We have now been living in Eastern Washington State in a small college town called Ellensburg for about 5 months. John studied for his degree here and this is where I first came when I met him back in 2005. The weather here is much better than the western part of the state, where it is wet a large per cent of the year, here it is cold and snowy in winter and hot and dry in the summer as we are so much further inland. We have both been doing some substitute teaching in a couple of school districts and I have just started a job housekeeping (cleaning rooms) in a huge resort in the countryside, about 45 minutes from here. The teaching is hard work, as you are in charge of small children (I choose to teach the youngest ones) and every day you go in you have no idea what will await you. You just hope to find coherent notes, lesson plans and possibly a helper in the form of a Spanish speaking assistant as 99% of the kids are Mexican. I love it though but the work is sporadic so I took the other hotel job. I’ve only worked 4 days straight and have to do 2 weeks training then I will work mainly over the weekends when they are busy. The cleaning is much harder physically but pays much less as the responsibility is nowhere near as important as the teaching job. Both jobs have lovely people in them. We’ll see what happens next, but neither have any sense of permanency which is what we need to find.
Well it’s been sometime since either of us blogged. We were in Phoenix, Arizona when John last wrote. We left the small but cozy (?) apartment in Glendale round about June 2010 and set off for sunny California. Our intention was to go to college in Monterrey to study Special Needs as we would then be assured of a job.
Initially we spent some time high in the hills above San Diego. That is one beautiful city. We had some fun days with the lovely Sarah (John’s daughter) and even ventured in to Mexico. It was a quick trip as we couldn’t find the main road into town and we were on foot. We were surrounded by folk who all knew where they were going and we felt totally out of place, stopped for a quick taco (very tasty and v cheap) and walked back to the good ole U S of A.
Sarah in the hills where she lived as a girl
Route 101
proof we went to Mexico, well John did
Ocean Beach, two old timers
shadows of two old timers
Shelley and Sarah
beautiful countryside in California
John and Sarah posing
Board walk San Diego
San Diego for the tourists
Ocean Beach
a shop you’d only find in Santa Cruz, California
Sarah and John in a Mexican restaurant, San Diego
surfers
Ocean Beach
the rest rooms, some didn’t find the need for at the camp site
market in San Diego
We next drove north past Los Angeles and on up to Northern California. We spent some time back and forth at the college, which did not look great on first sight. I believe it used to be a military base or a prison; both would seem an apt description, not exactly a grand University campus by any standards. We soon realised that this part of California (near Santa Cruz) was expensive to live in plus pretty overcast and rainy. Anyway we camped out in a valley for the 4th of July, high in the hills. It was an interesting experience. Although there were restrooms provided it appeared that some people chose to use a more primitive method and we were quite glad we spent the holiday away from camp. After several weeks back and forth with our university advisors we decided we could not afford to study, pay student loan fees, pay rent and live for a full year there. Reluctantly we decided to carry on north and try and find a home we could afford to buy outright.
We decided to have a few days of entertainment in the form of Neil Young’s annual Bridge School Benefit which assists children with severe physical impairments and complex communication needs. He has done this since 1986 with the help of his wife Peggy. He has high profile musicians each year, in the past he has had Paul McCartney, Tony Bennett, and Bob Dylan. This extravaganza takes place over a weekend in October at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain view, California. The musicians usually always play acoustic and of course, the master, Neil Young always plays. We first went when we were living in California in 2005 and then we saw Jerry Lee Lewis, Emmy Lou Harris and Norah Jones. The highlight was Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. This year they had Lucinda Williams, Billy Idol, Elton John and Leon Russell, Elvis Costello, Emmy Lou Harris, Kris Kristofferson and Pearl Jam, over the two day event. The finale was Buffalo Springfield, Neil Young’s old band from the 1960s. An unbelievable lineup for about $50 each. They were on stage for about 7 hours each day. It did rain quite a bit, so much so that they even let me out to go back to the car for an extra tarp for us to shelter under! The second day was not as rainy, plus I’d summoned up the courage to smuggle in some wine, didn’t feel like paying the $8 a glass fees they charged:)
We don’t have photos of this event, just a link so you can see some video if you choose.
Hi all, well the deadline has elapsed for us to take adv advantage of a most generous rebate my government had been offering to home buyers….. We felt it was too risky to buy a home here, when we weren’t sure of our ability to secure full-time employment in the area. This economy is crap!! I know so many people who are out of work and struggling. I have been subbing some, but the school year is over now. . We had planned to take a road trip tomorrow, to investigate northern California properties and pay a visit to my daughter who’s staying with her mom in San Diego. We’re waiting until next week however to decide where it is we’ll be going and for how long. We want to do some more research via internet and phone before we leave.
