God Bless Why?

This is Neil, he’s from Scotland, and he taught me about something we call ‘the American dream.’

I think this is a phrase we often over use, along with God Bless America, without really knowing why we’re blessing our country, but Neil explained it for me.

I met Neil on Saturday at the Running of the Bulls and we quickly became friends as I asked him if he thought me mimicking his Scottish accent was annoying.

I soon found out that he had been to America before and that “everyday I try to find a way to get a job there.” His dream is to coach the WNBA and within minutes it became my dream too.

Neil told me that he loved America because Americans we’re so nice, everything was built for convenience and comfort and that the food was the best. His favorites were corn bread, Arbys and Krispy Kreme donuts.

He began quoting the shows Family Guy and Friends and telling me so many things about the NBA and WNBA. It was the first time I got to speak American, not English, with someone outside my program, dude.

He said that it’s so difficult to find someone to sponsor him for a working visa but that he has not given up. That it almost went through once but it’s hard to trust people because they’ll give up on you last minute not realizing how much it means to you.

There was something about the way he talked about wanting to go back to America and make it his home that it made me realize how truly lucky I was. I complained about missing the food with him and he just looked at me and said, at least you know when you’re going back.

When it was time to say goodbye to Neil, my heart ached as I knew that I’d probably never seen him again. Neil touched my heart in a way he could never understand. If I ever see him again, I hope it’s on my side of the Atlantic.