{Well, really more like an American Girl trying to survive life abroad with a pooch and a fiancé!}
Ross, and I are officially London residents! We landed in England's capital Monday, January 5 after a week of saying bye to our dearest family and friends and after a very long process of paperwork and uncertainty.
I had six and a half hours on the plane to reflect on this new journey we are taking and really the only word that came to mind was {all jokes aside...} blessed. Despite the overuse of the cheesy hashtag, we truly are blessed: blessed that our family, friends, coworkers, and all those in between are supportive, encouraging, and positive and blessed that we have this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity at the start of our marriage {soon-to-be marriage}. The outpouring of kindness is what got us to London.
And now that we are actually in London, I just keep reminding myself that we have people back home cheering us on, because, let me tell you, it's not easy here {my naivety fooled me into thinking otherwise}. I feel as if I have this giant sign on my head that screams, "LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME! I am an American, and I have no clue what I'm doing!"
It's quite comical actually; I was just telling my only friends here, Ross and Angel {our crazy pup who was let into the country somehow!} that I feel as if I'm in this alternate, distorted reality. They have cars, trains, buses, Subway, Pizza Hut, Starbucks, etc. just like America. They speak English just like Americans. But, it's not really cars, trains, buses, Subway, Pizza Hut, Starbucks, etc. And they really aren't speaking English. While I feel like I should understand what is going on, I don't; I hear what they are saying, but I don't understand it. For instance, Ross and I went to Subway the other day to grab a quick bite to eat {soooo we aren't quite adventurous yet...}. They had a green bag of chips with a logo very similar to Lays potato chips. However, it was most definitely NOT the sour cream and onion Lays I was expecting or wanted. Upon further inspection, the chips were Walkers' salt and vinegar {sitting right next to the Walkers' prawns and cocktail chips, but that's a whole different issue!}. Or how about the fact that food is labeled in kcals here instead of calories? It took me HOURS to determine what the heck kcal means {for the record, 1 kcal is equivalent to 1 Calorie, not to be mistaken for the calorie with a lowercase "c" that is apparently a scientific term, maybe?}. Like I said, alternate reality. Totally different.
However, as an American living in London, what can I expect, right? I have a lot to learn, a lot to explore, and a lot to discover {about different cultures, the world, myself, and our relationship}. So please, join me in my new, crazy, beautiful, at times frustrating, yet eye-opening, adventure in London. I sincerely hope you enjoy learning London through my eyes ;).
xoxo,
Danielle
January 5, 2015