I’ve written before about my daily bike commute, but I thought I’d write again. I no longer get to ride in and out of Central London due to the fact that the house we rent is about 25 miles out. I could ride, but it is mostly highway and not a very pleasant ride. That being said, today I got up early and took my bike in on the train because I needed to run some errands around London. And bike is the only way to go.
At 7am this morning, I found myself riding down mostly empty London streets, past Hyde Park corner (where the soap box is), right by Buckingham Palace down the long road towards Trafalgar Square, then up to Piccadilly Circus and through Covent Garden on my way to work. It was a surreal ride, past all these great London sites just before the morning rush. I wish I could have taken it all in, but I was too pissed off at the Passport office to enjoy anything (that’s another story).
It is great to finally have Melia and the boys here. We are getting to know our community a bit, where the stores are, the parks and trails and certain hide-a-ways that every community has. We bought a car the other day – a Honda Accord – because with kids who want to play sports, we still need a car. The previous owner had put a total of 2000 miles on it the year before. He couldn’t believe me when I told him that last year I probably drove 15,000 miles. Anyways, our car gives us the freedom to take off on the weekends. I’ll be buying a ski rack for it soon so we can drive to Switzerland this winter. Yes, I brought my skis to England.
Despite our adventures – we miss home. I think we find ourselves still looking in the rear-view mirror a bit, hoping to see the Front Range. I’ve been here, albeit on and off, for almost 5 months now and I am feeling it more than Melia and the boys. I really miss the familiarity of what we know. I’ve traveled enough and understand enough about culture shock to know what I’m going through, but the bottom line is that I crave any communication I can get from our friends and family in Colorado and the USA. Every email or comment is like gold.
The problem with moving is the reality not only of starting a new chapter of life somewhere else, but realizing that the chapters of other peoples lives continue on without you. That is a difficult reality. I find myself wanting to turn back the pages.
That being said, I did for a second this morning appreciate this adventure. I’ve had some great moments in life on my bike. I was riding one year in Yosemite National Park when two bears crossed my path, just 25 yards in front of me. That was an epic moment. I’ve ridden along the Pacific Coast highway and I’ve ridden right into a herd of deer coming around a bend at Walker ranch in Colorado. Did I mention that this morning I rode my bike on an almost empty round-a-bout directly in front of Buckingham Palace? That is not a bad moment in life.
About Us
- Andrew Syed
- Humanitarian worker / Human Rights activist / Campaigner / Researcher / Member-at-large of humanity / Citizen of the world
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Driving in England
Today, I did it on my own…
The boys and I needed to go to the grocery store which is walking distance but farther than the Tesco (little convenient-like store just 5 minutes away.) We wanted to go to Sainsbury (a large grocery store chain like King Soopers or Safeway) which is a 15 minute walk. I discovered a short cut today during a run but the boys were not excited about my new discovery and were not up for walking. So they coaxed me into driving the new used blue Honda Accord fully automatic car that we just bought yesterday. I did go for a spin the night before with Andrew in the passenger side giving me advice at every round-a-bout.
But now I was on my own. Tanner sat up front to give me a warning when I was too close to the curb. It is so strange having the steering wheel on the other side of the car. Mostly, the scary part is trying not to get lost. I knew where the store was located. I assumed there was more than one entrance to the store parking lot. But as I quickly discovered, there is only one way in and one way out and I had missed it.
The good thing about roundabouts is that they allow you to change directions 180 degrees without having to make a U-turn. So that became helpful at the next roundabout which was just up away. Roundabouts are everywhere so there is no problem finding one to make that U-turn.
Tanner was a good help and navigator. He coached me from running into the side of the curb which I had done the night before when I was driving with Andrew. Shortly after my rub on the curb we could smell the burned rubber from the tires. Tanner also helped me with the confidence to keep trying.
I know driving is a mental game that I will need to get over. I felt so proud of my accomplishment today by driving less than a mile to Sainsbury, parking and coming home on the left side of the road all by myself (with the help of Tanner). But quite honestly half of my fear of driving is just trying to keep from getting lost. I wanted to shop at a different store after our checking out at the grocery store but I gave up and went home when I realized that I could see the store from our house almost but I had not idea how to get there. There is no direct way to anything. After one wrong turn, I quickly gave up and went back home.
Walking can seem easier at times.
The boys and I needed to go to the grocery store which is walking distance but farther than the Tesco (little convenient-like store just 5 minutes away.) We wanted to go to Sainsbury (a large grocery store chain like King Soopers or Safeway) which is a 15 minute walk. I discovered a short cut today during a run but the boys were not excited about my new discovery and were not up for walking. So they coaxed me into driving the new used blue Honda Accord fully automatic car that we just bought yesterday. I did go for a spin the night before with Andrew in the passenger side giving me advice at every round-a-bout.