The good news is my “highly qualified” professional teaching certificate (equivalent to the British QTS) is valid in both California and Florida (two States we’ve been looking at) without having to do further testing, filing or waiting. The bad news is both of those States (along with most others) are facing historically high teacher layoffs. What we’ll likely do is return to school and pick up another teaching endorsement in one of the high need areas, such as special education or education technology. Like I’ve said we’re looking at both Florida and California, so we’ll choose one and most likely move there by the end of next week. My fingers are crossed for California as we’re both wanting that, but have to be practical as well. Sometimes we humans can be guided by our hearts instead of our heads, which is the cause of much grief in the long run.
I see that President Obama wants to give our fighting troops medals for “holding fire” on the battle field (see link below)…. What a genius he is, why not just have them load up with blanks so the enemy doesn’t get hurt? You know that war is hell, always has been and always will be…but to tie up the hands of our soldiers is just plain crazy!!!
This being Memorial Day weekend, a big !!!thank you to all of our troops everywhere!!!
My main problem with the US is the lack of nice food stores, no Marks and Spencers like in good old Blighty. Everything seemed to be sold in large supermarkets, like Albertsons, Wal-Mart etc (at least there is Safeway!) Then I discovered a true friend indeed, called Trader Joe’s. This started in groovy California and has now spread to some states, mainly western ones from what I can tell, Washington, Oregon and where we are now, Arizona. In fact when a new one is due to be open, it is of major excitement to the locals. Poor old Texas still doesn’t have one. This store sells good food at reasonable prices, free from additives and the like. Tuscan bread, muffins, English and Irish tea bags, Scottish marmalade made in Dundee, for goodness sake! They have some products that they manufacture and others are imported like Belgian chocolate, none of that Hershey’s rubbish. The staff is really laid back and wear Hawaiian surfer shirts. There is always something free to sample, last time corn chips, dips and jalapeno stuffed olives, always free coffee on tap as well. Last time we went they had Italian wine, red and white at $1.99 a bottle. Needless to say I have bought both and very delicious they are too. I will add a few photos of the great place, some taken are actually of their recyclable paper bags, an art form in themselves, others are of the wonderful products. I can’t say enough about them, well maybe I have, but anyway if you are ever looking for tasty fresh food, free from antibiotics try good old Trader Joe’s, check out www.traderjoes.com
Shelley here – Last year we were lucky enough to spend the summer months on the beautiful island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea. I had been once about 10 years ago to the south east of the island, it is mainly the party end and it was full of discos and drunk people so I was a little worried about going back as I had only gone the first time in order to take a weekend trip to Egypt. This time round we booked the exact opposite end of the island, the north west: a small village called Polis. We booked a block of 3 months online with a UK rental company and hoped for the best. The rent was cheap and the online photos looked really good. We flew to Paphos and then had to take a very expensive cab ride on to Polis, costing about 60 GBP. We arrived at night but could see the apartment was large, spacious, clean, well decorated, fully equipped with all we could need, and had 2 balconies for sitting out. Also waiting to greet us was a friendly note from the women who were renting it to us plus bread and a bottle of red wine, what more could you ask?! They popped round in the morning to give us all the details about the complex, the pool and the town of Polis.
We thought of hiring a car, but decided it was too expensive, plus we had the opportunity of renting the owner’s jeep on a day to day basis every now and then which worked out fine. Instead we hired a cute wee scooter (see photos below). We were given crazy old, cracked helmets which I had to actually wear on top of my straw sunhat! Boy did I look tremendous in that, somehow no photos are available of that wardrobe faux pas. John zipped around town with me clinging on to his back. It was brilliant fun!
One of the many aspects of Cypriot living that appealed to us was the delicious food. All the fruit and vegetables tasted so different from what we were used to in either of own home countries. They were grown in the surrounding fields and were wonderful. Lettuce, tomatoes, zucchini, oranges, olives and many more were a daily delight. We sampled a traditional meze meal one evening in Polis. This meant we were served a selection of everything on the menu that evening. About 8 small dishes to start with, including dips, French fries, roasted and fried vegetables, potatoes, and then this was followed by several meat dishes, including lamb, roast potatoes and more vegetables. We were given a complimentary brandy to finish it all off. The moustached man in the photo was the local butcher and owner of the restaurant.
