What happens when the place you live becomes the ‘norm’?
Your blogs ‘die’, apparently.
‘Your blogs are dying.’ That’s what I got told today.
And I have to ‘step it up a notch’.
I don’t really mind this comment, because it encouraged me to think about something that I had not thought about before. It made me think about life as an expat and how you begin to settle in and just go with the flow and accept things as they are in your host country. When does that transition happen? Six months, a year, 16 months (that’s where we are in our journey).
‘Tis true
The truth is, I can’t really ‘step it up a notch’ right now, because there is nothing to tell you in the world of the UK Desperate Housewife USA that is interesting, different or fascinating whilst living in America. If I did tell you about my ‘normal life’ in America, my blog would read:
Got up, showered, had breakfast.
Took my son to school.
Went to work.
Had lunch.
Did some jobs.
Wrote some stuff.
Picked my son up from school.
Made his tea.
Did some homework with him.
Went to work.
Came back.
Ate my supper.
Put the washing away.
Went to bed.
(Bloody hell, now, that, dear readers is the life of a VERY Desperate Housewife indeed!)
For reference, in case it is of interest, this was my breakfast today.
See……how is that list of chores and daily life different or interesting or a commentary on being an expat in the USA? It’s not, and it is very, very boring for you to read.
Anyway, I write a blog for pleasure and WHEN I encounter something new or interesting or different in America, or I go some place else that offers a new insight in to the vast place that is the USA, I’ll share it, but if I don’t then, don’t worry, you won’t get another list as above!
Being an expat is about this, but more besides, if it crops up….
So, maybe this ‘adjustment’ to your surroundings is what happens when you are an expat and your life in another country starts to become the norm…things don’t seem quite so different and intriguing and unusual.
Sure, things will pop up and they will tickle my fancy or make me wonder, or confuse me or bemuse me, but until then I shall blog as it comes.
Right then, if that is all, I’m off to unload the dishwasher!
Tomorrow, you never know, I might even have my breakfast before I shower – fancy that!
A desperate housewife unloading the dishwasher. Isn’t that fascinating..? 😉
Yes, folks, it has happened. Apparently the UK is ‘doing’ Thanksgiving.
This is the report that came back to me direct from the UK yesterday.
USA Thanksgiving
I don’t get it! Thanksgiving is about American history; it’s not a known part of the British culture. Sure, we can say ‘thanks’ as Brits, and why not do it at a dinner (I like that bit), but in reality wouldn’t it be a bit like the Americans ‘doing’ Guy Fawkes Night? Sure, have a night of burning effigies and fireworks, but it’s not going to be about preventing the blowing up of the Houses of Parliament, is it now….? 😉
Anyway, I’m a little confused as to why the UK is celebrating Thanksgiving, when the idea of it is to celebrate the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians sharing an autumn harvest feast in the USA. And, as I now know – thanks to Kindergarten history – it wasn’t until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November.
Sooooo, allegedly there are Thanksgiving Dinner menus being advertised in restaurants and Thanksgiving paraphernalia in the shops.
Like this little number:
A piece to treasure
And these lovely window stickers…
Just darling!
I suppose for the expat Americans in the UK it’s nice to be able to get your hands on some traditional Thanksgiving stuff or pop out and eat turkey and wot not as part of the celebrations.
But, Tesco, as ever, has catered for all your expat Thanksgiving needs in the UK. It is in no way about making money….
And, if you are in London and need to know where to eat for Thanksgiving, just check this guide out 🙂
So I gave an incorrect response to a colleague/co-worker today who asked me if we celebrate Thanksgiving in the UK.
“No, we don’t have it,” replied I, wishing to also follow-up with a history lesson, but resisting.
Forgive me, dear co-worker. I take it back, because apparently “Yes, we do.”
Just three things
My other half has just returned from the UK and came back with three things:
1. UK Cadbury Dairy Milk
2. An acknowledgement about how small the UK roads are, and
3. A sigh and declaration that now he has returned to the USA it’s ‘back to mandatory tipping’ (followed by another sigh).
Okay, so in the UK schools you have to press a buzzer to get in to the school and there are cameras and wot not and you have to sign in and it’s all very security conscious and, whilst it’s a little bit of a pain, and a shame that it has to be that way, ultimately it’s a good thing.
