Oh, say can you see?

Hello everyone! I hope things are going well for you. I am loving England! Or at least the bits I have gotten to see so far. Everything is so beautiful and different from home. Of course like any city there are dirty areas and bad streets...but I have a really hard time seeing any of that past the old stone churches, steeples, towers, old houses, glass windows, stone walls, ambling hills and meandering livestock. Everything is just incredible. Rachel and I were able to go out to eat the other day with Louise (pastor of the Methodist church) and Nancy somewhere in the country. The countryside looked like stepping right into a movie - rolling hills dotted with happy little sheep and the occasional old, stone country house. We ended up at this pub/inn place where I finally got to experience fish and chips. The week has been pretty relaxed. Everyone here is giving us time to settle in and adjust to the time change, giving us only as much information as we need or they think we can handle. We ate at the vicarage on Sunday afternoon with Paul (Anglican pastor) and his wife Ruth, Louise, Barry (the Anglican church warden)and his wife Val, and Alex (another Anglican minister), toured the schools we will be volunteering at on Monday and Tuesday morning, and explored Bradford's city center Tuesday afternoon. I had a kind of funny moment when we were there. The town hall is this large castle looking building with flags flown on top. I never realized how ingrained the idea of seeing an American flag flying on buildings and in public spaces was until I saw the British flag flying over the building. If you had asked me what flag would have been flown in such a place I obviously would have been able to tell you and yet, seeing the British flag was kind of a shocker. For a split second my brain tried telling me that that was wrong - that the British flag should not be there. I was pretty amused when my logic caught up with my instincts. I imagine I will have plenty more moments like that.

I don't have a lot to share with you yet about any experiences I have had, so instead I'll leave you with a list of things I have learned:

-Stop lights turn 'amber' both before they turn red and green.
-You have to turn on outlets for them to work.
-I'm pretty sure every time we turn left I am always going to think we are all going to die until I realize that we are not actually crossing traffic.
-British people are hilarious. When they say something funny I actually think it's funny (this is for my family who thinks I have a weird sense of humor...it's not actually that weird).
-Fish and chips are........interesting.
-Not all British people drink tea...some of them actually like coffee (gasp).
-Washing dishes by hand is actually kind of relaxing. You have to slow down which gives you lots of time to think. Also, 3 people make a surprising amount of dishes.
-Heating units here are just plain odd (as are the door locking mechanisms).
-Rachel and Kaihle are not as amused by the products while grocery shopping as me.
-Candy here is awesome!
-People use the kind of words you normally only find in period books or movies in everyday conversation. For example...the word fortnight pops up often.
-Crossing the road is surprisingly difficult and requires concentration (especially if a roundabout is involved).
-I actually like a little tea with my milk and sugar...er I mean I like a little milk and sugar with my tea.
-My vocabulary is increasing daily...which is good, otherwise I wouldn't have a clue what people are trying to say half the time.
-If I don't speak I blend in quite well...unless I'm in my neighborhood. Then I'm in the minority with no hope of blending in.
-Boys that honk or whistle to get your attention are both amusing and irritating. It's like junior high all over again.
-The Grocery store is on the top of probably the highest mountain in all of the UK.
-I will have very muscly calves after walking up said mountain.
-Hurricane winds followed us here from the US and are now trying to knock us over and/or blow down the flat.
-Cars along the side of the street do not have to all park facing the same direction. It is also alright if they are on the sidewalk a good foot or so.
-You won't see vans unless they are for a taxi service....or trucks now that I think about it.
-I may be a little more OCD about organization that I thought considering I've already gone through the kitchen, a closet, the living room, the bathroom....which is silly since we will probably be moving soon.
-Rachel and Kaihle are a lot of fun to live with. We are all similar and different in equal measure.
-I haven't quite been able to let go of Ohio time yet. I still find myself counting backwards to know what time it 'really' is (I got a watch with two faces. Hopefully, if it's just there and I'm not always doing the math I won't think about it as much...problem solved...maybe).
-I am ridiculously excited to start making friends (ironic because I'm a bit of an introvert).
-I love the weather here....I love the clouds, the rain, the cool temperatures, the wind....I love it!
-It's doubtful that I will be able to stop myself from buying some super cute rain boots...they are everywhere.
-The list of places I want to see keeps growing both because I hear about things or people keep saying 'oh, you must see this.'
-It is really easy to find people willing to talk about soccer/football.
-I miss my own pillow.
-There are animals here I can play with then give back to their owners to take care of...hehe.
-I am impatient to learn what I can about the different denominations and religions in this area.
-People don't take leftovers home after meals and will look at you funny when you ask.
-I am looking forward to beginning our work here.
-England makes me happy :)