"Hatch 'em, Match 'em & Dispatch 'em"

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....