Well, this week apparently there were some PTA shenanigans going on at one school because some school folks want to put in a security system and some of the ‘moms’ are against it, and some are up for it, and oh my, it’s all Vera Bradley handbags at dawn in the playground.
A blunt picture from the USA media
So, I’ll be honest…I’m a bit shocked that there isn’t more intensive security in the schools. In some of them, you can just wander on in, maybe take a visitor sticker if you fancy it, mooch about, have a nosey in the classrooms, watch the PE sessions, have a sit down in the cafeteria, pull out a gun….
Look, I’m just saying….. And after Sandy Hook, well, isn’t it just right to be a tad more vigilant. So what if it’s a bit of a pain in the arse to press a buzzer and have a security camera. Really. So what if it feels a little inconvenient when you’re dropping your kid off/coming in to help at the school.
There are some things which are far more inconvenient, and which can have much longer lasting effects….
Beer pong and flip cup
I learn a lot of new, very useful and very important things when I hang out with my American mates.
Like ‘beer pong’ and ‘flip cup’.
‘What are these games?’ I enquire.
“Have you never heard of them or played them?’ they reply, aghast.
‘No…’ I reply, trying to recall drinking games we might have played in the UK. I can’t recall many. I think we just drank, because the important thing was to just get drunk.
‘What did you do for fun….?!’ my American chums chortled at me.
I couldn’t really remember….
Anyway, beer pong….
I have been promised that I will be playing this soon 🙂
And flip cup…..
I will, of course, be avoiding the alcohol poisoning 😉
Blagging
The other day I told an American friend that I ‘blagged a ticket’. I felt I owed him an explanation of what that meant: I got a free ticket to an event in a cheeky, harmless way.
Do you use this word, I asked of him. No, we do not, he said.
But…it can also mean:
a) Trickery to obtain something vital or dear to someone, especially information.
(Urban Dictionary explanation: ‘The scumbags blagged themselves everything from televisions to trainers during the riots. One guy even looted some Immodium, after an earlier break-in at Nandos.’ (This last bit is funny 😉 )
b) Thieving, stealing.
(Urban Dictionary explanation: Stephanie blagged herself a free drink by flashing some healthy cleavage to the barman, shaking her arse as she walked away.)
Someone blagged themselves a free pass to something!
Ah, to blag! 😉
Welcome to Clarksville
Two contrasting tales – part 1
Clarksville, MD. Aka, The Bubble.
The area in which I live topped the zipcodes of the USA the other day and one resident spoke about living here in the Washington Post.
The thing that amused me about the article was this very true overview of the area:
‘….Clarksville, Md., [is] a bedroom community midway between Washington and Baltimore where the median household income tops $181,000, more than triple the national average.
‘An astonishing 98 percent of River Hill High School’s graduates head to college. Volvos, Mercedes-Benzes and BMWs are scattered throughout the student parking lot. Even pets get in on the refined tastes of their owners; in a small shopping center near the school, a shop specializing in organic dog food is next door to the organic grocery store.
‘Clarksville sits in one of the nation’s “Super Zips” — a term coined by American Enterprise Institute scholar and author Charles Murray to describe the country’s most prosperous, highly educated demographic clusters. On average, they have a median household income of $120,000, and 7 in 10 adults have college degrees.
‘Although these areas would be considered rare in much of the country, they’re fairly ordinary by Washington standards.’
Ordinary and very, very rich. Not everyone lives like this, obviously.
The land of large houses and more large houses and even larger houses
Welcome to Howard County
Two contrasting tales – part 2
Howard County Homelessness
Now, Clarksville sits in Howard County, and a great county it is too, but a report in the Baltimore Sun read thus (and the numbers shocked me):
In Howard County, 4.6 percent of the population — or 30,800 people — live at or below federal poverty guidelines.
For a family of four, the federal government says their income must be $23,550 or less.
But $50,000 is required for a family for self-sufficiency [in Howard County]. That means an additional 43,000 people in the county need support.
