Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Long Live the Queen

Today marks the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation as the Queen of Great Britain. It also marks the one month anniversary of our migration from the United States to the United Kingdom. I thought I’d mark the occasion by reflecting on just a few of the ways that my life has changed over the course of the past 4 weeks.

1. I drive on the left side of the road.
2. I’ve learned that a few minutes of sunshine is cause to drop everything that you’re doing, grab your pups, and head outside.
3. 2 miles is walking distance and much easier than finding a parking spot.
4. Dog-walking gloves are a normal part of my wardrobe.
5. It’s totally normal for random men to let themselves into my house and garden, so I should always be fully dressed, even when in the shower.
6. ‘There’s no bad weather; only bad gear’ and ‘it’s all about layering’.
7. I am a woman of leisure.
8. 65 degrees in May is considered 'unseasonably warm'.
9. The scenery on our walks and jogs looks like something out of a Harry Potter film.
10. I take Jonathan’s “trousers” to be dry-cleaned, and pay a steep price for that.
11. A pack of sour patch kids costs 7 dollars and is totally worth it.
12. I’ve gone up 4 dress sizes and down 2 shoe sizes.
13. I have to have a license to own a TV.
14. Doing laundry takes all day.
15. I’ve got about 100 amazing hikes within a 60 mile radius of my house.
16. I wear Uggs every single day.
17. It never takes me more than 15 minutes to drive in or out of town.
18. I walk a block to the grocery store when I need a loaf of bread.
19. I eat porridge instead of oatmeal.
20. I usually have to visit at least 2 grocery stores in order to find all of the ingredients I need for a meal.
21. I've got the beach, countryside, and city center all within 3 miles of my house and it's only a 45 minute drive to go snow skiing.

I could easily list a hundred more ways that my life has changed, but I need to go start getting ready for one of those amazing hikes I told you about. Jonathan has the day off for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee so we are taking the dogs hiking with some new friends.

1 comment:

  1. You've completed your first crash course in living abroad. Well done! Sounds like you are learning a lot.

    Hope you are well!

    ReplyDelete