Observations

Here are a few observations we have made about the country/city/people/culture thus far, hopefully they make you smile or laugh and give you some insight into our experience:

- TV is sub-par. Since we are friend-less, at night Big Dubya (go ahead...) and I watch TV. Thankfully, they have American movies (although I think they all are American movies all over the world because who can compare?). We have watched Sliding Doors, part of the Departed, and America's Sweetharts. However, the latter movie was cut short for whatever reason or another and they started the Blair Witch Project. So weird.

- They have an obsession I think with really old Friends episodes and Gilmore Girls. While I love Friends and Wil is beginning to appreciate it more and more (We have seen the Thanksgiving one, the one with that food critic that is high, and the one when Carol has the baby that I may or may not have teared up at in the end, and a few others), I do not particularly care for when they play the same GG episode back to back. I tried to watch it again, but I just couldn't.

- People that know you here (The people who Wil is working for/with) are extraordinarily nice. Really. And sincere. Sincerely nice. That is jolly good.

- We cannot figure out how to walk down the sidewalks. We thought you did as they do when they drive, but every time we try that, someone undoubtedly goes out of the way to go around us.

- the Tube during rush hour is miserable. Positively miserable. It feels like a cattle car. I cannot imagine what it would be like in the summer seeing as the Tube is like 100 degrees hotter than the outside world.

- I don't like Centigrade temperatures. Sure it makes sense that 0 degrees is freezing and 100 is boiling, but I can't convert what 17 degrees is when the weather girl (again, no James Spann) tells me that is the unseasonable high for the day. I thought that meant it was warm, then had to run up to the flat to grab a coat. Is there a Centigrade to Fahrenheit converter calculator out there? If so, I need it. Oh, and the washer and dryer is on temperatures too, leaving me a bit unsure on how hot the water actually is. Ugh.

- Everything here is smaller. Everything. The fridge in the flat we like reminds me of the fridge in my Barbie playhouse. And one of the flats we looked at had a mini-fridge. Like you might have in a dorm room! Really?

- British accents are really nice. Particularly when your son tries to imitate it when he tells you what tube stop is next. I think I am going to practice mine for times when I don't want to stand out as an American (Like if I bump into someone, and say "sorry." If it is British, I think they will forgive me, as opposed to silly Southern drawl that screams tourist, when in fact, I am not.)

- I think I will go to Buckingham Palace when I want to see Americans, or play "Spot the American." (I successfully found an American couple to take our picture that second day. She looked like she might have just stepped out of the Piggly Wiggly, and she smiled congenially to boot!)

- It is fun to look at buildings and be like "Oh that was built before our country was even founded." It puts things in perspective. Or when admiring Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, Wil observes "It is funny to think that when our country was founded 200 something years ago that we hated everything that building stood for." Yep, perspective.

- Bring your "brolly" wherever you go. And I think they should offer a class on how to walk with one. I am concerned that due to my height, the sharp ends will be at eye level of fellow pedestrians.

- Parks are amazing here. This city has the best playgrounds. I think zip lines are the standard. Little Dubya is going to be so spoiled.

- I may or may not practice my accent walking down the street.