Since our first arrival in Oxford, life has just been brilliant!
I found a permanent job working for the English branch of TripAdvisor three months after we arrived. I have loved every moment there and have made really good friends.
Ben continues to work at Avis on weekends and holidays, but his main focus is school, school and more school. Can you believe that he is now starting his THIRD year! His first day feels like yesterday, and yet he is half way through being done!
We have grown to love our little flat on Osney. The Winters are cold and damp, but the look of Oxford covered in snow makes it all worth it. The Summers are humid but the River Thames brings the best wildlife and greenery; it makes for a perfectly quaint and English scenery. And English food is not as bad as everyone says, in fact, we really prefer it over American food.
We now say holiday instead of vacation, mobile instead of cell, and we talk in Celsius and read time the European/military way. We love our half-American-half-British ward and have made so many wonderful friends. We are still living the poor-married life, but tight ends of the month are now in Pounds instead of Dollars. So apart from the constant need to put everything in a crust, the ridiculously high taxes and the constant Health Care scandals, England Rocks!
It has taken me two full years to accept that living in England is now our life, that I am not giving up on my home, the States. But I am there now and am loving every bit of it.
I feel that our life is at a shifting point at the moment. There are many reasons for that, but a huge part of it is because I am about to make one of my all time dreams a reality. Yes people, I got accepted at Oxford University and start the Social Anthropology Master's program this October!
This feels like the start of a new beginning for us. So I hope this blog can follow us on this journey and that it will see many more changes and successes. I hope it can help us see how grateful we should be for all the blessings Heavenly Father throws at us, and that it can help us feel closer to friends and family. Do you want to come along?
Things are going well here. Last week was pretty busy with Ben's Induction week, but everything went well. I also got in touch with Carewatch and will officially start my training next Tuesday. I am excited! This means that this week is already my last week working at Oxford Brookes. I know it seems crazy not to continue on with this job since it pays better and I would get to see Ben all the time, but I really feel that I should go with Carewatch, so I am...I think that I will find it challenging, but I have really been wanting to volunteer or work somewhere I can help somehow.
Besides that, not much. The weather and city have been beautiful. Ben is on his second day and things are going well thus far. We looked at his schedule last week and I had completely forgotten how CRAZY they are here when it comes to school. It is going to be A LOT of work! I think that Ben is going to be well-prepared though...He is really happy.
We finally got approved to get REAL phones on Saturday, which is good..It was getting too expensive. And no, believe it or not, we still do not have the Internet. It is getting really frustrating, but we are working on it. The good thing is that we at least have a TV now, and no, we don't have to pay for the basic channels, for now at least...
The "Island" we are on is not really an island. We are surrounded by water but there are bridges everywhere so you don't even realize you are on an island. It is hard to explain.
Lifestyles are similar to the U.S. in many ways here. People work, not as much but still a lot, they have families the same way, they go to school the same..but the environment is different. You are taxed quite a bit but don't pay a penny for health care, and welfare is great. Everything is a lot smaller, but there are lots and lots of parks everywhere so people get to be out quite a bit. And there are a lot of cultural activities where we are. The way things look are very, very different too. It is all so old and has a lot of character. So far, I can say that Britain is the European version of the States...if that makes sense. I love it!
Our week has been normal, which is great since it has not happened in a LOOOONG time. We got a good deal on a second-hand TV and picked it up on Saturday. It was the TV from a local Organic Deli. We'll have to go, the cakes looked awesome! (By the way, they call cake "pudding" here). On Sunday, I really did not feel good so we rested and watched the 9/11 ceremonies. It was so sad....
And then Ben started work at AVIS on Monday. He has really been enjoying it. It's not surprising though. He gets paid to be surrounded by guys who like to joke, to talk cars, and to drive cars. He is going to be a pro at driving on the other side in no time! Plus, the place is so close to our house that he only has to cross the street to get there. I can't wait for you to see where we are. It's actually an island and has house boats, duckies, swans and trees everywhere. Actually one of his co-workers lives on one of the house boats right behind the AVIS store!
Besides that, I am still happy where I am. I am trying to see when my other job will start. They have one week of training next week, but I might not be able attend because I need to give at least one week notice to my current employer. So I am waiting to see if there have another session later. I just hope they won't change their mind about me working for them...
