[Sian's bit]
In the UK I hate enormous cars. The take over the over busy roads, they are generally driven by people who think they own the road and they pollute the environment. In America however it seems perfectly fine to have bought this monster of a car!
Not only will it seat 7 people it also has room for 7 peoples worth of luggage. Perfect for when we have visitors and also upcoming road trips to Yosemite in November and Disney in Feb which were the primary reasons for buying it. It is very old and a bit battered but as long as it lasts us for 2 years it can then die in a heap on the roadside and that's absolutely fine.
Phia and T absolutely love it, mainly because they can actually run around inside in. It brings back memories of playing house in my grandparents campervan as a kid. I'm sure if I put their plastic kitchen and the potty in it they can do the same thing! I keep thinking back to my time travelling round Oz when I had a job working in a youth hostel. As well as my duties of cleaning toilets, selling people trips they weren't really that interested in doing and skiving off work wherever possible to swim in the pool or go to the pub, I also had to drive a 15 seater minibus to collect people from the airport. I managed to do this for 3 months without an accident. Yes the Australians do drive on the right side (by that I mean left side) of the road but surely if I can do that then I can master the Grand Dodge Caravan. Only time will tell!
So, we now have the American style house and the large American car to go with it. Some aspects of America (or Northern California I should say as America is a big place) are becoming fairly commonplace. Seeing a palm tree no longer reminds me of being on holiday, I never think to take a jacket anywhere (apart from San Fran which is cold - so glad we don't live there), the sound of cicadas chirping as we go to sleep has become very familiar (although Phia still makes us put a fan on outside her door as she claims they keep her awake), waiting for 5 minutes at a left turn red light no longer sends me into a complete rage and seeing possums in the garden no longer sends me into hysterics. Living on one floor continues to suit us really well. This house is something we would never have chosen on our initial house hunting trip and yet my rash and overly emotional decision to move at a moments notice has paid off as it is home and even with its drawbacks we all really like it.
So have we been swayed by the American way of life. Not really! The kids are still obsessed by the American flag as it really does fly in every street and on many buildings. They both do 'stars and stripes' spotting on every journey. The fact that they know the American flag so well and not the British one is something I feel the need to correct. I have shown Phia the Union Jack and St Georges Cross (both of which she refers to as the flags of Cambourne!) but she always ends up saying 'but stars and stripes is our flag now mummy'! Nooooo. Its funny as I've never felt overly patriotic about being British but I do now (even with whats going on at home at the moment). Phia came home from preschool the other day and said ' mummy, would you like me to show you how to pledge allegiance to the flag?!' - it makes me feel very weird to know she is doing this and I'm not sure I like it.
I have to say though that both Phia and T's accents remain resolutely English. Lots of people told me that their accents would be one of the first things to change and so I thought this might have happened by now but it really hasn't. Apart from Phia calling us 'Hey. you guys' and everything being 'super cool' she now sounds like she comes from Bedford (dropping her t's) and T sounds like he's from the West Country. Its weird! I'm pretty sure that over a couple of years here their accents will change but I wonder how much. I wonder too, when we eventually go home, will the kids feel British or American? I'm not sure I want to know the answer!
As well, its not just my random fear of American flags that doesn't sit easily. There's still the old moan of driving round here - my god they neeeed some roundabouts. I've stop being frustrated because it gets you nowhere but even so. Steve thinks the driving round here is really funny and likes to show people his 'European' driving (which basically means tearing away at traffic lights leaving everyone else for dust and pushing in queues at the last minute). There's also shopping without getting hassled (virtually impossible). Even in supermarkets you can't browse because they minute you look like you're not quite sure what you're looking for someone is by your side 'can I help you ma'am?' Just walking down the aisles sometimes someone will just pop up from nowhere 'did you find everything you were looking for ma'am?. Its like being in Dixons when every staff member wants to sell you the 40 inch plasma TV! And generally I'm deciding which can of tomatoes to buy! Not knowing brands well I just want to explore the options (on my own!) and I find it really irritating. I'm afraid the British way of being left well and truly alone (even when you wouldn't mind some help!) ultimately wins for me.
