Changed

I must say, England will have left her mark on me.  There are things I've come to love about this place, although the ever changing weather isn't one of them.  However, last night, as I lay curled in bed, trying to sleep but with a headache that made it impossible to sleep, I started to think of the things I have learned to appreciate.

1.  Cornish Pasties-a pastry filled with some delicious concoction.  My favorite is broccoli and cheese, although I do like others as well.


2.  Hot Water Bottles-wonderful.  On a cold night, it's so nice to wrap yourself around a hot water bottle or with a headache, as I did last night, to rest it behind your neck.  I have a soft fleece cover for my hot water bottle and believe me, it gets used a lot!

3.  Lemsips-a powdered lemon drink with paracetamol.  You add hot water to it and it is a drink as well as your medicine for a cold, sinus pain, or some sort of flu.  They actually taste good!

4.  Hot drinks-Oh yes.  I realized the other day while talking with my sister, I think I drink at least five hot drinks a day here.  One cup of coffee, sometimes two, and the rest are tea.  Rooibos (an herbal tea), a fruity herbal tea, or green tea...I'm still not a fan of black tea and personally I think Earl Gray is sludge in a cup, but I do like my herbal teas.  I think I'm truly adapting because I've noticed a certain pattern: I come home, I set down my handbag, and I walk straight to the kitchen to boil the kettle.  Once the tea is made, I can sit down, breathe deeply, and drink my tea to settle in to being home.

Which brings me to the next thing...
5.  Electric Kettles!  I love 'em and use it every day, several times a day!  (Three earlier "likes" all relate back to this one!)

6.  Cockney Rhyming-tthis particular slang is really entertaining and I don't quite get it.  However, my housemate is teaching me a few phrases here and there.  For instance, "Get your daisy roots" would mean "Get your boots."  "Up the apple and pears" would mean "Up the stairs."  And for you gents, "Here comes me trouble and strife," would mean "Here comes my wife!"

Actually, there are a lot of phrases that the British use that I have come to appreciate.  "Everything's gone pear-shaped," (meaning, it went terribly wrong) is one that I've adopted to use from time to time.  Regardless, three years here has had an affect on me.  It makes me think of Thomas Wolfe's famous words, "You can't go home again."  Everywhere we travel changes us and we can never be the same, nor does "home" remain constant while we are gone.  I think we can consider that with sadness and regret or with excitement and anticipation.  I prefer excitement and anticipation!