After a year at university, I decided to embark on a new adventure to Scotland during the summer holidays. At that time, I was 20 years old and had lived my entire life in the Czech Republic. That summer I wanted to explore and had a desire to go abroad. I wanted to find something motivational and felt a need to discover my purpose. My brother had been in Scotland in 2008, so we went together with two other friends to experience a new adventure.
I was thrilled with the first flight of my life and first visit to London. We took a bus from London’s Victoria Station to Aberdeen, Scotland. Along the way, we passed through such cities such as Manchester, Newcastle, Glasgow, and Edinburg. I was glad to be able to see so much of the countryside and feel its history. Our destination was Castleton Farm where we gathered strawberries and sometimes relied on a company vehicle for the 40-minute weekly ride into Aberdeen so we could shop. For the first time in my life, we hitch-hiked to Aberdeen from the strawberry farms. Back then, hitch-hiking was a good way to start a conversation with local residents. During that summer, we also visited Dundee and Stone Heaven.
Collecting strawberries was real hard work. The five slowest pickers from the first hour of work were sent back to our living quarters — or fired. The next day the slowest pickers were given time off and thus, were unable to earn money. It was strong motivation not to be among the slowest pickers, even during the famous Scottish rains, when it seemed to rain from the bottom up. Life in our living area was relatively cold because the central heating did not work well. Every morning putting on my wet rubber boots was a step out of my comfort zone. While it was one of the hardest jobs of my life, I was glad to be a part of that summer trip.
The three months in Scotland were hard yet I overcame my fear of living in a foreign environment, which also motivated me to explore more of the world. That summer taught me how to adapt and never give up. We finished that summer as winners, we earned money, and we all were happy for the experience.