Next week is Enrollment and Induction for Ben. He's basically going to enroll for his classes, get a schedule, go around campus, meet his assigned adviser and teachers, and just find out about the whole program I think. I am soooo excited (even though I am not invited), Ben is not.
Everything is good here. We have busy days everyday, trying to get a life together. Bank accounts, phones, Internet, taxes...etc. Plus, we are spending a lot of time and energy trying to find jobs. I hope something will work out soon. We have down and frustrating moments, but we are confident.
Besides that, not much. We hope to get Sweet Pea back soon. They should get the results back today or tomorrow, and if it's negative, they'll just have to clear her through customs and we can take her home. It's seems like we have not seen her in decades. So much has happened in two weeks that I feel we've been here for months already!
Thank you so much for all you help. We could have never made it without you. And it's NOT an exaggeration. We miss you all so much. We could really do with a mom to reassure us right now. But I guess that's what adult life is all about.
Hey everybody,
Today is our first day in our studio flat, as they say it here. We have spent the day carrying all our belongings between the Guest House and our place. We took the bus three times! Luckily the weather was nice. We have also gone to buy the few things we needed, and could afford, to survive for a while, like plates and cups. That only took two trips...We know our way around town that's for sure. And that is NOT thanks to the bus drivers' help. I think that one of the main requirements to become a bus driver here in Oxfordshire MUST be to resemble one of the Harry Potter goblins....I mean emotionally of course. Pretty cranky people they are!
The place is small and it smells funky to me, but it's ours. But as we say in French, "Better a small place that you can call home, than a space in someone else's house." We were so happy when we got the keys today!
After that we went to get something to eat, and tomorrow we are going to get REAL groceries. We have a fridge now. Well most people in the States would rather call it a sort of "big cooler." Now I remember why Costco would never make it here.
Otherwise I keep sending out my resume everyday. I have had a few emails back; they said they would keep in touch soon. The hiring process is quite formal here but I am very positive.
Well, wish us good luck, we are about to sleep on a bed made out of sheets and pillows. Pray for our backs! Pleeeaaase...
This is the first email Ben sent to his parents after our arrival:
We made it into the country just fine. Sweet Pea was not so lucky. So, she is in the customs holding area of the animal reception center at Heathrow.
Other than that we hit HEAVY traffic getting into california and it took us about 13 hours with about 5 of those being at a crawl. We finally got there, the room in California was nice but was in the ghetto so it was a little bit scary even for a big tough guy like me but it was ok. Pat and Sylvie missed their flight due to the fact that the airline sold pat's seat and by the time they got her a new one the plane was gone. I got stopped by LAPD in the airport
and questioned briefly about what I was doing but was able to weasel my way out of getting cuffed. The good thing about Sylvie and Pat missing their flight was that they were able to hang out with us until our flight left. They watched our luggage while Charlotte and I went to go drop off Sweet Pea, which helped because we would have had to carry all of our luggage somehow onto a taxi and to the World Cargo center. So, the flight went well and we got here a few hours before Pat and Sylvie got in. We found out about Sweet Pea and got the car and took a load to Oxford.
The country is beautiful and the weather is gloomy but nice. Got Pat and Sylvie and went to dominos pizza for dinner. All and all it took up the whole of the day to go to the airport twice. Today, the 17th of August 2011, we went and returned our car then got cell phones so we could start looking for places. Of course the only thing that we could get were some cheap prepaid phones until we open a bank account and build some credit. Went to the bank but can't open an account until we have a real address. We ran a few other errands and got rained on, a common occurrence I hear around these parts. The guest house here is nice and they give us a full-english breakfast each morning (just think of anything that will give you a heart attack and put it together on a plate). So, we just heard from the customs people and they basically said that we have no choice in the matter that Sweet Pea cannot be released until the correct test is done and the correct undisclosed amount of time has passed. So, basically we can't have our bird back and the queen wants more money. I can really understand why we got rid of these red coats back in 1776. We are still upbeat despite the setbacks thus far and are excited to be here. We are going to call the Bishop here tonight and keep looking for a permanent place to live. We are grateful to be here in this beautiful country and Oxford is even better than london. Driving was a unique experience that both Charlotte and I will never forget (nor will a few unfortunate drivers in a couple of those roundabouts). We thank you for your support and prayers and will talk to you later.
Ben
A bit of a nightmare really! But I am glad we made it.
