Blogging from Croatia

Hey Everyone...

I am so bad. I haven't posted the Prague blog and I didn't even tell everyone that we were leaving again. We left on the 21st for 5 days in Germany and then flew to Croatia for the remaining 5 days of our vacation. I'm in an Internet cafe in Dubrovnik, Croatia right now and just wanted to give a small update...

I will work really hard to update everything this next week. The G20 Summit is happening in London this week, so I have a feeling I won't be going into the City...although I could probably get some very interesting photos and video!

Check back this week!

2 Years and Counting...

Exactly 2 years ago today, Edgar and I landed at Gatwick airport to begin this crazy adventure. We had no idea what surprises awaited us when we received our first official entry stamp and became true expats. I dreamed many times of what it would be like to see more of the world and experience the many diverse cultures that make up our humanity. I spent countless hours daydreaming about the many significant, beautiful, and truly amazing things I would see. Our "must-see" list was and is far longer than any amount of time here would allow. While we've managed to check quite a few places off our list, I think that seeing one place automatically leads to wanting to see another place, and thus the list just keep getting longer. But I think it would be a sad day if you checked a tick mark and said, "There, I'm done." I think that curiosity should should reside in each of us. Whether it's curiosity about another place, time, people, or whatever, one should always seek to learn something new. I've found that travelling keeps my curiosity alive. When we return from a trip, it only makes me hungry to learn more about the place from which we've explored. I like this quote from Eleanor Roosevelt:

"Life was meant to be lived and curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn one's back on life."

Now, 10 countries down and too many cities to count later, we are still going strong, pinching ourselves to see if it's really real, and making every minute count. We are on our final year, our move back could happen at any time. So today we are off to Prague, Czech Republic. One more tick mark checked and I'm sure at least one more added. Have a great weekend!

The Man Cold

Does it ever seem like a man cold is far worse than a woman cold?



A few translations:
999=911 emergency
Lemsip=one of our cold meds over here
CBB's=the BBC kids channel

Am I an Ugly American?

I try not to be. I'm not loud. I don't put my feet on the opposite seat on the trains (although to be honest, this little no-no is committed by more than just Americans). I don't constantly say, "Well, in the States...(insert implied bigger, better thing here)". I don't get upset when I have to ask for the dinner bill (I've actually decided I like this better than the waitress slapping it down in the middle of the main course anyways). I've even started pronouncing my "t's" when I ask for a boTTle of waTer, instead of a boddle of wader, so that I can be more easily understood.

But I have discovered in the past several weeks that there is one thing about Americans that seem to drive the British nuts, or at least two independent groups of mine and Edgar's friends: Straight teeth. Don't get me wrong. I'm not a fan of the Chiclets, horse teeth ala Hillary Duff. Or the bright whiteness of that designer on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and Ross on that episode of friends when he bleaches his teeth so much they glow in the black light of his date's apartment. But I see nothing wrong with a nice set of straight teeth. I'm quite happy I put myself through 2 years of torture to get my smile. The gap in my two front teeth was so bad, you probably could have done a strep test without me ever having to open my mouth. And when else could you actually decorate your mouth for the holidays. You know, those colored rubber bands they put around the brackets? Orange and black for Halloween, green for St. Patrick's day, green and red for Christmas...don't deny it, you know you did it, too!

So this teeth thing is new to me. I know I have some British readers out there. Tell me what you think. Can you pick us out of a crowd as soon as we smile? Is this a common stereotype for us Americans? Our friends said that the reason they don't like them so much is because all the crookedness and gaps are what gives a person character. Aren't the British the ones who invented "Mind the Gap"? Just kidding...I had to throw that out there.

Now I find myself in a conundrum. I like to smile at people, but now I'm afraid every time I do, they walk away saying mumbling something about Americans and their teeth. But I think I will keep smiling my big, straight-teethed American smile. It's what makes me...me. Just like I've given up on trying to use my eating utensils the way they do over here. I just don't have the coordination to shove everything onto the back of my fork in my left hand and lift it to my mouth. Who knows, I may get so brave that I also begin to wear khaki shorts with white socks and tennis shoes, shirt tucked in with a belt, camera and passport holder strung around my neck, with a baseball cap to keep the sun out of my eyes.

Last Weekend

Hey Everybody!

A little late, but wanted to give some updates on our happenings lately. We had a great weekend! On Friday night we headed down to the riverfront here in Richmond for a dinner at Gaucho Grill. It's an Argentinian steakhouse and they import their beef from Argentina. I just can't get used to British beef, so it's nice to eat a good "imported" steak every now and then. We should get them to import Texan beef...I mean, has anyone REALLY died from mad cow lately? Unfortunately, the sides were decidedly British. I've never seen a Latin eat beetroot salad or rocket with Parmesan shavings, but at least I got a decent steak.

Saturday, we meandered into London for BBQ near Oxford Street. I promise we do other things than just eat around here. Sometimes we just get homesick for familiar food. Bodeans has BBQ that is very tasty and the BBQ sauce is so good. We then walked down Oxford Street to the Marylebone area and checked out a flat we almost lived in. At the time of choosing a place to live 2 years ago, we had no idea of the layout of London and which areas would be the best. After 50 flats, they all started looking the same and most of the time, I had no idea where I was in the city. I just got out of the car when the relo agent stopped and got back in a few minutes later. Well, I have to say, now that I've been here for a while...that flat in Marylebone would have been our definite second choice. The location of Marylebone is central, but not gritty urban with buses and tourists everywhere. We would have been a short walk from literally everything London has to offer. The downfall of the flat is that it has stored heating. This means that a certain amount of heat is stored (don't ask me where) and when it's used up for the day, you have no more heat-for warmth or hot water. I don't know about you, but I cannot in anyway compromise my daily scalding hot showers. It just isn't an option for me. Imagine the horror of visitors taking a cold shower in the middle of winter...YIKES! Also, the front window looked out to a car park (that's British for parking lot) and the kitchen window looked into a conference room of the office building next door. For those of you who have seen our flat and the beautiful back garden (complete with historic horse chestnut tree), you can understand how that location would have been a bit drab for us. We decided if we were to have been here for a year or less, it would have been worth it, but in the end, we are still so happy we have made our home in Richmond. It's very nice to be in the hustle and bustle of the city and then come home to the calm of Richmond. And it's not like we are miles away...it's only 15 minutes!

Sunday...you guessed it...more eating. We met Cata and Seb (her husband) in the Elephant and Castle area. This is where most of the latin population of London live, including many Colombians. You know what this means! We had very authentic Colombian food and we were SOOOOOO happy! You just can't beat a fried sweet plantain! Cata has not been to Colombia (she went to school with Edgar there) in 2 years, so she was in heaven!

So I guess you can say a bit of homesick medicine by way of familiarity filled our weekend. It gave us a good boost and will keep us on track for another couple of months!

Funny Cadbury Commercial

I don't know how these kids kept a straight face. I wonder how much of it is actually the kids and how much is computertized?

The Ting Tings and Estelle at the Brit Awards 2009