We ventured south to the resort towns of Coral Bay and Paphos to check out the more touristy parts of the island. We decided to go camping but of course didn’t actually have a tent. We trawled the shops in 90F heat only to discover that camping equipment was not amongst the top priorities of British tourists (the majority of the tourists were by far from Britain). Having asked a local for advice, we discovered we needed to head back up a steep hill to the main part of Paphos for a sporting goods store. Amazingly we found the shop, with a small 2 man tent for a ridiculously priced 35 Euros and with only 2 minutes to buy it before the shopkeeper shut for her ½ day closing (it being a Saturday), we promptly lightened our wallets and bought the item. Next we hopped a bus along the coast to just outside Paphos where we were told by the tourist board a camp site could be found. “Could” being the operative word. It was about a 35 minute walk in the heat along a dusty road. Eventually after several wrong turns and trespassing on a rather irate Cypriot’s land, we found a large arid field with some trailers and a large cement building in the centre which looked like the toilets and shower area. Not very promising. We wandered around looking for any sign of life and after some time two local men appeared and said we could camp wherever we pleased. (there were no other tents to be seen) The ladies toilet was locked, I would have to wait till later for the key, meanwhile John tried the men’s and promptly ran out with horrific tales of what he found inside. I will spare you the details. We had noticed when we were arriving at the entrance to the campsite that a night club was located right in front of it. As we were starting to set up camp we talked it over: the lack of clean showers and toilets, the shady looking owners, and we also realized that it would be quite unsafe with drunk revelers from the club able to just walk right in at all hours of the night. So it is no surprise to you to learn, dear reader, we upped sticks and took the next bus back along the coast to Coral Bay. Here we camped in the back yard of a restaurant, in fact on a large piece of cement, it being the only ant-free area to be found. On the up side we were totally alone, very safe and the lady who ran the restaurant kind of adopted us, she felt sorry for us I think. Plus she had no other visitors, well I mean who camps in Cyprus?! Most folk had holiday apartments. We set up camp-see photos of tent and me spraying for ants- and then hit the town. We enjoyed a pleasant evening of music from an Elvis impersonator who romped through his early life, Army life and ended with Vegas Elvis, much to the rowdy cheers of the rather tipsy Brits (me included!)
Another evening was spent in Inneia. This was a very small typical Greek village up in the hills. We were drawn there as a musical evening had been advertised in a shop window in Polis. The local mayor introduced the spectacle, all the audience sat in plastic chairs in the tiny town square, they were mainly Brits who now lived there but also some Cypriots as well. Wonderful kebabs, baked potatoes, salad, wine and beer were on sale at the side. We heard Greek music and watched some displays from fire-swallowers, then finally the top of the bill arrived…. Pat Savage. We had no idea who he was – turns out he was a Canadian rocker in his 50s who said he had had a number one hit record his home country and had played with Lynrd Skynrd. He also said he was touring Europe and filming all his shows for a forthcoming Discovery channel documentary. It turned out to be a really great night and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. We even got up to dance, hoping of course to be captured on film in the documentary (!) We sped home on the scooter round the twists and curves of the hills back to Polis in the wee small hours.
As I mentioned earlier there are a lot of British tourists in Cyprus, but there are also a large number of them who actually live there permanently, having now retired and enjoy their free healthcare and UK pensions. (something we hope to be able to do eventually) Polis had some Brits as well, they were all well-behaved, middle aged to retirement age people who drank tea, read British newspapers and in the evening enjoyed a few glasses of wine. It was a quiet sleepy village with one large well-stocked supermarket, Papadopolous if I remember correctly, lots of little bars, cafes and restaurants. The most wonderful part of the place was its long sandy beach. It stretched all the way along the coast to the neighbouring town of Latchi. There was only one small café/bar on the beach which was always pretty busy with tourists and locals alike. At the weekends the Cypriots would come and use the campsite at the back of the café area and play and eat and just enjoy each other’s company. It was a very friendly, laid back kind of place. We especially loved spending a whole day there, me with my book, John with his MP3 player, and later we’d mess about in the waves like kids and also like all the other folk there. We took some photos of the sunset one time and another of an extremely high tide.
In the end I had to return a few weeks early to meet my appointment at the U.S. Embassy in London for a visa. John stayed on and enjoyed a little extra time in the sun. It was very hard to leave and it is reassuring to know that somewhere in this crazy, mixed up world there is a place that is tranquil, safe and filled with beauty, somewhere to truly just be… we can’t wait to return.
