We signed a contract on Thursday for an English cottage named Oak Cottages, in Bearsted Green, where the very first cricket match took place. We will definitely be learning the game, so that we can play on the big green in the middle of the town, right across the street from our door! There are two pubs, one named the White Horse, and two restaurants. We did manage to find a village that still has a Butcher, Baker and Cheesemonger, and they are famous, WOOT WOOT! Marilyn said the contractor in the cottage was "quite enchanted" with me and Robyn. We told her that of course he would be!
When we went into the office, we were told that we had to pay 8 weeks rent for deposit and first months rent up front. The agent mentioned that only families and couples get the cheaper deposit, 6 weeks rent. I simply asked her what if we said we were a family, and she said, well, are you??? We said, yes, we could be a couple, and then we changed our minds, as we did not want to be known as the new lesbians that moved into the village. Apparently now Robyn, my new roommate, does not want to go to London with me, as she does not want anyone to think we are a couple, SERIOUSLY??? Seriously??
Driving lessons were interesting, stupid wrong side of the road. Do they not realize that Great Britain is the only country that drives on the left??? But the hardest part was not learning to shift with my left hand; and, Dad, Susan and Geoffrey, I managed to make it through the lesson without side-swiping any other vehicles or garbage trucks, and I passed my tutorial, no more tutalage needed! My bad ticks were, surprise surprise, coming in to intersections to fast, i.e. roundabouts are just the most ridiculous thing, and who starts breaking a football field away. Plus, apparently push the clutch in too soon, which makes the car speed up, and you are not supposed to knock the car out of gear until you come to a complete stop....who knew? Giving enough space on the left hand side of the car, even though I left at least a foot, seems to be a priority; I mean really, it's hard enough to judge, and NO, it's not the same as judging the distance from the right side, I was raised that way, and it's ingrained in me! What's with the shuffling your hands on the steering wheel instead of crossing over when turning, safety hazard my a**, but we will fail our driving test if we cross over, seriously......who shuffles their hands!
Cute boy in the Town Centre told us that our accent was "sexy", we responded that we thought the same about the British. Never heard of the southern "drawl" being sexy, but it sure is a nice change of pace. I can actually use warsh, y'all, drawer, etc.; though I've never used any of those except y'all. He told his "mates" that he had found some Americans.
I have my very first British facebook friend, he's the phone man who is trying to help me get a cell phone here. His name is Shaney Pops, and he wants to be a comedian. When trying to sign up for the phone, they asked if we were Canadian or American...seriously, do we sound Canadian. And then Australian, you jest. Shaney Pops told us that he loved us when we left the store, what's not to love, but without phones, because there is a $0.00 balance in bank account, surprise surprise......"Um, Daddy, can you write a check from my account to your account and wire me some money".....already taken care of
Not only did we make a new friend in the phone store, but the poor taxi driver fell in love with us when he had to bring us from the Town Centre, back to the hotel to find a wallet, or "purse" here, and then arond the two roundabouts and back again to get the address of our new home, and then back to Town Centre. Those irritating, obnoxious Americans......
We are already making our mark...
Today was our "cultural" training. All these rules are going to be quite challenging, don't expect any affirmation or validation of your work, really, I always need to be told that I'm doing a great job, even though I know I'm the best (KIDDING!!!!) However, self-starting and telling supervisors how you feel is a "no no". That's going to be hard, my bosses know that I'm not afraid to tell them what the deal is, you know who you are! Pretty ineresting to hear that churches are not that big here, many people don't attend, and a slang saying is they are to "hatch 'em, match 'em and dispatch 'em" HAHA!!!
Headed to London tomorrow. Why is it that everyone back home only associates England with London, it's not the only place here, but that seems to be the only place anyone mentions. I live in Kent, London isn't even a part of Kent....we have Canterbury, like the Canterbury Tales, and several castles, and the only two ports and railstations heading to Europe! Way more important than London :)
XOXO
Pictures to come soon....