Homesickness over the past 4 months for me has been like an illness and one that I was completely not expecting to hit me so hard. I never though we would come here and 'become American' but nor did I think it would be such a completely different way of life. It is a life now that gets a little easier as the days pass. We've had a great weekend. met up with friends and met some lovely new people. Today we have had a fabulous day playing at a friends house in the morning and having friends over to ours in the afternoon. But things do bring you back to earth with a bump. We went to a BBQ at Steve's bosses house and the kids and I met some of his work colleagues one of whom had a little girl of Phia's age. They played beautifully together for the entire evening and both cried when it was time to leave. But it transpires that Phia is desperate to see this little girl again 'because she looks just Lily mummy, she's got the same hair and everything'. Yesterday was also a bit of a sad one for me as my good friend Clare went home to good old Blighty. She came out for 3 months to decide whether she wanted to make the move out here and has decided not. I totally understand her reasons but I'll miss her lots.
Still things do change all the time, especially out here. As Kanye West says 'that that doesn't kill you, will only make you stronger' (Well it possibly was someone else that said this first but the sentiment is there!)
[Steve's perspective]
In the UK, I love enormous cars. They make a very nice noise and if we plant enough trees and stop the Beckhams flying to and from Los Angeles every week I think the environmental impact can be considered marginal. However, I think minivans are the scourge of the earth. They're usually a normal saloon car with a huge heavy body bolted to the top and are driven by observationally-challenged 'soccer moms'.
I can't quite believe Sian talked me into buying one of these monsters but secretly I quite like it. It's got a nice engine and I can just put my bike in the boot without rearranging the seats or anything. Sure it's got its problems - the passenger door and window don't open; the windscreen wipers come on randomly and considering the state of the bodywork, the previous owner most definitely came into the observationally-challenged category. Sophia and Tommy love it though so it's fine by me. Sian and I have an agreement that the next car we get has only two seats and no roof. Well, kind of.
Other than that, work's good and I've not been killed cycling to and from yet which (I think) Sian considers a positive. S and especially T love the weather. Tommy is at the terrible twos stage but in fairness to him, he's not as stroppy as I remember Sophia being at that age. He's got more questions in his head than there is time in the day and he's delightful when he's joining in with the family sing-songs in the traffic queues. Sophia is growing up into a little girl and is able to carry pretty sophisticated conversations about the moon or travel or whatever else piques her curiosity.
Maybe the only thing left is to keep Bolton where they are now!
In the UK I hate enormous cars. The take over the over busy roads, they are generally driven by people who think they own the road and they pollute the environment. In America however it seems perfectly fine to have bought this monster of a car!
Not only will it seat 7 people it also has room for 7 peoples worth of luggage. Perfect for when we have visitors and also upcoming road trips to Yosemite in November and Disney in Feb which were the primary reasons for buying it. It is very old and a bit battered but as long as it lasts us for 2 years it can then die in a heap on the roadside and that's absolutely fine.
Phia and T absolutely love it, mainly because they can actually run around inside in. It brings back memories of playing house in my grandparents campervan as a kid. I'm sure if I put their plastic kitchen and the potty in it they can do the same thing! I keep thinking back to my time travelling round Oz when I had a job working in a youth hostel. As well as my duties of cleaning toilets, selling people trips they weren't really that interested in doing and skiving off work wherever possible to swim in the pool or go to the pub, I also had to drive a 15 seater minibus to collect people from the airport. I managed to do this for 3 months without an accident. Yes the Australians do drive on the right side (by that I mean left side) of the road but surely if I can do that then I can master the Grand Dodge Caravan. Only time will tell!
So, we now have the American style house and the large American car to go with it. Some aspects of America (or Northern California I should say as America is a big place) are becoming fairly commonplace. Seeing a palm tree no longer reminds me of being on holiday, I never think to take a jacket anywhere (apart from San Fran which is cold - so glad we don't live there), the sound of cicadas chirping as we go to sleep has become very familiar (although Phia still makes us put a fan on outside her door as she claims they keep her awake), waiting for 5 minutes at a left turn red light no longer sends me into a complete rage and seeing possums in the garden no longer sends me into hysterics. Living on one floor continues to suit us really well. This house is something we would never have chosen on our initial house hunting trip and yet my rash and overly emotional decision to move at a moments notice has paid off as it is home and even with its drawbacks we all really like it.
