My friends, the Highlanders – Jamison Rosales

 

Our first stop on our abroad experience was our weekend trip to Glenelg! I learned that this portion of the Edinburgh Theatre Program origanged in 2012 and has continued since. I can clearly understand why, the atmosphere, the community, and the wildlife were unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Scotland has been at the top of my travel bucket list for all the aforementioned things and it’s exceeded my expectations wildly. Getting to Glenelg was a long process in itself with the struggles to fall asleep on the vans and holding for bathroom trips. All of that fatigue disappeared once I saw the rolling hills and lush greenery of the Highlands. It only got better from there as I looked out the window of my chalet and saw untouched fields with free roaming cattle above. The grass blowing with the breeze like a dance and skies filled with fluffy white clouds. All I wanted to do was take in a deep breath and go running and jumping in the grass.

The week was filled with scenic hikes, some wee and some not so wee. I’ll admit I was scared of all the tick warnings our company had received beforehand. I was covered head to toe in tick repellent  and clothes; I wasn’t taking any chances. However my concerns seemed to fade with the colorful commentary coming from two remarkable individuals. 

Our group was fortunate enough to be hosted and led around Glenelg and the Isle of Skye by the charismatic and brave Cami and Eddie. They two were fountains of knowledge teeming with jokes, poetry, and jelly babies. The iconic expedition snack that Cami opened all of our eyes to. I never thought that such an unexpected little treat could make such a difference. For anyone unfamiliar, I’d describe them as sour patch kids minutes the sour and dusted in starch. Cami brought welcome distractions to the sometimes laborious treks up the hillsides. Even throughout the van trips from destination to destination, he’d grace me with his one liners or even better, jokes with a big backstory and a punchline you didn’t see coming. Cami showed a genuine interest in our group and I can’t forget a conversation I had with him on our first hike to see the otters on the Isle of Skye. 

I remember him telling me how grateful he was for the way his pace of life changed. He used to live a very busy lifestyle and he liked how full his days were but an unforeseen circumstance changed his life. He decided to move to Glenelg and slow down. Normally I would’ve seen that as a bad thing but he helped me understand that just because your life isn’t constantly moving at a million miles per hour in the direction you once anticipated, doesn’t mean you’re dying. Every pocket of life offers intrigue and surprise. Life is what you make it. There was great comfort in that because if none of that had happened, he wouldn’t have been a part of the touring company that met Pepperdine. I would love to thank him for making me feel like I mattered. He was great at making everyone feel special. 

Now Eddie was one of a kind. An introspective artist and historian that made you feel honored if he laughed at your joke or asked the origin of your name. He informed me that my name was of early Scottish origin meaning ‘son of James’ and in Gaelic James is pronounced as ‘Seamus’. He made us feel known and took us back to the time of the Scottish warrior-queens and kings. 

However out of all the adventurous tales we heard, one story in particular stood out. 

On the way up to our accommodation our group pulled over at a stone lined plateau and sleepily tumbled out of the vans. It was until a majestic view of five mountains revealed itself that we were awoken. The Seven Sisters of Kintail is a legend following the transformation of young girls into mountains in order to preserve their beauty for eternity. A family received two unexpected guests— brothers that were seeking shelter after a  shipwreck. The father welcomed the men in and his daughters took notice. The brothers are taken with the two youngest daughters and want to marry and bring them back to Ireland. The older sisters believe this is unfair but the brothers promise they have five older, richer, stronger, and more handsome brothers who will come back for them. The brothers never come and the sisters are worried they will lose their beauty and youth. The father makes an agreement with the wise woman of Loch Duich to help his daughters. The sisters stand at the head of the lake and turn into five mountains so people can admire them forever…

This folktale amazed me so much that I decided to write a skit about it. In Scottish and Irish  tradition, a Ceilidh is a meeting of people who perform traditional dances, folk songs and tell stories. Our company decided to hold our own version of a Ceilidh as a thank you to the community of Glenelg for hosting us. We put up a variety of acts including comedy skits, songs, poetry, and art. With input from my cohorts and some creative thinking, I had a full group of willing actors and a script narrating the story. The community in Glenelg was so kind and receptive of all of us and thankfully enjoyed the reenactment! I’ve observed them time and time again prove how close knit they are with each other and they tell stories that connect them. Scotland holds an incredible amount of history and myth; They combine to create a magical place. We ended the Ceilidh by singing ‘Auld Lang Syne’, led by Eddie, and the whole room grabbed hands to dance in a circle. At that moment, I realized that I’m never going to be surrounded by those people in that moment again and I couldn’t help but cry tears of bittersweetness. What a wonderful place the Highlands is!!

By: Jamison Rosales

CATEGORIES:

2024-Blog

Comments are closed