In the past few months I have been excitedly researching my exchange options for next year. When I first began looking into the multitude of places. around the world that I can visit, one particular country stood out to me; Scotland.

I have never been to Scotland. There’s nothing in Scotland that I’ve ever been particularly keen to visit, nor is there any one city that’s caught my eye. My desire to go to Scotland stems only from the fact that my mum grew up there.

My mum was born in Scotland, lived near Aberdeen for a decade, and then came to Australia with her mother and brother when she was 16. She speaks with an accent, though I don’t hear it, and she has been back to her birth country a dozen times in the last 35 years. Her sister still lives in Aberdeen, and visits us every couple of years.

My mother has no real yearning for her home country. She visits occasionally, but mostly would much rather visit countries she’s never seen. She enjoys seeing her sister, but since my aunt visits us, it’s not a huge selling point. She’s been with my dad for more than 30 years and has never taken him to Scotland. To my mum, Australia is home.

My gran on the other hand, cries when she hears Auld Lang Syne. She loves eating Haggis and celebrating Burns Night. New Year’s Eve is Hogmanay. Maybe it’s because she spent most of her life in Scotland, and maybe because one of her daughters remains there, but Scotland to her is her true home.

I wonder what it is about place that attracts some people and almost bores others. Some people hang on to their homelands until they die, others move on and never go back. And some people, like me, have a feeling of strong connection to a place they’ve never been. Maybe it’s because of my Gran’s enthusiasm for Scotland, maybe it’s because my Scottish relatives seem to be great, fun and happy people. Place is different for everyone it seems.