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Questions and Answers
Maria: Rory, tell me about your country.
Scotland, freedom! No, actually. I'm not sure what to tell people when they ask me about my homeland. I'm sure they get pretty good idea about it from all the media around it, which is probably just as diverse and varied as the country itself right now, when I think about it. It's a small place relative to somewhere like Russia or America, but I think we make up for it by our character and cultural contributions to the world. Um, I suppose you could say it's quite a rugged place, a bit like people as well as. This has Probably enabled us to make all of these contributions in the first place.
Maria: Where is your country located?
It's in the north of the island of Great Britain, which itself is in Western Europe. And we're part of a union of countries which share the same island. I suppose it's one of the westernmost country in Western Europe, maybe apart from Iceland, of course.
Maria: Which part of your country do most people live in?
Well, most people live in cities and other population centres in what's called the central belt. So that's close to the border with England. Actually, it's north of the border with England, but it's located deeper into the country than the Highlands and Islands. And and all of the major cities are near the coasts, although I think that's a common trait in just about every country, to be honest... Every country with a coastline.
Maria: What are the main industries in your country?
Well, until recently, the hospitality industry was probably our mainstay, along with tourism. Everybody wants to see the Highlands and Islands and take pictures next to people wearing kilts. I think we have some significant exports in terms of food and beverages as well. Like everybody has heard of whiskey and haggis and Scottish fudge, for example. So those are the main ones. But you can see they're quite varied.
Maria: What are some of the good things about living in your country?
Well, for all the jokes that we tell about freedom, we have a lot of freedom and wealth. For all the people complain that we don't, I think our country is actually quite prosperous. It's not perfect and it's not prosperous and great all the time. But we do a pretty good job of striking a good balance between constraining and encouraging people. It could always be improved, but I think there are a few other places that do a better job than we do.
Maria: What are some of the bad things about living in your country?
Well, I suppose one of the downsides of people having so much opportunity is that they do things that aren't always beneficial for society. We have problems with people having terrible health conditions, for example... Mentally and physically. A lot of the times though these detrimental sides to things come about as a result of poor personal choices. So in the same way, they can be fixed by people making the right ones, which they've got the opportunity to make.
Maria: Is your country popular with tourists?
Well, I think so. Compared to a lot of other places in the global south, for example. Yeah, lots of for example, lots of American tourists... they come because they have Scottish roots, so they're interested in Scotland, for example? Um, I imagine London and England as a whole might be more popular, but Scotland gets its fair share of tourists.
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