By following the journey of two Congolese families who have come to live here, BBC Scotland's social affairs reporter Fiona Walker has been given the chance to look at Scotland through African eyes.

Try using a tin opener for the first time. Try turning on an electric cooker and wondering where the "fire" is coming from. Try coming to terms with an entirely different way of living and a new language.

We first introduced you to the Kasakota and Luvunzu families in February. I met them in a refugee camp in neighbouring Zambia where they were taking shelter from the war in Congo.

The United Nations had put forward the two families as part of the Gateway Protection Programme which re-settles some of the most vulnerable people in the world.

The Home Office then finds local councils to house and care for them. Scotland had decided to take part for the first time.

The Luvunzu family were greeted by minister Joan Ryan First day at school

The families knew absolutely nothing about the country they were about to leave Africa for.

Their lives had been dominated by violence and fear. Now they've been living in Motherwell for six months. How are they coping?

After the initial temperature shock, the families had a lot to take in. Louvain Luvunzu was immensely grateful just to have a front door key.

Imagine the first bills dropping through the letter box, getting a bank account and learning how to budget.

The families are living on state benefits. If you convert a council tax bill into Zambian Kwacha, you can understand how daunting it is to start a new life here.

Picture the neighbours trying to explain what to do with the bins or Justin Kasakota being asked "Are you Catholic or are you Protestant?" How could he know that here, in the heart of Lanarkshire, he could give the "wrong" answer?

To be honest, I felt a little nervous for him. But this was his reply: "If you are Catholic or Protestant, you are all good for God." I nearly applauded.

Both families found the lack of interaction with neighbours rather strange. In Congo and in the Zambian refugee camp, there was a very strong community spirit.

People shared what they had with each other. Here, Justin's neighbours explained to him that everything was fine if you "kept yourself to yourself".

There is a network of local volunteers who have come together to help the families settle in.

North Lanarkshire Council have also allocated staff specifically to look after the families and help them adapt to the intricacies of life in Scotland.

'Instant curiosity'

My job is to film and observe but my natural reaction is to help.

At what point during filming do I point out that there is a key on the side of the corned beef tin for easy opening?

At the supermarket they pick out the expensive four in one cleaning product assuming it does four times as much as the others on the shelf.

They clearly haven't come across the perils of Western marketing before. This time I can no longer simply observe.

When everything is new, you need guidance. One of the volunteers who gives that support is Father Miller.

He says there comes a time when you need to ensure they do not become reliant on outside help.

He says "this would be enslaving them in a different way".

In Africa Justin Kasokota was a preacher and Louvain Luvunzu was a teacher.

The Luvunzu Kasokota families in a Zambian refugee camp 'I love my new life in Scotland'

Both men had considerable standing within the community. In Scotland, both men are striving to improve their English to help them get a job.

Louvain said: "Without the language, it's like I don't exist here".

He sits up late at night with a dictionary learning vocabulary.

Louvain's daughter Gloria is six years old and we witnessed her first day at primary school.

She is the only black child in the school and she is an instant curiosity.

"Does she speak Scottish like us?" asks one boy, trying to catch a glimpse of Gloria.

Surrounded in the playground, Gloria eventually manages a timid "hiya".

She's picked up her first bit of playground slang. Her next words of English are "The farmer's in the den..."

Justin now mows the lawn with his neighbour and hopes to start training as a volunteer with the Red Cross.

Louvain narrowly missed out on a job at a new supermarket. They say they are desperate to contribute. In their own way, they already are.

It has been an immense privilege to share these experiences with the families.

It has forced me to hold a mirror up to Scotland and realise just how complicated life is here.