“With the average county home costing $447,000 and a two-bedroom apartment renting for $19,500 a year, “it’s clearly not possible for these families to find affordable housing,” says Deepak Chadha, a volunteer with the Community Action Council of Howard County. “We have distributed 1,140 housing vouchers, but we have 5,200 families on a waiting list.”
Chadha said there are four “big pockets” of need in the eastern part of the county, in Columbia, Savage, Elkridge and Laurel, while the average annual income in western Howard is $181,000.
Homelessness in Howard County
So, there you have it. Wealth and poverty, living side by side in America. A stark contrast that really makes you think.
Wow, that’s A LOT of writing! Hooooorah and smashing and super and brillopads and amazeballs and awesome and yeah and wowsers for me!
How many more chapters can I get written….?!
Blog reading at Barnes and Noble
Well, crowds flocked in for the reading!
Not really! But there were a few, and very fun it was too.
Barnes and Noble Discovery Friday
It was quite amusing as some lovely Brit blog followers turned up, as well as my American chum Tony, and we stood around talking about all sorts of British/American conundrums for a quite a while, until I remembered I was there to read some stuff, so read I did and people passed by wondering what on earth I was wittering on about, and it took me back to the very beginning of our journey here, reminding me of all the funny things and cultural differences that we have encountered… mail boxes, stink bugs, residents’ associations, accents! Ah, America, you are a scream!
Getting ready to read (with HOT tea)
I was definitely capitalising on my British accent today….and how apt that this article on BBC’s Mind the Gap was published this morning! Totally guilty of all this, and more (getting pulled over by the cops…. 😉 ).
The War of 1812 still resonates 201 years later…
A British blog reader, based in Maryland, was telling me he has issue with this War of 1812 in the USA – you know the one…..where we Brits LOST.
In Maryland you are issued with licence plates for your car which state THE WAR OF 1812 proudly above your licence number. For a Brit, this is pretty hard to swallow. WE LOST THAT WAR!!!!!
IN YOUR FACE, BRITS!
So, he told me, every time he gets issued with new plates for his car he uses his old one that does not say this (don’t know what it says but it definitely does not have any reference to a WAR THAT WE LOST!).
JFK Assassination, 50 years
Everyone is the USA is talking about the 50 year anniversary of JFK’s assassination today.
That fateful day in Dallas
The Washington Post reports:
‘From a street in downtown Dallas to the shores of Cape Cod, a somber nation paused Friday to remember John F. Kennedy 50 years after the young, handsome president was gunned down in an open-top limousine.
‘A half-century later, the assassination still stirs quiet sadness in the baby boom generation that remembers it as the beginning of a darker, more cynical time. The anniversary ceremonies reflected that solemnity, with moments of silence, speeches by historians and, above all, simple reverence for a time and a leader long gone.’
The Baltimore Post Examiner staff have put this article together about memories of that day in Dallas about the assassination – if you read anything about it today, read this.
It’s fascinating because it showcases American folks’ memories of where they were and how they felt. Truly, you must read it because they are touching and tender and make you realise how much this event affected a nation…..
‘I felt numb…..
I’d just come back from looking at posted grades from a philosophy class at Miami University. I, along with another student, Ray Fish, Aced it. When I got back to my dorm, several women were in the living room crying. The whole place was muted and solemn and silent. I felt numb, but not as devastated as a lot of people. My father had died suddenly earlier that year and that was truly devastating. Karen DeWitt.’
JFK’s funeral
Cracker/s….another interpretation
So, we’ve gone on about Christmas crackers a great deal. It was brought to my attention that in the U.S. the word ‘cracker’ means something completely different… Bring on Wikipedia!
‘Cracker, sometimes white cracker or cracka, is a derogatory term for white people, especially poor rural whites in the Southern United States. In reference to a native of Florida or Georgia, however, it is sometimes used in a neutral or positive context and is sometimes used self-descriptively with pride.’
“A pair of Georgia crackers” as depicted by James Wells Champney from The Great South by Edward King, 1873
‘There are multiple explanations of the etymology (big word!) of “cracker”, most dating its origin to the 18th century or earlier.
One theory holds that the term derives from the “cracking” of whips, either by slave foremen in the antebellum South against African slaves, or by rustics to guide their cattle. Those white foremen or rural poor who cracked their whips theoretically became known as “crackers.”