John here – All I can add is Cyprus has been the nicest place I’ve yet to visit. The people are way laid back, and at Polis there were hardly any tourists, as it is an hours taxi ride from the airport and that keeps them away. When Shelley left I spent my time riding the scooter to the beach and back, visiting Paphos, and kicking back with a very good South African friend of mine who owned one of the local pubs. I really enjoy meeting foreigners, debating politics and hearing their various viewpoints…which is why I love traveling as opposed to vacationing. Cyprus was excellent for that and someday we hope to return. I forgot to mention, one highlight for me was celebrating 4th of July on the balcony of our Polis apt. (old glory flying), as 99% of the complex were English .
A Youtube link to the area:
our apartment complex July 2009
our pool July 2009
Polis Hay Field May 2009
Polis Tide May 2009
The legendary Polis Haunted Graveyard (very scary) May 2009
Polis Mountain Sheep May 2009
Church, on route to Paphos May 2009
Paphos Ruins May 2009
Paphos Ruins May 2009
Paphos May 2009
Paphos Coastal Lighthouse May 2009
More Paphos Ruins May 2009
Paphos Castle (St. Paul) June 2009
Shelley at Amphiteatre Paphos June 2009
John on a hike near Polis June 2009
coast line June 2009
Shelley near coast June 2009
coast line June 2009
Shelley sprays for ants at camp site Coral Bay July 2009
Shelley on balcony celebrating July 4th 2009
John on balcony celebrating 4th of July
concert at Inneia July 2009
Pat Savage takes to the stage July 2009
fire swallowers Inneia July 2009
concert at Inneia July 2009
happy holiday makers at the concert July 2009
Shelley and local butcher, night out at meze meal July 2009
Well it’s been awhile since my last blog. I’ve been substitute teaching some but we’re still contemplating a move. I have a Face Book account now which is new for me. Having worked with and built computers for years I am somewhat tech savvy, but have always thought the “Face Book/My Space” stuff to be a bit silly. After messing around with it these past few days however, I now totally understand folks who spend endless hours exploring the mind of cyberspace In that same vein I’m reading a book I’d like to recommend, it’s called Biocentrism: How Life and Consciousness Are the Keys to Understanding the True Nature of the Universe…….So anyway I’m thinking back to when my life partner and I got married..That was truly a GREAT DAY!!!!
The next morning we were slated to go on our honeymoon. Now this wasn’t any old honeymoon, but a teaching trip to Soul Korea! I’d seen an advertisement on the internet which we applied to. There are many ads online for Korean teaching posts, but what we liked about this one was we’d be working for the Korean government not some “fly by night” private school somewhere (in the middle of nowhere). My new bride and I were promised a monthly salary of $1500 (for Shell) and $2200 (for me), free living accommodations ( bed for Sean) in the sparkling city of Seoul. After much negotiation Alyson (who was 17 at the time) was given the go ahead to stay with Sarah and her husband (Russell) just down the street from his parents’ home. Sarah was newly married herself and this was to be the first home for all three of them. Russell’s parents had kindly agreed to look in on the kids, they were a responsible couple and it seemed safe enough. A few days later we said a tearful goodbye to my college van (automobile), selling it for a “cool” $75 cash, helped the kids move in and were ready to embark on our journey east.
On the morning of August 22nd 2005 we boarded a jet from the Seattle Washington airport and we were off. After a 20 hour flight we arrived in Seoul Korea! Well not exactly, we were temporarily housed in a small town (somewhere) in order to undergo indoctrination to Korean culture. For the next two weeks we learned Koran edict, how to eat with chopsticks, were introduced to Korean food and learned where our teaching post was to be. While we struggled with some of the agenda (like the food), my son Sean excelled at everything, soaking it in like a sponge. Truth be told it was great fun and an adventurous two weeks while we were there.
At the end of the training we were picked up by our teaching mentors, they pulled up in an older “smart car” sized vehicle; one that we were sure would never hold the three of us, plus luggage (of which we had tons). After some finagling on their part and me leaving my cases behind (to be transported later), we did manage to make the long drive to our new post…NOT Seoul however, our assignment had been changed at the last-minute and we ended up in a satellite city called Yangju (in the middle of nowhere). A 3 1/2 hour train ride to Seoul, but just a few miles from the demilitarized zone.
