Letter from America…..
Summer 2011
Dear All,
Well we got here, Dulles International airport; DC…America! 3pm on the last Friday in August 2011. The heat was pretty stifling when we stepped out of the airport. The wall of heat makes you realise that this is not the UK. Our first stop was the Dupont Circle Hotel in DC where we stayed for the weekend. We settled the children in and tried to find our stuff in amongst countless suitcases.
Well we got here, Dulles International airport; DC…America! 3pm on the last Friday in August 2011. The heat was pretty stifling when we stepped out of the airport. The wall of heat makes you realise that this is not the UK. Our first stop was the Dupont Circle Hotel in DC where we stayed for the weekend. We settled the children in and tried to find our stuff in amongst countless suitcases.
The weather was on the turn, and the forecast of Hurricane Irene hitting Washington fuelled the children’s imagination….we ventured out and bought brollies and raincoats and got ready.Well nothing much happened! It was very windy and wet but no great storm, here at least.
Monday morning was the Dupont arrivals meeting , it was an early start and trying to keep the children from demolishing the very nice restaurant at breakfast increased the stress levels. We were all on our best behaviour! The meeting was a few hours long and then the main person (whose job brought us here) went off to the Embassy and I was left to repack and get ready to go to our new house and keep calm! Our first night in McLean, Virginia was quite strange. Tired and overwhelmed we kept mumbling “what have we done?”
Over the next two days we had our USA school registration and USA doctor’s physical for school entry. School started in earnest and there are a lot of differences. For 4th graders lunch is at 10 am! School starts at 8.15 am and they have ½ day Mondays. No uniform, which is a real nuisance, apparently parental choice. Are they mad?
The next drama was the DMV or DVLA . After many visits and letters being sent here and there we were allowed to take our Virginia driving test…. I just hoped I would stay on the right side of the road. Well I did pass, 100% on the pre-test multi choice too. You can take practice theory tests online too. It pays to read the manual ! Confidence comes with practice.
BESA has been a lifeline to me; it introduced me to other Mum’s in similar situations. Some military, some civilian. Some seasoned movers, others first timers like us. I carry a little book with me, actually I am on book 2 now which I write down all the little nuggets of information gathered on coffee mornings etc.
Travel ideas, shopping tips, friend’s contacts. I have recently taken over as a BESA Service Rep, it's good to be able to pass on my knowledge and offer help to fellow incomers. Things I don’t know about, I can find out from the large BESA community. The nice thing with BESA is that you can dip in or out of it. The monthly newsletter gives venues for weekly coffee morning across the region, other interest groups contacts like tennis, sewing club, pet sitting, walking and baby sitting. Our events co-coordinator sets up proper trips, official tours and informal get together e.g. BBQ’s.
Travel ideas, shopping tips, friend’s contacts. I have recently taken over as a BESA Service Rep, it's good to be able to pass on my knowledge and offer help to fellow incomers. Things I don’t know about, I can find out from the large BESA community. The nice thing with BESA is that you can dip in or out of it. The monthly newsletter gives venues for weekly coffee morning across the region, other interest groups contacts like tennis, sewing club, pet sitting, walking and baby sitting. Our events co-coordinator sets up proper trips, official tours and informal get together e.g. BBQ’s.
Well, we have been here nearly 6 months now…time has flown by and we have had Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and a little snow flurry but not the snowmageddon of previous winters.
Things we don’t like are cold callers, (you do get hardened!), yellow bread, rubber‘cheese’ , grits, ants, no pavements, drains, mosquitoes and ticks
Things we like are the bright sunny days; even when chilly, big washing machines and dryers, walks in the park, big and clean open spaces, snow tubing and the free museums. We like meeting our fellow UK colleagues and their families, funny expats and charming US citizens who are becoming our new friends.
The children are slowly settling in but are still homesick and frequently compare England and theUSA.
Things though, are getting better…
Thank goodness for Skype!
Things we don’t like are cold callers, (you do get hardened!), yellow bread, rubber‘cheese’ , grits, ants, no pavements, drains, mosquitoes and ticks
Things we like are the bright sunny days; even when chilly, big washing machines and dryers, walks in the park, big and clean open spaces, snow tubing and the free museums. We like meeting our fellow UK colleagues and their families, funny expats and charming US citizens who are becoming our new friends.
The children are slowly settling in but are still homesick and frequently compare England and theUSA.
Things though, are getting better…
Thank goodness for Skype!