‘Another whip-derived theory is based on Florida’s “cracker cowboys” of the 19th and early 20th centuries; distinct from the Spanish vaquero and the Western cowboy. Cracker cowboys did not use lassoes to herd or capture cattle. Their primary tools were cow whips and dogs.
‘The term “cracker” was in use during Elizabethan times to describe braggarts. The original root of this is the Middle English word crack meaning “entertaining conversation” (One may be said to “crack” a joke; a witty remark is a “wisecrack”). This term and the Gaelic spelling “craic” are still in use in Ireland, Scotland and Northern England. It is documented in Shakespeare’s King John (1595): “What cracker is this… that deafes our eares / With this abundance of superfluous breath?” (I like this one, because I love The Bard and he did make up a whole load of words!)
That dude was clever
‘An alternative theory holds that the term comes from the common diet of poor whites. The 1911 edition of Encyclopedia Britannica supposes that the term derives from the cracked (kernels of) corn which formed the staple food of this class of people.’
So, I heard today that there is an event for small businesses in Howard County to promote themselves, particularly in light of the big stores capitalising on the Black Friday retail craziness.
Hoorah for the small businesses!
Saturday 30 November is the date.
Howard County has a surprising number of small businesses and boutique shops, and I frequent a lot of them because they are just lovely.
This is the big store conundrum: I get in my car and I drive to one shop at a retail park, and then I get in my car and drive to the next parking lot and I go to another store in another part of the retail park, and then…well, you get the idea.
The small businesses are where the personality and character are. And you can WALK to most of them, cos they are in a high street or a small complex with other small businesses.
On Black Friday I shan’t be queueing at the big stores – not me! (Actually, I’m working, but that’s besides the point!) I shall make a concerted effort to go and support the small businesses of Howard County on 30 November, and it would be totally brillopads* if other folk would do this too 🙂
*Brillopads – I was asked for an explanation of this word by an American blog reader and I explained it thus: It sort of means totally brilliant in a pseudo posh school girl sort of way. I’m not sure who coined the phrase, but in my head I did…! (I am not sure now if I did – I think I stole it from Miranda on the BBC….!)
FYI, Urban Dictionary gives some less genteel explanations of this word…. 😉
These are also Brillo-pads, but I don’t mean them….
Americans do do crackers (well, some of them and some of them do not know what they are 😉 )
After my post yesterday, some American folk declared: ‘We do do crackers!’ (And one thought I meant crackers like biscuits…)
And they are available in many, many shops, I am reliably informed.
But, some said, ‘Nope, never heard of them or use them or care about them’, as well as, ‘My in-laws in Virginia had never seen them before.’
So, I have concluded thus about crackers: some people in America have heard of them and some people have not.
This is an example of an American Christmas dinner table, using crackers:
With crackers…
Without crackers…..
And there we have it. Crackers for everyone, I say!
What? No crackers at Christmas?! But how do you make each other laugh with terrible, terrible jokes or annoy each other with random facts? How do you not know the joy of wearing a hat that is too big/too small/too glitzy on your head for the entire meal, and then mocking those who are still wearing theirs as they nod off in front of repeats of Only Fool’s and Horses? How do you not know the joy of the ‘bang’ of the Christmas cracker as it is pulled and then the frustration of spending minutes searching under the stuffing and the napkins and Auntie Di’s chair (wish I’d NEVER done that 😉 ) for your really shite plastic toy spider ring that you covet greedily, and unnecessarily, for the rest of the meal.
Anyway, American folk – that’s Christmas crackers, and they rule the UK Christmas table.
I hear that some folk get them shipped in, others have them sent over by family from the UK. (If you want some in the USA, you can get them via all sorts of online Brit stores. Oh, and Target does them too, apparently!)
I don’t love them that much that I shall do such a thing, but really Americans, you are totally missing out on this.
