Um, why Scotland?

"Why Scotland?" is easily the question I've been asked most since I got here. Apparently it's impossible to think that anyone would want to leave the Southern Hemisphere and come here for two years. There is disbelief that I would willingly swap blue skies and open spaces for overcast days and bleak winters (although I'm beginning to think bleak and overcast describes all seasons). The answer is pretty simple - I wanted something different to where I'd grown up. The history, the culture, the people. Add in Edinburgh's proximity to Europe and you can start to see why it's an ok place to live. Every day there is a building, statue or even a whisky that is older than Dunedin. It can be rather surreal. In saying that I do miss a decent coffee, steak and cheese pies and bread that isn't super sweet. Six months on and I'm still happy that I chose to come here - it's even at the point where I know leaving will be one of the hardest days of my life. But that's 18 months away, so until then there's plenty of time to sight-see and experience what the Northern Hemisphere has to offer.