The life in Glasgow

Behaviours

When I arrived in Scotland, the first thing that caught my attention was the friendliness of the people. Scottish people are very friendly and pleasant, I have rarely seen people so nice with strangers. As a foreigner, you may encounter difficulties, so you can ask the Scots for help, they will be happy to help you.

Scottish people have an important notion of respect. It is a quality I have seen a lot of in their daily lives, in the stores, on the street... and it is very nice to live in a respectful climate like this.

The language

Expect to have difficulty understanding Scottish people when they speak because, whether they are elders or young people, they all have a very strong accent. This is not like the academic English we have been used to listening to and learning in school since we were very young.
If you have trouble understanding what they are saying, don't hesitate to make them repeat it, they won't take it badly!

Weather

Coming from the south of France where the weather is often sunny and hot, I had prepared myself before leaving for Scotland, to have cloudy, rainy and little sunshine. But I was pleasantly surprised because we have regular sunshine, not as much rain as I expected.

In terms of temperatures, this is appropriate. There was a cold snap in January where we even had a little snow. Currently, temperatures have risen a little and are around 10 degrees.

The Clyde

Tip: When it rains, you will notice that Scottish people don't have an umbrella because with the wind they turn around then, buy yourself a coat for rain to protect yourself from the rain and wind at the same time.

Food

As everywhere in the United Kingdom, you can find the famous Fish & Chips just about anywhere you go.

As for Scottish specialities, there is the famous 'Haggis' which is a dish made from stuffed sheep's milk, very famous in Scotland.

There are also pies with beef, sausage, ground meat.... It is better to buy them in small shops rather than in the supermarket. I recommend a small butcher's shop 'The Country Shop' located in High Street in Glasgow, where you can buy quality, homemade and cheap pies.

Finally, to test the famous Scottish Breakfast, I recommend the restaurant 'The Anchor Line' located next to George Square. The full Scottish Breakfast is £8.95 or about €10 and consists of two sausages, haggis, bacon, potato scone, eggs, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, toast with butter and jam.

 

As sweet specialities, there are scone fruits that look like sweet bread with dried fruit inside, often made with raisins.

Scots also love fudges made mainly of butter and sugar to be enjoyed with coffee or tea. 

Activities

If you live in Glasgow itself, you can enjoy the many activities and outings to do in and around the city centre. With Buchanan Street, Glasgow's main shopping street, you can find a wide choice of top brand stores to shop on.

In addition, with all the public transport available, you can easily get out of Glasgow and visit the typical small towns around.

All this will be detailed in the next post which will come very soon.