So have we been swayed by the American way of life. Not really! The kids are still obsessed by the American flag as it really does fly in every street and on many buildings. They both do 'stars and stripes' spotting on every journey. The fact that they know the American flag so well and not the British one is something I feel the need to correct. I have shown Phia the Union Jack and St Georges Cross (both of which she refers to as the flags of Cambourne!) but she always ends up saying 'but stars and stripes is our flag now mummy'! Nooooo. Its funny as I've never felt overly patriotic about being British but I do now (even with whats going on at home at the moment). Phia came home from preschool the other day and said ' mummy, would you like me to show you how to pledge allegiance to the flag?!' - it makes me feel very weird to know she is doing this and I'm not sure I like it.
I have to say though that both Phia and T's accents remain resolutely English. Lots of people told me that their accents would be one of the first things to change and so I thought this might have happened by now but it really hasn't. Apart from Phia calling us 'Hey. you guys' and everything being 'super cool' she now sounds like she comes from Bedford (dropping her t's) and T sounds like he's from the West Country. Its weird! I'm pretty sure that over a couple of years here their accents will change but I wonder how much. I wonder too, when we eventually go home, will the kids feel British or American? I'm not sure I want to know the answer!
As well, its not just my random fear of American flags that doesn't sit easily. There's still the old moan of driving round here - my god they neeeed some roundabouts. I've stop being frustrated because it gets you nowhere but even so. Steve thinks the driving round here is really funny and likes to show people his 'European' driving (which basically means tearing away at traffic lights leaving everyone else for dust and pushing in queues at the last minute). There's also shopping without getting hassled (virtually impossible). Even in supermarkets you can't browse because they minute you look like you're not quite sure what you're looking for someone is by your side 'can I help you ma'am?' Just walking down the aisles sometimes someone will just pop up from nowhere 'did you find everything you were looking for ma'am?. Its like being in Dixons when every staff member wants to sell you the 40 inch plasma TV! And generally I'm deciding which can of tomatoes to buy! Not knowing brands well I just want to explore the options (on my own!) and I find it really irritating. I'm afraid the British way of being left well and truly alone (even when you wouldn't mind some help!) ultimately wins for me.
Homesickness over the past 4 months for me has been like an illness and one that I was completely not expecting to hit me so hard. I never though we would come here and 'become American' but nor did I think it would be such a completely different way of life. It is a life now that gets a little easier as the days pass. We've had a great weekend. met up with friends and met some lovely new people. Today we have had a fabulous day playing at a friends house in the morning and having friends over to ours in the afternoon. But things do bring you back to earth with a bump. We went to a BBQ at Steve's bosses house and the kids and I met some of his work colleagues one of whom had a little girl of Phia's age. They played beautifully together for the entire evening and both cried when it was time to leave. But it transpires that Phia is desperate to see this little girl again 'because she looks just Lily mummy, she's got the same hair and everything'. Yesterday was also a bit of a sad one for me as my good friend Clare went home to good old Blighty. She came out for 3 months to decide whether she wanted to make the move out here and has decided not. I totally understand her reasons but I'll miss her lots.
Still things do change all the time, especially out here. As Kanye West says 'that that doesn't kill you, will only make you stronger' (Well it possibly was someone else that said this first but the sentiment is there!)
[Steve's perspective]
In the UK, I love enormous cars. They make a very nice noise and if we plant enough trees and stop the Beckhams flying to and from Los Angeles every week I think the environmental impact can be considered marginal. However, I think minivans are the scourge of the earth. They're usually a normal saloon car with a huge heavy body bolted to the top and are driven by observationally-challenged 'soccer moms'.
I can't quite believe Sian talked me into buying one of these monsters but secretly I quite like it. It's got a nice engine and I can just put my bike in the boot without rearranging the seats or anything. Sure it's got its problems - the passenger door and window don't open; the windscreen wipers come on randomly and considering the state of the bodywork, the previous owner most definitely came into the observationally-challenged category. Sophia and Tommy love it though so it's fine by me. Sian and I have an agreement that the next car we get has only two seats and no roof. Well, kind of.
Other than that, work's good and I've not been killed cycling to and from yet which (I think) Sian considers a positive. S and especially T love the weather. Tommy is at the terrible twos stage but in fairness to him, he's not as stroppy as I remember Sophia being at that age. He's got more questions in his head than there is time in the day and he's delightful when he's joining in with the family sing-songs in the traffic queues. Sophia is growing up into a little girl and is able to carry pretty sophisticated conversations about the moon or travel or whatever else piques her curiosity.
Maybe the only thing left is to keep Bolton where they are now!
