A Year in Review (with lots of pictures)

A few days ago I got an email about things we have coming up for the girls in the world o' Girl Scouts and it hit me that it is almost the end of January. That kind of caught me off guard. And then I realized that a year ago right now we were getting everything ready for the movers. In fact, Friday will be 1 year to the day that the movers came to pack up our stuff and ship it across the pond.

That just blows my mind. This year went by fast. So in honor of that, I thought I'd look back over the last year - the good, the bad, and the crazy.

A year ago, we said goodbye to Florida - our home (for better or worse) for the last 9 years. It was bittersweet knowing it would be a while before we were back again.

We watched movers come and wrap, box, and generally pack up every single thing we owned and said goodbye to our home.

We moved through 4 different hotels (one of which I was pretty sure hadn't been cleaned or occupied since 1973 and was prime real estate for very bad things to happen). And then we eventually said tearful goodbyes to our friends and family, and the friends who had become family.

We boarded what would feel like the longest plane ride in the history of ever...

...And came out feeling very tired, a little grumpy, and pretty hungry.

We were more tired than I thought was humanly possible. And spent almost a week trying to teach our bodies that 3 or 4 am was most definitely not bedtime....

We learned to drive on the left side of the road (and the right side of the car) and figured out that "mind the ditches" was serious business.

We tried very hard to understand everyone because even though we're all speaking the same language, it just didn't feel like it. We were appreciative of the locals who were patient with us when we asked them to repeat something at least 3 times, and then still weren't sure what they were saying.

We learned to negotiate a whole new school system & got the kids enrolled in what has become the most amazing educational opportunity for them.

We explained to them that things were different here, and if they ever had a problem (like getting lost) to find the nearest military building and tell an adult they needed help. It was a conversation I would later regret when, on their first day of school, I was a few minutes late getting to their bus stop, they panicked and went to the BX where the base cops were called.  

After many painstaking hours on the phone with British letting agents (aka realtors) we found a house. One that I fell in love with and was 100% positive was perfect. ....Well, until the utility door fell apart the night we moved in, and the upstairs bathroom started leaking 2 weeks later. And realized that we were sharing our house with hoards of roly polies and spiders. LOL

We learned to enjoy the pub with all the crazy that goes on there, especially during football (aka soccer) season. And we also learned you don't order hamburgers here unless it says the meat is "certified beef".....Yeah....

We have explored our local area...

...And found out all about market days.

We learned that it is a lot colder here than it was in FL. We learned that jackets, coats, and windbreakers are not interchangeable. And you will need all 3 of them living here. And wellies (aka rain boots), we can't forget those. They are a must as well.

We also learned that umbrellas in the States are much larger than here in the UK, and Brits don't really appreciate them at all.

We had our first snow...followed quickly by our first snowball fight and first snowman.

We learned that the British tube (or subway) is no joke, and always wear good walking shoes in London.

And here we are a year later...

We have become accustomed to the local accents (though I still don't understand Brummie or Scouse at all). We don't even have to ask people to repeat themselves anymore. In fact, we're so used to the British accent it's surprising when we hear American ones. We are even getting used to the different words they use.

We have learned that trainers are really tennis shoes (or sneakers, whichever is your preferred word) and plimsolls are athletic shoes. That lorries are delivery trucks, and jugernauts are really 18-wheelers. A breakfast sandwich is a biscuit (to us), while a biscuit (to them) is a cookie. Chips (to them) are actually french fries, while chips (to us) are called crisps. A chemist is a pharmacist, and a solicitor is a lawyer (well, I actually learned that one in a book). Queing up means to line up. A dust bin is really a garbage can and a skip is a dumpster. And it is illegal to "fly tip" (which means leaving large items on the side of the road for the refuse pick up...or trash day really...you know like we do on State-side bases LOL).

We have gotten used to the cold, even though I never thought we would. When we first got here, it was not uncommon for us to have on 2 or 3 layers of clothes and our "FL coats". And now, a year later, we are fine with a short sleeved shirt and a jacket (and sometimes sandals) when it's 37 degrees outside, though we don't actually do that often.

We have learned to automatically convert the price of something from pounds to dollars in our head, so we're not shocked by our bank statement every month.

We have met new people and made new friends, some who have already become family.

We have learned to love the differences. We're a third of the way through this tour, with no way of knowing where we'll be headed next, and that's kind of scary. There's still so much to see and so much do. The sad(ish) part is how much we miss everyone. The time difference sucks, and the price of airfare sucks. But as with so many other things here (like internet speed and cell phone services), we're learning to deal with it.