Living in London

We have spent the past week exploring New Jersey, getting acclimated, and learning about the next place we will call home. We bought cars, obtained mobile phones, got a post office box, opened a bank account, toured about six small cities, and generally had a very productive week with a minimum of frustration. Everything we tried was can-do. No paperwork, no bureaucracy. But the single best thing (so far) about New Jersey has got to be the fact that automobile owners are not allowed to pump gas ... yes, at every station there is an attendant and you don’t even need to get out of the car!

Now we are back in London for about ten days, during which time we must pack, move, and say goodbye to some of our favourite places in the city. Its hard to know what we will miss most about our life in London; we are already anticipating missing:

• Roundabouts, because they are vastly superior to the regular intersection in every way
• The Tube and trains running at all times, to all places because its great to have alternatives
• Single cream, because the American “half-n-half” cannot compare. And tea, oh my gosh, Americans have completely missed out on the tea thing
• The wondrous multitude of British accents because its so much fun guessing what part of the country people originate
• The British sense of reservedness because Americans really are intrusive with their friendliness
• British weather, because England has taught us that we want to live in four seasons again
• Real diversity of cultures because there is nothing like a ride on the tube — listening to a chorus of foreign tongues — to appreciate the absolute multitudes of people in the world
• The yellow light between red to green to "get ready" because well, it allows you to “get ready”
• Floor numbering that begins with the ground floor on the ground, and floor number one up one from that, because it makes sense
• The double decker buses, because we can say “front row, upper deck #10” and know exactly how that trips feels
• Full length doors on all toilet stalls, because privacy is a wonderful thing
• The fact that every filling station has little plastic gloves at the pump, because now I never get gasoline on my hands
• Wonderful heated towel racks in every bath or shower room, because really there is no greater luxury at any price than a warm towel