The Differences

Although I have only been here a short time (not even a month yet) it still doesn't seem as though I live here. It just seems as though I am on a long vacation and that after a certain amount of time it will be time to pack up and go home (not the same I bet with my exchange partner). But one of the things I have started to notice is the subtle yet fun differences in my little life here.

Tea... this is not just a drink, it is an institution. There are entire aisles dedicated to this drink and the condiments that go with this drink (biscuits, digestives, scones, you name it). I have to say that until I reached England I was not a tea drinker, I preferred my heavily loaded cup of coffee with all the frills. I have now crossed over and I am enjoying a cup as I sit here and write this blog. Alison shared with me that tea is a soothing and sympathetic drink and I have found this to be true. Tea is drunk throughout the day whenever, wherever and with just about anyone. I am reminded of the book I read "Three Cups of Tea" and it talks about how the first cup is an introduction, the second cup means your a friend, and by the third cup you are family. I hope to have three cups of tea with many people while I am here.

The Landscape... as most of you know I can tend to be a very talkative person (stop the snickering and laughing). But lately, I don't think you would have recognized me. I sit in the car literally dumbstruck by the landscape and amount of green I am surrounded with as we drive. I am not just talking in the country, I mean everywhere. In Alison's hometown the town hall is covered in baskets of gorgeous flowers hanging from anywhere they can hang them. Outside my front door is a lawn with a garden surrounding it that would make any gardener proud. I have to quote Alison's uncle Peter in saying "The green is easy on the eyes". On sunny days I have to remember that although I think Arizona is one of the most beautiful places in the U.S. that there are so many different types of beautiful, and I have found one of them here in England.

Driving... I am not just talking about the other side of the road (which turned out not to be as much of a problem as I thought it would). I am talking about the differences in the road, rules and general knowledge of what the heck I am doing. First, I have to say that I miss the STOP sign. Here we just "GIVE WAY". As soon as I figure out who's turn it is to "GIVE WAY" I will be a much happier person. This ties in closely to the "roundabout". This concept is not tricky in itself, you simply look right and hope that you can join the mass before you get a rude gesture. I am talking about knowing which lane to join once you get in the roundabout. In any roundabout you can see between one, two or three lanes. Yesterday while driving I got in the wrong one and had to make the circle twice white I eased myself over to the lane I thought was correct (my navigation system was very upset with me over this). I know that this to will come with time, but I am grateful for the two "P" plates (plates that you put on your car to let people know you are a new driver) because it means I only get overtaken and stared at less than a normal driver.

I have included some photos of my new home which I am settling into because my travels (Bristol, Bath, Hereford, Cardiff, Wells, the Black Mountains and others that I am forgetting) are quietly winding down. It is time to go to work and start the idea of living. I have also included a picture of my "Mr. Darcy" which I met outside the Jane Austen Centre in Bath.