I'm a Top Expat Blog!

Expat social network Internations has featured me on their site as a recommended US expat blogger, and you can read the Q&A I did for them here.

Also, I wrote a wee article about the US election on the web, which has been published on the organic journalism site Samizdat Post today. Have a read and check out the other excellent articles there too.

Stuff wot I brought with me 4 - The Moon

Yes. The moon.

Before heading to these American shores I was given a few leaving presents from close friends and family, including the heart home bracelet from my mum. My dad gave me the moon.

Last night's moon - the same old moon

I am terrible at keeping in touch with my friends and family. Sometimes when things aren't going so well in my new life, I'm scared to let people know in case they think I 'failed'. And even when things are going well I forget about the time zone and by the time 6pm rolls around I know it's 11pm back in the UK and I missed my chance. At least when I was the one in the UK, and my husband was here in the USA, I could stay up later to match his evening (if you're in a long distance relationship don't do this - it leads to bad nights of sleeplessness and fatigue at work).

Then the moon comes out and I remember the gift from my Dad: It's the same moon around the world.

Yes, it's corny, but I brought the moon with me. It's the same old moon I'm used to seeing: I'm not so far away!

And to my friends and family - sorry, and let's Skype soon.

Rustic Photos Tuesday - Ribs n' Corn, Tea n' Cake

Barbecue, beer, bourbon and barbecue sauce, and corn all have important places in American culture, and each have a rich and varied history.

Traditional BBQ should be cooked slowly (overnight) in a wooden pit, but modern BBQ usually involves gas or (in our case) charcoal outside on the patio. Traditional rubs and sauces vary all over the country. I'm sure purists and traditionalists would scoff at Jack Daniels sauce as being too commercially sugar-laden and far-removed from 'the good stuff' but hey, I like it. One day I'd love to do a BBQ road trip of America for tender slow-cooked pulled pork, authentic style.

And I totally get it now, the BBQ thing. A BBQ is not always a special event here, it's just practical. On Sunday when you want a nice family dinner, but it's 100F outside, it makes no sense to heat up the house by cooking in the kitchen.

And for dessert, in contrast:

Afternoon tea has an important place in British culture. And without my fabulous baking girls I've had to resort to my own baking (it's not as good). A decent cup of tea, despite America's tumultuous relationship with the drink, isn't actually hard to find here in the suburban/rural sprawl. I've heard other British expats complain about the quality of American tea, so trust Tetley to combat that:

The irony is that as a Brit I pay US taxes without being able to vote

Tetley British Blend: For American families with a British blend! I'm sure purists are scoffing right now, but hey, I like Tetley's tea, and it sure beats Lipton.

Pros and Air Cons: The US obsession with conditioned air

"too darn hot" - make sure you and your bulldogs are cool and hydrated

So I survived August. I say that because Mr was very intrigued to find out how I'd cope in a month characterized by humidity and heat; when locals take their summer vacations to escape the oppressive weather.

To be fair, I made like a true local and disappeared to the UK for a week. I've already waxed Olympyrical about the Games, but my UK trip also allowed me to catch up with friends and family, almost as if I'd never been away. The trip also allowed me to realize a few more of the subtle differences between US and UK culture.

The week I spent in London was wonderfully sunny. This meant I hardly slept the whole time I was there. Why? I, like many US residents, have become addicted to air conditioning, a comfort that is often elusive in UK accommodation.

Air conditioning was (kind of) invented 110 years ago in the now hipster village of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. I first experienced the ups and downs of the US love affair with conditioned air when I found myself in New York City during a heatwave. The mayor warned people not to go running in Central park, the news was filled with locations of 'chill centers' for the young, elderly and other vulnerable folks without air con, and stories of neighborhoods suffering from power outages or power surges. I visited a lot of museums, not only to enjoy their exhibits but also their frosty cool rooms. I learned the stifling discomfort of waiting on a subway platform, and the chilling relief of stepping into a conditioned subway car.

But when I moved over to the USA back in June, I found it hard to get a decent night of sleep: It was too darn cold.