Friday, 12 February 2010
Wednesday, 10 February 2010
Blood Pudding, YUCK!!!! We don't really eat that either....
Hello All!
This blog was set up for those of you sad souls that are not on Facebook, but I will most likely be writing more on this site than on there, cause I can tell the hilarious stories of my quirky and ridiculous adventures and situations ("who knows what 'the situation' is gonna do about the situation).
I arrived in London-Gatwick on Sunday morning, safe and sound, at 7:10 a.m. Tried my hardest to figure out the luggage "trolley's" and then loaded my 4 LARGE suitcases, yes large and yes, two weighed 70 pounds, but you try packing nearly 29 years of your life into 4 bags and moving to a "foreign" country! We had been told to meet the driver at the information desk, but there were two parts to this airport, North and South gate. Unfortunately, I was unsure if he was coming to my gate, and I went up the ramp to the outside and realized that I would have to unload my luggage from it's quite comfortable trolley, onto a bus to go to North gate, and then back on to a trolley there. I opted to take my chances with South gate, and luckily ran in to 4 others that were looking for transportation. Then we shoved my 4 large bags, 3 from each of the 4 other females, and 2 from each of the 2 gentlemen into a "9 seated people mover", which here is a "minibus" consisting of 3 seats up front, three in the middle row, three in the back, with a backend similar to that of a minivan. Needless to say, it was some of the most creative car packing I'd ever seen. When we arrived at the hotel, our rooms were not available, so we stayed in the lobby looking like holy hell and waiting to get checked in to our rooms for a quick nap and a "meet & greet" at 6 p.m.
Monday was my biggest "whoopsy" day yet, which was quite embarassing, and so typical. I of course set my alarm on my phone for 7:15 a.m. as I was trying to work myself into UK time, and we were starting with things around 9:30: criminal background check, pension plan, lease car, etc. and then fancy lunch with important executives at 1:00. When my phone rang, I was wondering why I was receiving a wake-up call, as I had not requested one. When I rolled over and looked at the clock, I nearly lept out of bed because the called asked if I had been down to the reception yet, and I realized that it was 11:15 a.m. rather than 7:15 a.m. Damn dark hotel rooms!!!! I had originally only seen the 1, and had thought I was missing the lunch, so thank goodness it was only 11:15, no shower and teeth brushed, hair in pony tail, down to reception by 11:30 to "take care of business." Of course the English are so polite, they just kept asking me if I was okay and feeling alright. So silly of me!
Tuesday was my first venture out of the hotel with Marilyn, my relocation "buddy". She was a delight, and fancy enough to make sure I did not find my way to a house in what the English seem to think is a "rough" area and I call it the norm :) We found a delightful Victorian house near the Town Center of Maidstone, Kent, UK, which is the county city of Kent County. However, one of the other boys, who I will not name, managed to steal the house out from under us, due to the fact that he'd seen it first. THEN, not only did he steal the house, but he took all the noodles at dinner for the spaghetti, and then barely ate any of them....I digress. Saw many cute village towns in the Maidstone area, and found many cute and quirky places, and finally today, Wednesday, ended up with two on a "short lsit" for my roommate, who happens to be a sorority sister of mine from TCU and also in the same program as me in Kent. SMALL WORLD!!!
I have enjoyed my exploring, and have enjoyed more listening to the English speak to one another on their "mobiles". They are so cute, as the majority of the say "byeeee" in this higher toned voice, that just sounds so "sweet". Am somewhat picking up the lingo, and enjoy using it. I also love getting a coffee, and watching others in the group that have not visited before or are unfamiliar with UK cultures come across and hear things that are so different, it's hilarious!
Everyone seems to be very nice, lots of fun, and only a few of the guys are overly dramatic, but that can be expected from many of the men in the social work field, if you catch my drift. NOTICE I said many, and NOT all. We are planning a trip into London this weekend, and expect it will be a fun time.
Tomorrow is driving with a "tutor" and I hear it's going to be hilarious, because they have a break on their side of the car. All kinds of crazy and needed "understandings" that are not part of road signs and research books. More to come!
