Describe, Interpret, Evaluate. Scotland.

There’s many things I would like to tell about Scotland from Irn Bru and the different accents to Balmorality or the clans, but something that you will encounter straight away alighting from the plane is as follows:

Walking toward the terminal you make eye contact with someone and they greet you. Someone is approaching you and you avoid toward the same direction and they instantly apologize. You go to a supermarket, and at the till the cashier will wait for you to pack your groceries and keep a small talk going until you’re finished packing. You hold door open for someone and will be thanked with ”Cheers!”. Be prepared for their wittiness and sarcasm as well – you will find that sometime their seemingly polite comment may be backhanded!

The politeness and small talk seemed quite foreign to me and I can still remember starting to tell about my day when I was asked ”How are you?” at the till. People will apologize about any inconvenience however small it is, and it catches on very quickly. British are often really indirect and if you happen to actually do something resentful, they most likely won’t say anything but ”give you the evils”, which is a kind of a resentful glance.

Apart from the last part, this avoids conflict and gives good impression of the encounter with a person, which must be the reason why people do it. It also makes the people appear more approachable. This small talk is the deal breaker, as with it you’re giving first impression what kind of person you are. Generally you should avoid anything personal while still talking about something that fits the situation. Maybe it comes from the idea of being more classy and formal by humouring your company.  

After a while and after getting used to it more, it’s easy to see when people just say tthings but don’t actually mean it. Sometimes the small talk can lead into quite awkward situations, if you’re not used to it, but after a while making small talk will feel normal. As a Finn I found it slightly exhausting and still do after my stay. I would rather have meaningful talk with people or not talk at all. Though, every so often I found it fun and pleasant. Overall I've mixed thoughts about it.