But now I was on my own. Tanner sat up front to give me a warning when I was too close to the curb. It is so strange having the steering wheel on the other side of the car. Mostly, the scary part is trying not to get lost. I knew where the store was located. I assumed there was more than one entrance to the store parking lot. But as I quickly discovered, there is only one way in and one way out and I had missed it.
The good thing about roundabouts is that they allow you to change directions 180 degrees without having to make a U-turn. So that became helpful at the next roundabout which was just up away. Roundabouts are everywhere so there is no problem finding one to make that U-turn.
Tanner was a good help and navigator. He coached me from running into the side of the curb which I had done the night before when I was driving with Andrew. Shortly after my rub on the curb we could smell the burned rubber from the tires. Tanner also helped me with the confidence to keep trying.
I know driving is a mental game that I will need to get over. I felt so proud of my accomplishment today by driving less than a mile to Sainsbury, parking and coming home on the left side of the road all by myself (with the help of Tanner). But quite honestly half of my fear of driving is just trying to keep from getting lost. I wanted to shop at a different store after our checking out at the grocery store but I gave up and went home when I realized that I could see the store from our house almost but I had not idea how to get there. There is no direct way to anything. After one wrong turn, I quickly gave up and went back home.
Walking can seem easier at times.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Different, but not really....
It is hard to believe that we have been here just over one week. Sometimes I feel like we are just vacationing and visiting a new town and other times I am consciously thinking that this is our new home and this is our new grocery store and I need to remember where things are. I hate that feeling of learning a new grocery store and learning where everything is especially when you don’t even know what items transfer.
Tanner and I picked up what looked like hamburger meat for tacos but then looked again and realized we had put minced lamb in our shopping cart. Tanner said there is no way he will eat a sheep. So we put it back and found minced beef instead.
I found a pre-made mix for pancakes. It seemed the same as our pancake mixes at home. You just add egg and water, fry in a pan and there you go. I have since learned that pancakes taste more like Yorkshire pudding. I had tasted Yorkshire pudding over 10 years ago at Andrew’s grandmother’s home. They are delicious but they have a distinct taste. Yorkshire pudding is very good as a side dish with beef and vegetables but not what I was looking for in pancakes. I had to ask one of the sales clerks where the syrup was in the store. I had looked in the breakfast isle and other places that seemed reasonable. The lady led me to the baking isle where the flour was sitting on the shelf. It was a good thing that she was there to point it out because I was looking right at it and did not recognize it. When I think of syrup, I think of a large tall clear plastic container so you can see the dark color of maple in the bottle. This was a small can the size of a can of green beans only a little fatter and shorter. The lid was just like a paint can that has to be pried off with a screwdriver and hammered back on when finished. I took the small can and wondered what the syrup looked like since the container was opaque. The syrup was golden (not brown but almost yellow) so thick and viscous that it sat in a blob on our plates for a few seconds before it changed its shape, similar to how toothpaste or silly putty might run on a plate. The syrup was so rich and thick that it only took a few drops to consume the pancakes. The boys tasted, gasped and almost spit it out. It was not the best baking experience so far; maybe because we have such high expectations with our Bisquick pancake mix and our Aunt Jamima Maple Syrup. I’ll have to work on this one.
Sometimes I feel like I am in just another American city. The mall has some of the same advertisements at least for movies I have watched. Some of the names of the stores are the same and of course there is Starbucks. Even in the stores I don’t know there are products that I know and have heard. But then all of a sudden I hear someone speak with their thick British accent and I realize that we are living in a different country. I usually understand what most people are saying but sometimes I get confused.
Tanner was invited to go to a camp with the church youth group. I was reading the list of things that he should bring. First I took a mental note when I read sun cream. We would say sunscreen but it made since - sun cream. So I thought to myself, “when someone says sun cream now I will know what they mean.” I was feeling proud of myself. The next thing on the list said, “you can bring willies if you like.” I had not heard of willies but seeing that it was listed right after sun cream, I assumed it meant swimming suit. It seemed like a good deduction.
Later that day we were visiting with a family we had met at the church. We were talking about how much it rains in England. We were commenting on the perfect sunny day and the beauty of summer. I admitted that we may not have the kind of clothes necessary for England – like boots. She said, “Don’t you have wiliies?” I must have given myself away with my furrowed brows and questioning look. “You know boots that come up to your knees for the rain? Willies? What would you call them? Galoshes?” I started laughing. “Willies? I thought that meant swimming suit. I just read that word today.” When I explained why I thought it meant swimming suit, they laughed too.
