So, I started this blog just over 4 years ago, and I remember being quite blunt.
And funny. And observational.
Somewhere along the way, I let life sidle in and get in the way and make me a bit more serious. Oh, that.. and having 2kids in 2 years. A bit of a distraction.
So, let me undo my metaphorical librarian-bun, take my glasses off and be a bit sassy for once.
A few things:
1. This country doesn't believe in seasons. No joke. Everything is one giant mush of cloud, rain, wind, cold wind, warm rain, fog. Oh, and sunshine for about 2 days. And maybe some 75 degree weather at the beginning and end of the summer. And maybe in the middle. Whatever.
2. People drive like maniacs, but they do it in a very polite way. New Yorkers, for example, have no problem scraping the side of your car if you get in their way or drive too close (even though their roads are about 6 times as wide as over here). I like driving over here. It feels exciting, unnerving, and... safe. Odd.
3. This country has a lovely sense of tradition and reverence for culture and ceremony. Some people don't agree with it, some modernists call the royals a waste of time and money. But I think that in this day and age where everything is moving so fast and furious, and everything seems new and exciting, tradition is like a comfortable old glove. Secure. Warm. Tangible. And even for a "foreigner" like myself, I get caught up in it and love reading about the lines of royalty and what they've gone through (no matter how ridiculous or scandalous).
4. I miss having family around. I don't very many friends, and no one that I feel close to over here, so my "reliables" are the mister's family. And even then, it's hard to rely on them because they're so busy with their own lives running a business. I do miss my parents. I imagine that (as annoying as it would be) I could call them over to babysit or to have dinner, and they'd only be 30 minutes away. It would be a huge help to take the pressure off sometimes. But that's life at the moment, and we're managing as best as we can without that.
5. My kids are growing up with odd accents. They have a mix of British, American and Ukrainian. Can't wait to see what that's going to be like when they start talking properly.
6. I have a case of the "Madonnas". I have a strange lilt to my American accent, and it sounds pretentious. I don't like it, but it just comes out.
7. I'm SO glad we decided to have kids over here. I had the most amazing midwifery team, healthy food, private cozy room with double bed and flat screen TV, very consistent pre-and post-natal care, no doctors trying to ply me with drugs... the same experience, different hospitals...for both kids. And you know what? I didn't pay for a single bit of it. Not. one. dime. It was all on the (much maligned) NHS. Socialized medicine is THE way to go. Ridiculous America should learn a lesson when it comes to that. Amongst other things.
8. People here LOVE. TO. DRINK. However, somehow they manage to pace themselves, unlike my drinking episodes in NYC that ended up with me passing out at around 12am. Over here, people manage to stay relatively lucid and only semi-drunk even in extreme circumstances like staying out until 6am. It's admirable, and a little bit insane. I like that.
9. The food here is awesome. Most of it is fresh, locally sourced and NO ADDED SUGAR. In the US, I had about 2 cavities a month. It was bizarre, because I didn't eat a lot of sugary stuff as a kid or adult, so it baffled me. And then I come over here, I don't change what I eat or anything, and I haven't seen the dentist in 3 years. Healthy, strong, mouth and no cavities. Why? I've figured it out. In the US, food as added sugar in it. Everything does. Even bread does (and it doesn't need it, bakeries that mass-produce bread use sugar to make the yeast rise quicker). And you can taste it. Everyone in the US is doped up on fat and sugar and salt. It's disgusting. I'm so glad I live in a country that doesn't really do that. Sure, there's some junk out there, but you can very easily avoid it, and most of the stuff that stocks the shelves is good, old-fashioned healthy food. You don't even have to buy organic meat over here, because farming standards are carefully managed by the state and the names of farmers and their farms are printed on the actual label, so you know where your meat comes from.
10. British men are delicious (well, mine is especially). Most of them have manners at a dinner table (they don't pick their noses or lick their knives or burp/fart and think it's funny), they start realising that it's a good investment to buy a house even when they're only 25 years old, they open doors for girls, they buy rounds at the bar and don't let the girl pay, they know how to be polite and gallant in public and they also know how to be filthy/naughty behind closed doors. Mine especially. ;-)
And that, audience, is one of the many reasons I'm glad I'm in this country.
