I realise that several of my more recent posts are complaining about people here, either in Orkney, or Scotland, or the UK. And yes, I am still pissed that businesses won’t answer their phones. Let it go, Elsa, let it go.
But these complaints are NOT indicative of my overall experience here – it’s just that whining makes better copy, as a rule. Last week a young lady, Polish by birth, who has lived and worked in Kirkwall for the last 17 years, posted on an local Facebook page that she was looking for a new apartment, as hers is being sold. One local made a point of replying to tell her, “you are not Ocadian” [sic] (* I left her typo in out of spite). I was so incensed and ready to do battle, until I saw all the subsequent replies, chastising the “True Orcadian” and trying to find ways to help the ready-to-move renter. That backchatting besom was the exception that proves the rule: in my almost 6 months here, everyone has been so nice.
Locals here have gone out of their way to answer my questions, to help me navigate red tape, to explain the ‘whys’ of certain customs, to share what is available to islanders, in other words, to make me feel welcome. I am now a regular in more than one social group, I have been invited into people’s homes for coffee, I have received flowers, I have spent 10 minutes with a waitress discussing Anne of Green Gables and the beauty of P.E.I. This morning the cashier at Tesco’s & I got chatting and I mentioned Scout. She looked over her shoulder, leaned in, and told me about the best kept secret beach for dog walking, including the best place to park. I didn’t have a £1 coin for the car vac, and one of the staff offered me the money and said I could pay him next time.
The librarian recognized my voice on the phone and asked if I would be at next month’s meeting. The local garage owner told me “not to waste your money, luv” when I asked about a service for my car. I run into acquaintances in the street or parks. Scout is now recognized by a few of the local school kids. More than one person has teased me and told me, “You’re a local now!” (I know, I know, that was just being polite; I mean, unless my great-grandparents had been born here and we’d never left, and I had a tattoo of the Orcadian flag on my arm, well, I’d never truly be a local).
So, while nothing is perfect, and nasties like that little social media madam are out there, on the whole, I’ve landed pretty well. Thanks for the welcome, Orkney.