Time to Go

The time has come my friends that we will be moving back to the States. We were hoping to leave with the Olympic athletes of 2012 but now for economic and employment reasons, it is best to move along. We will be back in the U.S. by the 26th of April at the latest but it might be sooner depending on how quickly we can get rid of our household goods. We only have a few things of substance and then a lot of IKEA furniture. How do we feel about it? Well, it’s bittersweet. We aren’t moving to a place we’ve lived before, but out west to Utah, so the unknown is once again there. I know the next few weeks will be rushed and full of to do lists and all I really want to do is wander through London until we leave and prepare to say goodbye to a city I so dearly love. More later on what we’ll miss and what we’ll welcome.


What will become of J in the UK? Will it become J NOT in the UK, J in the USA, or just fade away? I was talking to a friend the other day about the move and that was one of the first questions she asked.  I love you Meg!

She's Dreading France Now

As A watches our exchange guest struggle to understand English she is starting to freak out about going to France and staying with his family.  In true dramatic fashion she keeps saying "I'm gonna die there".  Unless the family puts her through a death-defying obstacle course I kinda don't think that will happen, and after the stress of this visit, SHE IS GOING.

Yesterday they went ice skating with a few of her friends and their exchange guest.  Ours had never been ice skating before so he liked that.  I then took them to the chippy for dinner (fish and chips shop).

Today it's a Thai lunch and bowling with two other friends and their exchange students.  Our exchange has not even seen H yet due to his work schedule so he'll get to meet him today.  H is going to make a Sunday roast dinner while we are gone.

If You're Wondering...

why the top pic in this blog keeps changing it's because I've been going through the pics I have taken since I've been here and there are so many that I love.  I thought it woud be a fun way to share some of those either again or for the first time.

This is Awkward

I imagine hosting a student for a week that’s part of a group of students visiting is different than hosting a student travelling alone who will stay for a full semester. Initially I thought this student would be someone who really wanted to practice their English, but actually no. My smattering of French is the only thing he understands and I believe he’s trying to avoid us because he doesn’t want to speak English.


I have been dreading this Friday night trying to figure out some entertainment. Thank goodness A’s friend came over and her friend’s mother was smart to come by with her friend’s teenage brother and volunteer to have him hang out here tonight as well. They are now speaking the universal language of Guitar Hero.

It's a Boy!

He arrived today, our bundle of joy. I’m talking about A’s French exchange student. He’s here with us this week and part of next and then she will stay at his house in Versailles the following week. When she first brought the paperwork home for the exchange program she told me she would have a better chance of getting into the program if we said a boy or a girl would be fine instead of just a girl. Reluctantly I wrote down “doesn’t matter” on the form. Soon after we found out that a boy would be staying with us. I wrinkled up my nose and acted disappointed. I think I commented on it a few times before A said to me, “Gosh mom, what’s wrong with you? You have nephews! You act like you don’t like boys!” Was I worried about the balance of power in our household evening out for once for H? Was I worried she might fall in love with him? Maybe all of the above.


So far he seems very sweet and terribly nervous. He looks so much younger than A even though he’s only about six months younger. He came bearing gifts, some chocolates, a book on Paris, and a book of French cartoons. I have to pack him a lunch every day so I was trying to find out what he likes and what he does not like. Because his English is not so good I said to A, I’m going to ask him what he likes for lunch, is that voulez-vous manger pour le dejeuner? A’s response was, “You could just ask him what he wants for lunch, he is supposed to be practicing his English”. She didn’t say this to be cruel to him, she was trying to cut me off from continually embarrassing her with my smattering of French. I am sure next week she’ll be happy if one of the parents breaks out a little anglais every now and then, even when he is cringing in the corner.

The two of them and one of her friends and her exchange student went to see Alice in Wonderland tonight. I’m not good with awkward silences and as we drove to her friend’s house I wanted to ask him some questions just to be polite. I held off because I was thinking of a story that A told me recently. Her friend R was getting a ride home alone with another parent. R grabbed an extra muffin at lunch and when someone asked her about it she said something like “I’m hoping if I’m eating this on the way home K’s mom won’t ask me questions”. I laughed until I realized I should no longer be relating to the teenager in that story. I’m the dreaded mom!

Las Vegas for Kids

I have to quote my buddy Meg as that was her impression of sunny Lake Buena Vista. In the past couple of months I’ve found myself at probably the top two U.S. tourist destinations for foreign visitors which are both pretty far off the path of reality. You know any flight headed to Orlando will be packed with small children who need naps. The direct flight from London sounded like a great idea until looking around my fellow travellers at the gate I realized it would be nine hours of small children needing naps. As we were belting into our seats I was in full on envy of one of my seat mates who looked perfectly serene in his Bose noise cancelling headset.

Florida was unseasonably cold, so cold that I saw frost being scraped off of windshields in the morning. And all of us agreed, it’s weird being at a resort working when everyone around you is on vacation.

I caught a little tv here and there before heading out to work. Floridians are up in arms that there are cameras being installed to monitor stoplights and reduce crime. Seriously, let one camera get installed and you could end up living in CCTV nation! :)  Also, the healthcare bill is causing quite a controversy. Listening to some of the arguments like “people who have insurance are happy with their coverage and don’t want to change” made me wonder, are Americans so independent and unlikely to go for the greater good that the healthcare bill will never pass? I also heard that people have been unemployed longer in this recession than any recession in the past. That makes me worry a great deal about all those folks without health insurance for long periods of time.

I walked around Downtown Disney on Saturday and took some pics of some of these treats. I love how something like a caramel apple is taken to the next level at WDW to the point of looking sickly sweet and unappetizing.

Keeping Busy

Duke of Edinburgh Award activities are happening. A has a practice overnight hike next week and had a list of items that she needed for it. Now it’s rarely over freezing here so sleeping in a tent would be my idea of hell, but she’s looking forward to it. The funniest thing about this activity was A telling me all horrified that they were going to have to pee outside and that their leader suggested they practice “performing” (their word) in the far corner of their back garden (yard). A’s friend responded, “I don’t have a back garden”. A offered her our back garden. While I want them to be prepared do the girls really have to squat in our back yard?


She also started her volunteer work three weeks ago and loves every minute of it. She’s working at the farm we visit and she is getting a workout. I wonder if she will come out of this experience either wanting to be a farmer or a vegetarian because she loves the animals. She cleans chicken coops, collects eggs, feeds sheep, cows, and pigs, and lots of other things. They don’t seem to coddle her. She comes home absolutely exhausted. When I picked her up Saturday evening she said that a calf had been born that morning.

She’s also enjoying her horseback riding lessons. I don’t understand it at all, especially when it is just a few degrees below freezing, raining, and I’m sitting in a stinky barn while she is having her lesson. After sitting out in that, it is difficult to warm up the rest of the day. It’s made me look forward to my business trip to Florida this week.

Figures, as I drink my coffee and get ready to pack the last of my things the sun looks to be making an appearance in the UK!