher Kane), etc. There are probably other artists/designers/musicians that I haven't mentioned or maybe don't even know about -- every so often I'll delightedly discover that something else that I love is from Scotland! And come on, who doesn't love the movie Braveheart?

How did this insanity all start?

Well, I will tell you. Remember, this is the long version.

Growing up, I had a few Irish-American friends. My town was very Jewish, but there was a decent sized Italian- and Irish-American population. My Irish friends were cool -- hard working but also fun-loving, and always ready for a drink (yes, we're stereotyping).

Fast-forward to junior year of college. After having been classically trained as a violinist, I decided to join an "acoustic-electric progressive symphonic folk rock group." I was trying to figure out what kind of pickup to use, and in the process became friends with the premier fiddle player in my class at Harvard, Gabe Jostrom (check out his band). He introduced me to a few different artists, including Ashley MacIsaac, a Nova Scotian (i.e. New Scotland) fiddler, whose music was the most interesting to me. Since American bluegrass/folk music has roots in Celtic music, I became more interested in Irish/Scottish culture as I learned more about improvisational violin music.

Fast-forward again to the summer of 2004, after I graduated from college. As part of the Mastercard Priceless Internship program, we got to hang out at one of the locations on the Warped Tour. With the other interns, I snuck backstage during the set of Flogging Molly, an Irish folk-punk rock band. The set was electrifying and I was excited by their instrumentation, including a violinist. Their lead singer sings with a thick Irish accent and references his childhood in Dublin. As I became a big fan of the band, I became more interested in Irish culture. Flogging Molly's music was so vibrant and energetic, but the words were sad and melancholy. It was an interesting dichotomy and I loved listening to the different instrumentation. The traditional touches were refreshing after listening to so much commercialized crap with the same synths and electric guitar sounds.

I went to another Flogging Molly show that fall and also decided I wanted to visit Dublin, to see the place which had inspired such lively and spirited music. I got a chance that spring, but was a bit disappointed. I'm not sure what I was expecting -- maybe a quaint and pretty city that was lively and spirited like the music. There were parts that were like that, but the city was in a transitional state, developing. There were more industrial and urban sections that looked more like your average American town. There was a sadness about it, which made sense given the lyrics in the songs and the history of the city. In short, it failed to meet my expectations.

However, during that same trip, I had scheduled a day trip to Edinburgh (I think because I had also become a fan of Franz Ferdinand that fall because of my boss, who liked to play it at work). Edinburgh was everything that I had expected and hoped for in Dublin, and hadn't expected for Scotland. During that day trip, we did a tour of the city, including a requisite visit to Edinburgh castle. The city is breathtaking in a majestic way, and I loved walking on the cobblestones in the Royal Mile, feeling like I was back in the Middle Ages. I was delighted by the tour guides wearing kilts and the accents that I could barely understand. I fell in love with the city and Scotland and decided I wanted to come back.

What I love about Scotland is that same wonderful feeling of surprise I felt when I visited Edinburgh. That feeling you get when you experience something unexpected but wonderful. Although I have only managed to go back once so far, and very briefly, every once in a while I'll hear about a new designer or musician or trend or news (like this) from Scotland that is wonderful/awesome/hilarious in an unpredictable way. My friends make fun of me, but also encourage me by sending me articles they find about Scotland.

I half-jokingly say I want to marry someone from Scotland although I have never actually met any cool Scottish (from Scotland, not American) men in person (and there don't seem to be many in New York). My answer may not satisfy most, but I would ask that before you write me off as nuts, you should really visit Edinburgh! You would understand how J.K. Rowling wrote her Harry Potter books there (yup, another awesome thing that came out of Scotland, although Rowling is actually English).

That is all.