This all brought to mind the stereotype of the wasteful American: During summer they crank up the air con and wear sweaters inside, and during winter they crank up the heating and lounge around in t-shirts. I wasn't used to it - I enjoyed the heat. I wasn't used to light summer bed sheets and cool indoor breezes. I wanted a heavy duvet (AKA a comforter in US English) to weigh me down and keep me cosy. I insisted on turning down the ceiling fan in our bedroom to the lowest setting.

It was lucky I did.

The very next day I stood up on the bed to reach for something and was totally head-decked. The ceiling fan smacked me right above the ear. Mr had to watch in horror as my body crumpled down onto the bed and started to shake.

I was laughing. Oh, I was in pain! I had a lump on my head for a week. But at least the fan had been going slowly enough not to slice my head clean off. This dumb Brit was so unaccustomed to air con that it literally hit her in the face.

But at some point in the past few months something happened to my internal thermostat. It was so subtle that I barely noticed what was happening: I am now fully addicted to flowing, cool air. I find the bedrooms of England stale and stuffy, the hotel duvets too heavy and warm. I still insist on having the ceiling fans on low settings, mostly out of fear, and I try not to stand on the bed anymore, but I sleep soundly, thankful for these artificially cool summer nights.

Stuff wot I brought with me 3 - wedding trinkets

This is probably a no-brainer for expats emigrating on a spouse visa: wedding trinkets. But how much to pack?

It had been a mad, frantic, wedding day, and the next morning we'd woken up with bags of stuff, everywhere.

After a wedding there are things that don't last, such as the flowers, the favors, the cake(s), some of the small funny memories of the day.

And there are things that do last: the paperwork, the invitations, the pictures, the clothing, the feelings, and well, the marriage.

Mark took our wedding album, from our amazo photographer Nikki, to the USA via hand luggage. Although the boxes I shipped turned up perfectly thanks to careful packing, lots of parcel tape, and mountains of bubble wrap, I did not want to trust such a precious thing to sea or air.

The dress remains in the UK. But that's another story altogether.

What did you do with your wedding trinkets? And what did you do with your dress!?

Watching the London Olympics from the UK Part Two

The London Olympics are over - now what? Can Britain keep up the vibe?

I was in a truly privileged position as a spectator in the London Olympics. I traveled economy class, stayed in a budget hotel, had ordinary tickets. But I attended as both a tourist and a local. I saw things from both sides. I experienced the airports, tube, venues etc as a (newly-minted) foreigner, but really rooted for Team GB to do well. By Team GB, I meant everyone, not just the athletes.

This fellow English-born-ex-Fife-expat(and repat) summed up the logistical experience of the London Olympics really well, good and bad. The volunteers and staff were fantastic. They gave directions, they offered encouragement and lightened moods. They suggested great spots to watch the games, and acted as ambassadors who presented the UK as a friendly and outgoing place full of friendly and outgoing people.

The transport and infrastructure also worked perfectly (for me, at any rate). London felt more vibrant and excited than I've ever felt it. I went to bits of London I'd never been to before. Brits seemed genuinely surprised (in a good way) that things went off without a hitch. Blimey, Britain can scrub up well when lit on the world stage.

The BBC can be proud of its coverage as well - which I can compare first-hand to NBC. The overall choice and the ease with which to access it (even in budget hotel rooms) was not only impressive, but exactly what media outlets should be hoping to achieve with technology available to them. I'm not going to go into comparing budgets here and now though - if anyone else has I'd love to see.

What happens now? Will there be long-lasting positive legacy from the Games? Will it truly rejuvenate the East End? Will this bring a new era of super-serving broadcasting? The tagline for these Olympics was "inspire a generation" and the British government is keen to see Britain's bounce last a while. This hasn't happened in Cameron's case, but it'd be great to see Team GB match its medal haul in four years, and it'd be great to have new and old generations inspired to take up sports, whatever the reason, whether Taekwondo medal hopefuls, or healthy yoga-bugs. But sport success isn't the only inspiration to take from the Olympics. Two different comment pieces in the Guardian cover this topic in different ways, one about the sponsors of the games and another more wry piece about the economy. 
 
What legacy would I like to see? What inspired me most? Amongst all the branding, celebration and glamour of the games, there's a different message to take. The Olympics see more defeat than success - only the successful few take home a 'prize' - but the message of perseverance and inspiration would be a great one to carry through to the next British generation. Seeing all the defeated athletes getting cheered on and encouraged was an amazing reminder, both to keep on living the best I can and with the best mental attitude, but to support others around me doing the same.

