Since Visiting Scotland, I've Been Trying to Understand Its Culture

Note: This piece was first published by Luna Luna Magazine. It's been five years since I visited Scotland, the home of my paternal ancestors, and it was far from the tartan-clad, bagpipe-playing, haggis-eating oasis I was half-expecting. That's because the Scottish stereotypes Americans buy into stem from the Highlands, and I spent the majority of my six weeks exploring the haunting city of Glasgow. But even when I hiked Scotland's tallest mountain, Ben Nevis, in the Highlands' Lochaber region, ...