You see, I know that if you got hold of the Christmas cracker, they would become these giant mother f*ckers (sorry, readers, I know no other term for it that suffices) containing popcorn and an iPhone and tickets to a baseball game and chocolate covered candy crowns with sprinkles on, which fall out of a parachute that has Justin Bieber’s face on, and the bang will be like a real gunshot and everyone will take cover under the table and Pop-Pop will call 911 and the PoPo will come round and be like ‘Whaddup here, folks?’, and you’ll be like ‘Oh man, it’s just the Christmas crackers’, and they’ll be like ‘Well, y’all take care now, you hear.’
And that’s what a USA Christmas cracker will be like 🙂
So, dear friends, you must experience that which is the British Christmas cracker….
And this is a much more sane explanation of the Christmas cracker 🙂
American Education Week
This week is American Education Week.
Yes, I will raise my hand and do something helpful in the classroom (but you may regret it…)
Off I popped up to school to do the PE class. Yes, I am good for PE, and much fun was had running around.
The classroom, however, is a whole different ballgame for me, because it is sooo different from British schools, and any British mum will concur with this.
This aside, I managed to stop dead a conversation between five-year old boys discussing the merits of American football teams (Ravens, Steelers and others I have never heard of) by mentioning the word SOCCER.
‘What’s your team?’ they asked.
‘Liverpool,’ said I, a smile flickering on my lips.
They turned their noses up at my silly British gobbledygook and that was that.
I also tried to teach them how to say ‘brilliant’ in a British accent, but they tried once and couldn’t do it and then they got bored with the tiresome British lady.
‘Is that your mom?’ asked one boy of Harry.
‘Yes!’ replied Harry, his face gleaming with pride.
The other boy rolled his eyes and then stroked Harry’s arm in a somewhat sympathetic manner for a five-year old.
And that concluded my interaction with American Education Week.
Martin, pick me!
Lovely Gov. Martin O’Malley’s deputy chief of staff is leaving the administration!
All I have to say to Martin is that I will do it, and you only have to ask, and I will try to fit it in between my fitness stuff, writing, blogging, nutrition programmes, food bank work, PR campaign stuff, being really sociable and remembering I am also a wife and mother 🙂
This Friday, 22 November, at 10am, in between kids’ story time and someone playing the bagpipes, I will be all dressed up like a proper British lady, don’t you know, and reading extracts from my blog, in my best ever I-went-boarding-school-and-yes-I’ve-met-Prince-Charles-and-yes-I-live-near-London-(well, two hours)-plummy-Downtown-Abbeyesque-(upstairs, of course)-British-accent, to an audience of well-to-do ladies wot luncheon and stuff at Barnes and Noble in Annapolis! (Part of their Discovery Friday events.)
Je suis tres excited (that’s Franglais 😉 ). I think it might be filmed, but if not I will ensure pics and at least some video are taken…..
This is a British version of me, in the British rain, doing my British job 🙂
My faithful blog reader, Andy, has chosen extracts for me to read (I will be cutting out the ‘that’s what she said/as the actress said to the bishop’ comments and the profanities, of course!). If you have any favourites that you think should be shared, let me know!
(FYI, Andy has chosen: Hole punch holes; Hot tea/Iced tea; Cider/Hard cider; The Residents Association and the one on Stink Bugs.)
Jingle Bells / Jingle Balls!
America is in uproar! Why? Over this advert/commercial.
Actually, not all America, but some of the uptight folks are. I love it! Hoorah for Jingle Balls!
The newscasters on this show think it’s just a good laugh, and of course it is!
My favourite ‘outraged of somewhere in America’ comment is this:
‘Pretty straightforward here. If you like this video, you have no class. I really don’t see the humor by a group of men banging their nasty hairy testicles together to play a traditional Christmas song. Very poor taste KMART.’
I totally have no class, then….. 😉
The Mobbies results
So, the blogs of Baltimore award show was last night. I could not go 😦
However, it sounded super fun and the results are in!
I am so proud to have come 7th out of so many blogs (38 and 31 in Lifestsyle and Personal Blogs, respectively) that are well-known and read far and wide in the area and beyond, and for a newbie who is pushing her luck with her cheeky comments about the USA, and this area in particular, I am very grateful for all the votes!
I do, I love it! 🙂
Top marks for my friends Mickey and Tom and HowChow for their high rankings and recognition. Good work and well done to all of you, Howard County bloggers!
