5 years in the EDI - wow!

Today marks 5 years since I arrived in Edinburgh.

It's weird to have lived in a place for this long and still feel like a newbie several times a week. That's the big difference between relocating within a country (which I did in the US several times) and international relocation. I still don't know how to pronounce names of places; a couple of weeks ago, I had to ask a coworker how Oban is pronounced and every time I am in the vicinity of Restalrig, I have a feeling that the way it sounds in my head is not the way it's actually pronounced.

I do use my not sounding like a native Scot to my advantage from time to time, like when someone stops me in the street and wants me to donate to some cause; 'I'm not from here' I say, and keep on walking.

That being said, in many ways, I feel more a sense of belonging here than I ever thought I would.

Lauren and I in June 2010; 2 months before moving to Edinburgh

I was at a Fringe event the other day and we were asked where people were from. Every time I answer 'Edinburgh' to that question, I don't think the asker is satisfied with my answer. But what am I supposed to say? I'm not an American tourist; I live here. More often than not, I'm more 'from here' than the person asking the question.

I never thought I would like it here. Edinburgh is the whitest place I've ever lived (by far) and many a US visitor we've had have commented on its whiteness. Because of this I think it's so odd that the whitest place I've ever lived is the place where I've had the least personal experiences of racism - I can't think of one in the last 5 years (in Edinburgh); I've had a few in the past 5 years when I've gone to the US.

I never thought Edinburgh would be home, and it still doesn't quite feel like home, but it's close. We own a flat in the city, we have a Scottish kid, with a popular Scottish name, who has spent all but a few days of her life in Scotland.

That being said, I do miss parts of being in the US. I miss Target and Trader Joe's and decent Mexican food. I miss the feeling of belonging when I speak to a stranger and not the automatic assumption that I'm not from here. I miss not being the only brown person when I'm in a room of 200. I miss wide roads and playparks/playgrounds that have toilets (I don't get why the playparks in Edinburgh don't have toilets - it drives me crazy!). I miss watching College Football on Fall Saturdays and College Basketball in March.

I do miss those things.

I don't miss the racism I experienced, and the endless political arguing that goes on in the US. I don't miss the reliance of having a car, or driving on those wide US roads at 20 miles per hour. I don't miss calculating sales tax and I don't miss baseball. I don't even miss US weather - I can't believe I just said that, but it's true.

I don't know if we will be here in 5 years. I assume we will, but who knows? I've called myself a global citizen, so I'm sure that if we're here, or somewhere else, I'll be happy enough - I'm adaptable.

Picture taken by our kid in July 2015