Our apartment was very nice and extremely large, the schools we taught at were pleasant and the teachers were quite supportive. They treated us kind of like rock stars in fact, I know that’s difficult to believe but that’s how it was. Curiously, what seemed to be the case with most South Koreans is they either adored Americans and were quite grateful for our support, or we were despised and considered occupiers. Something I was pleasantly surprised to observe was how hard-working the young ones were. Many of my middle schoolers (for example) would attend public school with me during the day, and then go to a private school at night. They did so in order to better their chances in securing a university slot. I’ve a hard time picturing students from this country being so motivated.
We got around town by bike mostly, although sometimes we did walk. One night the three of us were walking up to the local pizza shop and we were accosted by a car load of what appeared to be Muslim extremist men (dressed in white)… Enraged, they got out of their car and began screaming and at us. With no idea what they were saying we just kept walking, trying to ignore them. After a bit they got back into the car and drove away. Well that shook us up some and I remember it was after this incident that I started telling folks I didn’t know that “we were from Canada”
A few days later my school held their annual a sports day. At this event students invite their families to come watch a performance put on for them by the school. A mix of dance, music, parades, and sporting events, they worked quite hard at preparing for their guests throughout the year. I made (stumbled through) a speech and Sean helped out with the sporting events, Shelley was at her school doing the same. At some point during the day a man we didn’t know and who appeared suspicious began to quiz me about where I was from. I said “Canada” of course and then stepped away explaining to Sean that “for all we know he could be a terrorist”! Well this man happened to overhear our conversation and re-approached me. He said he was in fact Muslim and that he’d like me to come for a visit the following Saturday. I remember the closer Saturday came, the more nervous I was about meeting this man I didn’t know. There had been a few kidnappings in the area after all….….well OK that may have been a rumor.
Saturday arrived and I peddled my bike over to the address I was given. The man (dressed in white) was waiting for me in front of the shop. As I parked my bike and he asked me to follow him inside. We went back through the shop passing several people who appeared to be eyeing me, and down a long dark hall into this small dusty room. He stared at me intensely without saying a word (for what seemed like hours) and I thought “I’m dead”! Then his scowl broke into a smile and he began to laugh out loud!!!??? He said he’d invited me over to thank me for doing such a great job at the school (I guess his niece was one of my students). Later I was given a HUGE supply of fresh lamb meat to take home (he was the town butcher). All in all an excellent day to be sure, and a reminder of just how foolish it can be to let ones fears rule their reason….in other words, paranoia will destroy ya…….but then again you never know…………do you??
Anyway, we left South Korea a few months later as it just didn’t work for us. Sean was studying online and by himself most of the time, which was difficult for him. There was no one his age (who spoke English) to socialize with either, it was just too remote. I did enjoy the town though. I remember that folk would come out at night and walk the streets with their families, just hanging out relaxing and visiting. This is something the Italians do as well and it’s pretty cool to be part of. One result from our trip was Sean’s continuing love of South Korea. So much so that he currently lives there while bravely serving America in the US Army. We had quite the adventure, perhaps we’ll return someday.
Dad, Alyson, Sarah, Russell, Sean and Shelley. Minutes away from take-off.
Arriving at Incheon airport after 20 hour flight – Seoul Korea July 2005
Shelley and Sean outside training center, just after arrrival – July 2005
“Arizona room” inside our apt – Yangju July 2005
Our kitchen in Yangju – July 2005
Drying chillies outside apt – Yangju Aug 2005
Downtown – Seoul Sept 2005
Downtown market – Seoul Aug 2005
Downtown market – Seoul Aug 2005
Palace itself- Seoul Sept 2005
Shelley at Palace – Seoul Sept 2005
John on path outside Palace – Seoul Sept 2005
Emorer’s throne – Seoul Sept 2005
Palace house – Seoul Sept 2005
Still more Palace buildins – Seoul Korea – Sept 2005
Royal Art – Seoul Sept 2005
Thanksiving Festival in Seoul – Sept 2005
Korens taking part in triditional sports games – Seoul Sept 2005
Shelley and her mentor teacher Chu Hi – Sept 2005
Two wee girls, Sports Day at Shelley’s school – Yangju – Sept 05
Sports Day at our school – Sept 05
Sports Day at Shelley’s school – Yangju – Sept 05
Sports Day photos at John’school – Yangju- Sept 05
Sean on Sports Day – Yangju Sept 2005
Sports Day at John’s school – Aug 2005
Student and wee brother, Sports Day at John’s school – Yangju Sept 2005
Sports Day parade at John’s school – Sept 2005
Sport’s Day at Shelley’s school – Yangju Sept 2005
I noted with cheer a forthcoming free event in our town, the grandly entitled” Arizona Folk Festival”. I don’t know if people had truly travelled from all over the state to play there but it was a pleasant way to pass a few hours. It took place in a lovely local park area called Sahuaro Ranch Parkhttp://www.glendaleaz.com/SRPHA/history.cfm. It had been advertised that there would be song writing workshops, banjo lessons, cowboy poetry (we never did learn what that was), bluegrass music, celtic songs and good ole country tunes. It was said about 150 acts were due to take part. I think I had imagined a grand stage or something, but it turned out there were a few small areas set aside for the various volunteer acts and some makeshift stages on the wrap around balcony of the grand ranch house (more of which later). People brought food and chairs or made use of the provided plastic ones. Americans are very organised at bringing their own seating arrangements to events, so we actually brought ours but in the end realised there was more than adequate provision made in that department so left them in the boot (sorry trunk) of the Bluesmobile. The food at $5 for a large ice cream and $3.50 for an ATM withdrawal proved too much for the Pedersen budget so we made do with our water supply.