This blog was set up for those of you sad souls that are not on Facebook, but I will most likely be writing more on this site than on there, cause I can tell the hilarious stories of my quirky and ridiculous adventures and situations ("who knows what 'the situation' is gonna do about the situation).
I arrived in London-Gatwick on Sunday morning, safe and sound, at 7:10 a.m. Tried my hardest to figure out the luggage "trolley's" and then loaded my 4 LARGE suitcases, yes large and yes, two weighed 70 pounds, but you try packing nearly 29 years of your life into 4 bags and moving to a "foreign" country! We had been told to meet the driver at the information desk, but there were two parts to this airport, North and South gate. Unfortunately, I was unsure if he was coming to my gate, and I went up the ramp to the outside and realized that I would have to unload my luggage from it's quite comfortable trolley, onto a bus to go to North gate, and then back on to a trolley there. I opted to take my chances with South gate, and luckily ran in to 4 others that were looking for transportation. Then we shoved my 4 large bags, 3 from each of the 4 other females, and 2 from each of the 2 gentlemen into a "9 seated people mover", which here is a "minibus" consisting of 3 seats up front, three in the middle row, three in the back, with a backend similar to that of a minivan. Needless to say, it was some of the most creative car packing I'd ever seen. When we arrived at the hotel, our rooms were not available, so we stayed in the lobby looking like holy hell and waiting to get checked in to our rooms for a quick nap and a "meet & greet" at 6 p.m.
Monday was my biggest "whoopsy" day yet, which was quite embarassing, and so typical. I of course set my alarm on my phone for 7:15 a.m. as I was trying to work myself into UK time, and we were starting with things around 9:30: criminal background check, pension plan, lease car, etc. and then fancy lunch with important executives at 1:00. When my phone rang, I was wondering why I was receiving a wake-up call, as I had not requested one. When I rolled over and looked at the clock, I nearly lept out of bed because the called asked if I had been down to the reception yet, and I realized that it was 11:15 a.m. rather than 7:15 a.m. Damn dark hotel rooms!!!! I had originally only seen the 1, and had thought I was missing the lunch, so thank goodness it was only 11:15, no shower and teeth brushed, hair in pony tail, down to reception by 11:30 to "take care of business." Of course the English are so polite, they just kept asking me if I was okay and feeling alright. So silly of me!
Tuesday was my first venture out of the hotel with Marilyn, my relocation "buddy". She was a delight, and fancy enough to make sure I did not find my way to a house in what the English seem to think is a "rough" area and I call it the norm :) We found a delightful Victorian house near the Town Center of Maidstone, Kent, UK, which is the county city of Kent County. However, one of the other boys, who I will not name, managed to steal the house out from under us, due to the fact that he'd seen it first. THEN, not only did he steal the house, but he took all the noodles at dinner for the spaghetti, and then barely ate any of them....I digress. Saw many cute village towns in the Maidstone area, and found many cute and quirky places, and finally today, Wednesday, ended up with two on a "short lsit" for my roommate, who happens to be a sorority sister of mine from TCU and also in the same program as me in Kent. SMALL WORLD!!!
I have enjoyed my exploring, and have enjoyed more listening to the English speak to one another on their "mobiles". They are so cute, as the majority of the say "byeeee" in this higher toned voice, that just sounds so "sweet". Am somewhat picking up the lingo, and enjoy using it. I also love getting a coffee, and watching others in the group that have not visited before or are unfamiliar with UK cultures come across and hear things that are so different, it's hilarious!
Everyone seems to be very nice, lots of fun, and only a few of the guys are overly dramatic, but that can be expected from many of the men in the social work field, if you catch my drift. NOTICE I said many, and NOT all. We are planning a trip into London this weekend, and expect it will be a fun time.
Tomorrow is driving with a "tutor" and I hear it's going to be hilarious, because they have a break on their side of the car. All kinds of crazy and needed "understandings" that are not part of road signs and research books. More to come!
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