A couple of kind readers have asked whether I plan to continue my blog. After all, I suppose it was about my life in America, and all the funny things those Americans say and do. And that chapter has now closed.
But my life is still pretty transatlantic. I am noticing all sorts of things about London that I had previously taken for granted. Like how nice the tube smells. I'm not kidding, I really do like it. And how freeing it is to be able to 'jaywalk', as Americans put it. And how they ask you how many bags you want at M&S - which I much prefer to the Gristedes approach of giving you 2 bags for a pint of milk even though you have repeatedly said 'no bag thanks' (must be my accent).
Plus, the whole 'Eastbound' thread is not over yet. We have some adventures ahead, starting, I hope, with TLOML's successful visa application. The process should only take a couple of weeks but given the length of our evidence submission, they may need more time...
When TLOML arrives we will embark on our hunt for a flat with American style amenities: 1 bathroom per person, a waste disposal, draught-free windows, etc. They're not impossible dreams but still rather hard to find in the converted 19th century townhouses of North London.
And then there'll be all the fun of watching TLOML assimilate. Hearing him grumble about the length of swimming pools and the reluctance of waiters to provide tapwater will be entertaining, as will the novelty of him being a foreigner and saying daft things like 'sidewalk' and 'fanny pack'.
Okay, so I haven't really sold it very well. I will be blogging about bureacracy, flat hunting and well-worn language difference cliches. But I will try to make it entertaining. So please, do stick with me...
But my life is still pretty transatlantic. I am noticing all sorts of things about London that I had previously taken for granted. Like how nice the tube smells. I'm not kidding, I really do like it. And how freeing it is to be able to 'jaywalk', as Americans put it. And how they ask you how many bags you want at M&S - which I much prefer to the Gristedes approach of giving you 2 bags for a pint of milk even though you have repeatedly said 'no bag thanks' (must be my accent).
Plus, the whole 'Eastbound' thread is not over yet. We have some adventures ahead, starting, I hope, with TLOML's successful visa application. The process should only take a couple of weeks but given the length of our evidence submission, they may need more time...
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| The 140 pages of evidence attached to our visa application |
And then there'll be all the fun of watching TLOML assimilate. Hearing him grumble about the length of swimming pools and the reluctance of waiters to provide tapwater will be entertaining, as will the novelty of him being a foreigner and saying daft things like 'sidewalk' and 'fanny pack'.
Okay, so I haven't really sold it very well. I will be blogging about bureacracy, flat hunting and well-worn language difference cliches. But I will try to make it entertaining. So please, do stick with me...
I think it should finish on a grand note with a wedding, and roses, and a happy ever after sign :-)
ReplyDeleteI dunno, I think what makes your blog work is that it is about travel and transplantation, not location as such, so as long as you are both still in that process, it's relevant, innit? Plus I always think blogging is best when it's about making the minutae of life significant (realise I sound a bit affected now)
I agree! Once you start you realise how endlessly fascinating it is to write about mundanity. Note I say 'write about', as I suppose it might not be fascinating reading. But yes, as long as I'm in a transatlantic team, on a journey towards settling down, I think there'll be fun material.
ReplyDeleteThe grand wedding will feature... but I suspect it won't be the end, unless TLOML has so fully assimilated by then that he has stopped using amusing Americanisms. Unlikely...