Okay, so I still have the hots for Martin O’Malley, the [ripped] Governor of Maryland.
And this video explains why…
Reasons I think Martin is amazeballs – despite the crazy tax thing in Maryland, which sucks, and some other stuff that people have told me……but anyway, here is the list (taken from the video, folks).
1. Hell, Martin looks good in a shirt and tie (yes, with his clothes on) and even during times of ‘profound despair’, still he looked hot.
2. Cor blimey, Martin kept his pledge as Mayor and did stuff with stats and measurements and still he looked hot.
3. Well, fiddledeedee, Martin got Maryland measured and got things done and still measured stuff, and still he looked hot.
Forget Presidential Candidate 2016 – Martin O’Malley can run for King of England with this kind of video. He rocks.
🙂
I believe in Rock Gods as President, Martin (tho I also think Hillary should get it cos she’s brillopads and it would be fab to have a Lady-President).
STOP PRESS…! I just got an email from Martin to me! Oh, actually it’s to everyone who signed up to get emails from his team. He wants me to sign Anthony Brown’s birthday card, which I shall (virtually, of course).
Oh Martin, and I thought you wanted to invite me out to measure stuff with you….. 😉
Expat Cuisine Book
Yes, I cooked something and put it in a book!
The Ebook, created by Dan from LiveWorkTravel USA, features recipes from a bunch of expat bloggers in the USA, who created recipes from their home countries with ingredients that are also available in the land of America-ca-ca.
That’s me and other expats on the cover of the Expat Cuisine Book!
What did I create? Well, you’ll have to wait and see!
If you would like to get a copy of the Expats Cuisine Book, leave a message on this contact form about my blog and I’ll send you one over!
I’ve noted that I say ‘Cheers’ a lot. This is a mostly Brit thing. And I think it confuses my American chums on occasion. What I am saying is either ‘Thanks’ or ‘You’re welcome.’
It seems that we Brits use this word on any occasion, covering any meaning from ‘thanks’, to ‘hello’, to ‘no problem’, etc.
Hoorah/thanks etc
My other half talks Cockney a lot (and I do have to sometimes translate on his behalf to the recipient of his Cockney ramblings). He usually follows ‘Cheers’ with the term ‘mate’, even to strangers. For example: ‘Here is your beer.’ ‘Cheers mate.’
Of course, it is also used as a toast accompanied by a clink of glasses or raising of them to say ‘Hooray!’.
Who knew ‘Cheers’ could mean so much?! What a versatile word it is.
WTF is going on with the weather?
Today, it is like Spring. Yesterday it was like a British Sunday in the Autumn. Tomorrow they say it will be flippin’ freezing.
You can’t deny that the leaves are lovely!
Come now, Maryland. Are we in fall or winter or what? (Not that I am complaining about the warm 70 degrees today!)
Thanksgiving
I am about to undertake my second Thanksgiving in the USA.
So, what, dear readers does this mean?
It means people will eat turkey and a lot of other stuff and then queue mindlessly to buy things the next day (Black Friday). Some stores open at midnight on Thanksgiving because there is such a rush.
Is it really all about the shopping? Has the meaning of Thanksgiving got lost somewhere between the Gucci handbag and Tommy Hilfiger underpants bargains?
Hmmmm…….
😉
These Thanksgiving comments amused me….
1. Thanksgiving – another excuse for Americans to spend an entire day eating. 2. Thanksgiving – the one before Christmas, as in “Happy Thanksgiving. This date lets everyone know that Christmas is only one more month away.” 3. Thanksgiving – a turkey’s worst nightmare. 4. Thanksgiving – conveniently situated on a Thursday, meaning most people end up with a 4-day weekend. 5. Thanksgiving – a “holiday” where you have to spend time with your family and act like you’re enjoying yourself, when in reality you are just waiting on everyone to finish eating so you can get the hell out of there.
Shirts are available pre-sale….
Anyhow, I know a lot of people where I live are looking forward to Thanksgiving, and for many it genuinely is a time when people get together and give thanks for what they have and hang out with their families, and wot-not.