The other day I was setting up a bank account. The lady explained a few things but I wanted to clarify. I said, “ So you are saying that the card will come to me in the mail.” She said, “Yes, it will come in the post.” I realized she had corrected me without saying it in the same way that you might correct a three year old that says something wrong. You would just repeat the statement to the three year old using the proper way of saying it. “Mental note to self: They say post not mail.”
The differences are there but for the most part we are all the same. It is true wherever I go. People are people. I can see that this will be an opportunity for our family to love someone new, to cry and laugh with new friends. It will be a time to live life with new friends we have not even met. Yet all the time, we remember and think about our old friends who are not old but just have longer history with the Syed, Paquin, Earhart family. The funny thing is that these new friends will only know the Syed’s while others in our history more easily call us Paquin’s while my family may still think of me as an Earhart. Yet we are still just us – Andrew, Melia, Tanner and Konner
Tanner and I picked up what looked like hamburger meat for tacos but then looked again and realized we had put minced lamb in our shopping cart. Tanner said there is no way he will eat a sheep. So we put it back and found minced beef instead.
I found a pre-made mix for pancakes. It seemed the same as our pancake mixes at home. You just add egg and water, fry in a pan and there you go. I have since learned that pancakes taste more like Yorkshire pudding. I had tasted Yorkshire pudding over 10 years ago at Andrew’s grandmother’s home. They are delicious but they have a distinct taste. Yorkshire pudding is very good as a side dish with beef and vegetables but not what I was looking for in pancakes. I had to ask one of the sales clerks where the syrup was in the store. I had looked in the breakfast isle and other places that seemed reasonable. The lady led me to the baking isle where the flour was sitting on the shelf. It was a good thing that she was there to point it out because I was looking right at it and did not recognize it. When I think of syrup, I think of a large tall clear plastic container so you can see the dark color of maple in the bottle. This was a small can the size of a can of green beans only a little fatter and shorter. The lid was just like a paint can that has to be pried off with a screwdriver and hammered back on when finished. I took the small can and wondered what the syrup looked like since the container was opaque. The syrup was golden (not brown but almost yellow) so thick and viscous that it sat in a blob on our plates for a few seconds before it changed its shape, similar to how toothpaste or silly putty might run on a plate. The syrup was so rich and thick that it only took a few drops to consume the pancakes. The boys tasted, gasped and almost spit it out. It was not the best baking experience so far; maybe because we have such high expectations with our Bisquick pancake mix and our Aunt Jamima Maple Syrup. I’ll have to work on this one.
Sometimes I feel like I am in just another American city. The mall has some of the same advertisements at least for movies I have watched. Some of the names of the stores are the same and of course there is Starbucks. Even in the stores I don’t know there are products that I know and have heard. But then all of a sudden I hear someone speak with their thick British accent and I realize that we are living in a different country. I usually understand what most people are saying but sometimes I get confused.
Tanner was invited to go to a camp with the church youth group. I was reading the list of things that he should bring. First I took a mental note when I read sun cream. We would say sunscreen but it made since - sun cream. So I thought to myself, “when someone says sun cream now I will know what they mean.” I was feeling proud of myself. The next thing on the list said, “you can bring willies if you like.” I had not heard of willies but seeing that it was listed right after sun cream, I assumed it meant swimming suit. It seemed like a good deduction.
Later that day we were visiting with a family we had met at the church. We were talking about how much it rains in England. We were commenting on the perfect sunny day and the beauty of summer. I admitted that we may not have the kind of clothes necessary for England – like boots. She said, “Don’t you have wiliies?” I must have given myself away with my furrowed brows and questioning look. “You know boots that come up to your knees for the rain? Willies? What would you call them? Galoshes?” I started laughing. “Willies? I thought that meant swimming suit. I just read that word today.” When I explained why I thought it meant swimming suit, they laughed too.
The other day I was setting up a bank account. The lady explained a few things but I wanted to clarify. I said, “ So you are saying that the card will come to me in the mail.” She said, “Yes, it will come in the post.” I realized she had corrected me without saying it in the same way that you might correct a three year old that says something wrong. You would just repeat the statement to the three year old using the proper way of saying it. “Mental note to self: They say post not mail.”
The differences are there but for the most part we are all the same. It is true wherever I go. People are people. I can see that this will be an opportunity for our family to love someone new, to cry and laugh with new friends. It will be a time to live life with new friends we have not even met. Yet all the time, we remember and think about our old friends who are not old but just have longer history with the Syed, Paquin, Earhart family. The funny thing is that these new friends will only know the Syed’s while others in our history more easily call us Paquin’s while my family may still think of me as an Earhart. Yet we are still just us – Andrew, Melia, Tanner and Konner
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