Victory is mine! Last night, I was waiting in the train station for Sean to collect my umbrella and rain coat (yes, coat in August) when an Australian lady asked me how to get to Cafe Rouge. Without hesitation I gave her directions. I think this means I have achieved level 3 of localising. (I passed level 2 as I now spell many things with an "s" instead of a "z.") Although I am not at level 4 yet because yesterday a colleague called me out for saying "zee" instead of "zed."
I know, it's all very technical. :)
We've been here over 4 months now. It has gone by so quickly! I have had some homesick moments (mostly related to missing seeing family and friends and eating Tex Mex) but I've temporarily cured them by listening to country music and saying
y'all within the confines of our flat. It really does the trick.
I have also just joined "American Women of Surrey." I plan to attend my first meeting next month- so it will be interesting to see what that is like!
Last weekend, Sean and I enjoyed Saturday night in London with what I like to call "Team ExPat." Kevin, who I met at Economics Camp in high school, and Joana, who I met while studying abroad in Budapest, are both American and also currently in London- so we all met up for a fun night last weekend. I asked Sean to take this photo of us when we happened to be in China Town, but I assure you we didn't spend the night doing uber-touristy things.
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| Representing Texas, California, and Florida... so all of The U.S., right? |
I'm sure you are all wondering how I have gotten this far in my post without mentioning cider. I, too, am appalled. But- don't worry. The Assembly Rooms pub recently ran a Cider Festival. It was a treat! I tried numerous ciders.... but some were only 1/3 pint glasses- so it was responsible. :) Take a look:
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| The red one is Beetroot cider! (Tasted like beet juice with a kick.) |
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While on the subject of food and drink- I am thrilled to say that a restaurant called "Bill's" recently opened in Epsom. It is a small chain, but their food is delish and they have some American-inspired things on the menu...so lots of flavour and juicy meats. The winning item, however, was the PECAN PIE! (Even if the waiter did "correct" me by saying PEE-CAN pie.)
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| Yum |
I feel the need to update you on Chadwick. While he isn't enjoying both Sean and I being out of the flat all day during the week, he has taken to his new catnip frog toy we bought him in Wimbledon. We often find him snuggling it while napping, which is truly the cutest thing.
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| All together: Awwwwwww |
Perhaps the greatest discovery we have made recently is that if we go up to Epsom Downs, which is a 3 minute drive or a 15 minute walk- there is the most phenomenal view of London. Sean and I are both thrilled that this is something we can see as often as we like (or when it is not a really cloudy day.) As we are used to taking the train in to London- we perceived the distance to be greater- but when we saw this- we likened it to standing on the top of the IAH parking garage (where Joe Pliszka always parks) and looking at Downtown Houston. It's crazy to think how close we are to London (and how quickly we could be there if we had the U.S. interstate highway system here.) The following photo isn't one we took (we only have our phone cameras) but it does a good job showing you the view we saw!
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| The view of London from Epsom Downs |
I am hoping this means you are all coming to visit soon! :)
We are in the process of planning some trips, ourselves, to see other parts of England. We really have no choice, as we have more vacation time than we are used to! We have a few ideas so far, one of which is The Cotswolds, as Aunt Judy sent us an article which whet our appetite for a Cotswolds weekend! Looking forward to blogging about that!!
Before I go, I do want to leave you with a video. Three weeks ago, Sean and I were at a pub quiz on a Monday night. It wasn't a holiday or special occasion- so imagine my surprise when I looked out the window of the pub and saw this in the parking lot:
Yes, that is Morris Dancing. Hope that tides you over until we share another dose of England from our perspective!
