Now that we are halfway through our trip, I realized I may have left out a tiny bit of explanation from my blog posts. Who are the Nasmyths?
In 1994 my family and I joined Operation Friendship, an international exchange program for high school students. The way the program works is that the families participate in a series of fundraising events with their chapter (mine being Schenectady) over the course of the year and the one summer each family hosts an international student for 3 weeks and the following summer one student gets to travel to an international destination. In the summer of 1995 the Schenectady chapter hosted students from Dunganon, Northern Ireland. The hosting chapter plans activities and events, such as a trip to Montreal, day at The Great Escape, a weekend at one of the hosting family's camps in the Adirondacks and activities at each others homes. Both my brother and I participated in Operation Friendship (he hosted a student from The Netherlands and traveled to Northern Ireland).
In the summer of 1996 it was my turn to travel, and OF had assigned me to Edinburgh, Scotland. I was actually disappointed; I wanted to go to Northern Ireland, and see all the people who had stayed with us last year. It turns out my assignment was for the best, as the Nasmyths were my hosts! After three weeks of living in their home, eating meals, being escorted around and taking a small "family weekend" to the West coast I was hooked. They were my Scottish Family and we have been close ever since! In the summer of 1997 Mary, Charles and their son Richard came to NY and stayed with me and my parents for a few weeks. The following summer, my family and I stayed with the Nasmyths as part of our trip to Scotland and Ireland. The choice of location for my semester abroad was strongly influenced by my desire to see them again (and go to school somewhere the natives spoke English) and they frequently hosted me for weekends and even a bit of a holiday to the Lake District. Some of my favorite memories of my semester abroad are sitting in their kitchen, chatting, while Charles made dinner and we all drank a bottle of wine. They even made the trip to the states for my wedding!
I couldn't love them more, and this trip Ray and I are on wouldn't have been possible without them! Not only did they pick us up at the airport, tote us around for two days and feed and house us this past week - they also helped us plan our Highlands road trip! They have been an invaluable resource, not only information, but guidance, advice and fun! Charles has mapped out the route we are due to begin today, and given us all the highlights to see. We will also have a chance to see the rest of the family: both Mary Ann and Jeannette (Richard's older sisters) live in the London area, and Mary Ann has very generously offered to put us up in a flat she and her husband own in London! Amazing!
I have known this family for 13 years and really consider them my own. While Ray only had a chance to meet them briefly during the flurry of wedding events, he now knows them almost as well as I do. It's a bit of a mutual admiration society: they have seen all of the wonderful things that I love about him, and he now knows why I love them so much - and I think the feeling is pretty mutual!
As we say our good-byes this morning it will be so sad to leave them - but I know another visit will be just around the corner! That's the thing that is the most amazing about really good friends, it doesn't matter how long you have been apart, once you are together it seems no time has passed at all!