Catching up...

Lack of Internet service the past few months kept me from being able to post to this blog, but I did continue writing and am finally able to sit down and post... This should catch us up a bit!

16 Nov 2010

Adjusting and hunting.

Our first two days in country were spent in a bit of a fog as we tried to accomplish as much as possible on very little sleep. I found myself reading on my Kindle and battling jet lag at three a.m several nights in a row. Interestingly enough, jet lag seems to not have affected the children. They went to sleep early the first night and slept for fourteen straight hours. After that they were back to their normal sleep schedules and full of energy. 

On Friday, Steve rented us a cute little “meep meep” car, as the kids like to call it. A Volkswagon Polo. Steering wheel on the right side of the car, Steve got in and started driving it like he’d been born to it. He was very confidently driving from the opposite side of the car, on the opposite side of the road from what we’re used to, and I’m sitting there amazingly impressed. It was only after a few minutes he turned to me and said, “Honey, you cannot tell me enough to stay on the left.” He was more nervous that I thought but he’s only gotten better as the days go by and now has no qualms getting around. I’ve only driven around base and one small foray into a local village, so I’m not quite as confident of my skills. A British friend of mine told me recently to just remember that no matter whether you are in America or the UK, just remember that the passenger is always on the side of the road with the curb. I didn’t want to mention that advice was brilliant except for the fact that I’m awaiting my left side driving car to arrive from the States, at which point that nice tip doesn’t help me. But I am a reasonably intelligent woman who has given birth, flown airplanes, and climbed mountains. I won’t let this next challenge scare me. Not even those dreaded (cringe!) roundabouts. 

So we have wheels! We quickly began exploring the local villages and bigger towns, making appointments to see available homes to rent, and researching schools for the kids. Another big item on our list is exchanging our cell phones and getting UK mobile service, complicated only by the fact that we both have iPhones which must be unlocked in order for us to use them with a new provider. Boring, housekeeping type details but part of the overall process to living here. It seems surreal that we are finally here... We are living in England. Maybe it will feel more real once we have a home to settle in. 

Foggy, frozen morning in Cambridgshire