Ron,

You'll find that there are Scots expats literaly around the globe, and where ever there is usually a Scottish expat community, there is some sort of Caledonian/Scottish/St. Andrew's Society. This list from rampantscotland.com illustrates my point:

http://www.rampantscotland.com/features/societies.htm

I have been in touch with folks from a number of overseas socities over the years; our society exchanges greetings with other groups for Burns Night.

The whole point of these societies originally was to provide a place for wayward Scots to gather; originally mutual-aid groups, they provided the immigrant much-needed contacts for obtaining a job, finding a house, and providing a link to the "auld country" through events such as Burns Night, St. Andrew's Day balls, etc.

Nothing new under the sun, really.

Todd