And I’m sure I’ll be at our Thanksgiving dinner, raising a glass with a very British ‘Cheers!’ resonating across the table 😉
The air was damp, the skies were clouded over and it felt like, well, it felt like a Very British Sunday.
Plus, I spent the afternoon listening to and talking with a group of expat British women who have been in America for roughly 20-30 years. Two of them came over with their jobs and one arrived all alone at the age of 18 as an au pair – and all of them married American men and have stayed here ever since.
The accents have kind of stayed, though American inflections and sayings intersperse the Britishisms. But when British women get together, they are so….well, so British! You can take the girl out of Britain, but you cannot take out the puns, the way the conversation always ends up about boobs, the amusing crassness and the cheeky chatter. Fact.
You also cannot deny us our afternoon tea and biscuits!
Nice cup of tea
Jammy Dodgers, normal Digestives and chocolate Digestives 🙂
I love to listen to the stories of these ladies’ lives here; their anecdotes; what they miss; how they feel about still being ‘aliens’; and how it is to integrate into a community, but still feel British at heart.
1. Trapped between two worlds – this phrase intrigued me. These women have lived here for so long that their lives are firmly in America and its culture, but sometimes that is just how it feels – you are between two places: one where your life goes on with different opportunities and you become part of something, and the other that is part of your heritage and where your family lives and where their lives carry on.
2. What happens to the kids? The kids are American, yet British. If something happened to your partner out here, would you upsticks and move back to the UK? What impact would that have on the kids? We debated these scenarios today and it’s a heartfelt discussion, let me tell you. Everyone is grateful for their lives out here in the States. But what would make you get on a plane and go back ‘home’ permanently? And where is ‘home’….?
3. Brits are less uptight. Now, an American said this to me yesterday. She said that she thinks that Americans are generally a more uptight nation. Perhaps, about somethings. I think our topics of conversation today might have shocked or bemused some American friends….we Brits are (generally) more frank and open and naughty and rude. It’s just the way we are 😉
I came away feeling like I had had a very British day, and sometimes that is no bad thing in my fast-paced, very American world in America.
ukdesperatehousewifeusa 
Desperate English Housewife in Washington, chapter 303
What happens when the place you live becomes the ‘norm’?
Your blogs ‘die’, apparently.
‘Your blogs are dying.’ That’s what I got told today.
And I have to ‘step it up a notch’.
I don’t really mind this comment, because it encouraged me to think about something that I had not thought about before. It made me think about life as an expat and how you begin to settle in and just go with the flow and accept things as they are in your host country. When does that transition happen? Six months, a year, 16 months (that’s where we are in our journey).
‘Tis true
The truth is, I can’t really ‘step it up a notch’ right now, because there is nothing to tell you in the world of the UK Desperate Housewife USA that is interesting, different or fascinating whilst living in America. If I did tell you about my ‘normal life’ in America, my blog would read:
Got up, showered, had breakfast.
Took my son to school.
Went to work.
Had lunch.
Did some jobs.
Wrote some stuff.
Picked my son up from school.
Made his tea.
Did some homework with him.
Went to work.
Came back.
Ate my supper.
Put the washing away.
Went to bed.
(Bloody hell, now, that, dear readers is the life of a VERY Desperate Housewife indeed!)
For reference, in case it is of interest, this was my breakfast today.
See……how is that list of chores and daily life different or interesting or a commentary on being an expat in the USA? It’s not, and it is very, very boring for you to read.
Anyway, I write a blog for pleasure and WHEN I encounter something new or interesting or different in America, or I go some place else that offers a new insight in to the vast place that is the USA, I’ll share it, but if I don’t then, don’t worry, you won’t get another list as above!
Being an expat is about this, but more besides, if it crops up….
So, maybe this ‘adjustment’ to your surroundings is what happens when you are an expat and your life in another country starts to become the norm…things don’t seem quite so different and intriguing and unusual.
Sure, things will pop up and they will tickle my fancy or make me wonder, or confuse me or bemuse me, but until then I shall blog as it comes.
Right then, if that is all, I’m off to unload the dishwasher!
Tomorrow, you never know, I might even have my breakfast before I shower – fancy that!
A desperate housewife unloading the dishwasher. Isn’t that fascinating..? 😉
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