An "Easter Egg" (pun intended!)

Berea College's Center for International Education (www.berea.edu/cie/abroad) asked me to answer this prompt: “What was your first impression of the country? Please write a 100 words or less response to this question. Your first impression may have been formed when you first came out of the airport, the first dining experience, or your first day at the university…etc."

Let's journey back to one week ago today...
After half-a-day of airplanes and airports, I was looking (and feeling) pretty rough. My silly romanticized notion of travel was crumbling around my exhausted body. Somehow, I found my way to the train station in Glasgow and stumbled into a coach headed for Leuchars via Edinburgh Haymarket. The tiny aisle was no match for my massive suitcase holding four months worth of my worldly possessions. Struggling to the luggage rack, a beacon of Scottish hope appeared. A tall, fair, and handsome Glaswegian (thick accent included) leap up from his seat, stretched out his capable hands, and asked, "Och, canna gi' ya a wee hand w' that?" I said that he could, wishing I wasn't covered in a day's worth of travel grime. The train ride from the West Coast to the East Coast, by the by, boasts some gorgeous landscapes. My first response to Scotland? What a friendly, helpful, and beautiful place to be!