My previous employer also has a great article about one particular aspect of the London Olympics that could be a great legacy if recognized and nurtured: the Gamesmakers. Can the UK inspire a new generation of civic activists? It's food for thought.

As we wave goodbye to London 2012 and the UK's moment of glory, can the UK keep up the enthusiasm for civic pride?

Glasgow has the Commonwealth Games in just two years. While in London I already heard about people keen to pick up even tickets, including me - I want lawn bowl tickets. I hope there'll be the same enthusiasm to get involved too.

What do you think?

Watching the London Olympics from the UK Part One

All of this post's photos were taken by myself, as always, and my mum, just not on DSLR or manual settings

The Olympic hangover has lifted, the jetlag has passed, and I'm back to my country of residence, munching on pretzels and savoring the cool air con breeze. I did a little skip and a jump through immigration at both ends: Benefit of having a Green Card is being able to travel through the 'Citizen' line at both ends of my transatlantic travelling.

Watching the Olympics in my new home country was pride-inducing enough, but being there in person was a positively giddy experience. I've never seen Brits so animated with national pride as the "jolly helpful people", AKA the Gamesmakers, or the army of Olympics volunteers. It definitely got the red, white and blue blood cells pumping.

During the infamous UK Olympics tickets lottery, my mum and I hedged our bets on events we reckoned other Brits wouldn't want to go to. Ergo, we got tickets for the Women's Football/Soccer Final, Men's Freestyle Wrestling, and Women's Mountain Biking. I was super-psyched and US husband was super-envious.

Olympic Womens' Soccer Final: Fans, Wembley, Hope Solo, US Victory, record-breaking crowds.

As a Brit, I'm predisposed to prefer to support the underdog. In ordinary circumstances nobody would call Team USA the underdog, but this was going to be a close game against Japan, and I was proud to wave my little stars n' stripes. We were directly behind the goal when Team USA scored their first of two - you can see the ball fly into the net in one of the photos above. In the second half we saw Hope Solo do some of her best work of the whole Games.

A defining moment of the match was beating the world record for audience numbers at a women's soccer game: 80,203 fans and an almost packed out Wembley. 80,203 fans that booed loudly during the announcement that Seb Blatter, President of Fifa, would be handing out the medals to the US, Japanese and Canadian champs. A chap from San Francisco sat behind us was audibly shocked:

San Fran: Oh my God, why is everyone booing?

Glad Mum: They're booing Seb Blatter, head of Fifa. 

San Fran: But why?

Glad Mum: He's not very popular. I called my last Fantasy Football team Weak Blatter Control.

San Fran: Wow, that's obviously something you feel strongly about! I can't believe all these crazy Brits booed.

The next day we had Freestyle Wrestling at the Excel center/centre. This included a rather handy introduction to the sport and the moves to look out for: They knew their audience, and most Brits aren't clued up on the minutiae of Freestyle Wrestling. This was much to the chagrin of my Pennsylvanian husband who was shocked to discover I knew very little about the sport. He was very proud that we thoroughly enjoyed the day though, especially as he missed out on seeing another US gold medal broadcast live. He did, however, get the Women's soccer final live on TV, along with the super-boo.

This is an illustration of what wrestling is all about:

Freestyle Wrestling: None of this looks very comfortable.

Women's Mountain Biking was no less gruelling. I couldn't have walked the track without breaking a sweat. 

We picked this sport because it took place at Hadleigh Farm, in Essex, not far from my birthtown. Once again I got to witness USA grab a medal (bronze), amidst a fun festival atmosphere. Team GB cyclist Annie Last did not live up to her name, and came a respectable 8th. 

 

The biggest cheer, however, was reserved for Candice Neethling of South Africa. She came last. A British audience does like an underdog, after all. But at only 20 years old, she's an inspiration to anyone riding a tough track with the odds stacked against them: Keep on pushing on at whatever you do. You can read Candice Neethling's reflections after her tough Olympic race here.

Gold Medal winner Julie Bresset on the right, and the young Candice Neethling, who came last, on the left.

I don't think we could have had a more enjoyable trio of sporting adventure. It was jolly good fun.