We listened to several music acts, some were just old guys sitting around under the shade of palm trees and wonderful smelling jasmine bushes with a mixture of instruments, who were obviously due to actually officially perform at some later time. Close your eyes and you could be imagine being back around a campfire with these old cowboys out in the wilds of Wyoming or Colorado, great stuff, really atmospheric! They played jingly jangly blue grass music, folk licked their ice-creams and tapped their open toed sandals to the catchy beat. My favourite of the day was a couple who sang a moving duet, him on the acoustic guitar and her adding great vocals, their voices blended well, they sang with emotion about how they couldn’t live without each other in their lives and my thoughts strayed to my wonderful man, fortunately I had on my sunglasses so no-one could see the foolish tears of a middle aged woman in the spring sunshine.
We also took a tourist trip round the old house on the grounds and of course have provided photos for your delight. Nice place, very interesting and it seemed to be remarkably well-preserved.
We had intended on staying to listen to what was described on the programme as “Celtic Music” but after waiting for a while and only seeing one large balding grey haired man with no instruments turn up we decided to leave. It was getting too hot and really we had had enough. There’s only so much cowboy stuff you can take in one afternoon. Still it made a change to be in a place full of people that wasn’t called Walmart.
It is 11 p.m. and today has been very busy, been out most of the day looking at homes in a place called Apache Junction. I love the sound of the name, it looks very mundane though, nothing like the images it conjures up of covered wagons and the Wild West. I even went to a local Starbucks when I went the first time with the realtor. We both went back to visit the area in the evening and peer over the fence. It is much quieter there than where we are at the moment and the air is cleaner, plus it is nearer the mountains. We are trying to decide what to place as an offer, they want too much for it, plus there is another home in the next street, much cheaper. It would be good to settle down, but if doesn’t work out well…we’ll get something somewhere…we still have the tent after all!
Just a quick rambling to say hi and let you know what we’re up too. We are doing fine living in Glendale (a city in the Phoenix area) and have rented an apartment just across the street from the Air Force barracks here. Most of the folk living at this complex are military in fact, which we like a lot. Every night at 2200 hours they play taps through a loud-speaker system (I can hear it now), there’s also the occasional jet flyby, kind of cool really!! We’ve both put in for teaching licenses and expect to get those this week, so I’ll be working soon. Of course there is the never-ending house hunting which keeps us busy. Shell’s getting some good driving practice in here on the American roads which is fun….she’s doing great and navigating like a pro!! We’ve signed up for Netflix, a service that allows customers to rent DVDs through the mail, and stream films on the computer as well. It’s amazing what one can do when one has a proper address!!!!
Just read tonight that America is building a new embassy in London that will cost us one billion dollars (see link below). Folks here are losing their homes, struggling just to get by…..while the powers that be waste money hand over fist on foolishness…..We’ve been to the old one plenty of times, looks fine and it’s NEVER been that busy. Beside the embassy there’s a lovely park (Grosvenor Square) where the Brits have erected a 911 memorial. Spent a lot of time there while Shelley was in for her endless visa interviews. I guess the new one will have a moat…Perhaps they’re going to stock it with fish and get in a little angling …..Anyway, so does us staying here mean we’re in “Phoenix to stay”??? We’ll have to see about that I suppose… It’ll be nice to work and have a bit of normalcy tho, for a while anyway.
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