Differences: Media

We've only been here a short time, and every once in a while I'll discuss some differences between the countries.

Media
Seriously now.... open up a newspaper and there will be a picture of a topless woman. Right in front of you. Awesome! (Catch the sarcasm?)

Along the same line, nudity on TV is also more acceptable. We've caught several clips of things that, in America, would be censored, but in England, they can show it. For example, there is a TV show here that shows funny YouTube videos. All of a sudden (and out of nowhere!), they were showing a gay workout video from the 70s in which all the men were naked. Like I said - I did not sign up for that one!

Swearing is also more common on TV (I've heard its after 9pm). I was watching Hells Kitchen, which, in America would be bleeped out (since they do use those words that I don't dare repeat). Well, in England, they just go ahead and let all of them fly. In fact, I think they added in a few extras.

The BBC is the broadcasting center, and was, up until a few years ago, the only programming on TV. People pay a yearly fee for TV (somewhere around 100 pounds or so) but more recently they have been also purchasing satellite. Anyways, the BBC has at least five channels. (Then there are others on our TV because we have satellite in the hotel). The funny thing is that some of the channels don't even turn on until nighttime or a certain time of the day. Anywhere from one-third to one-half of the channels on my TV, at any given time, are "closed".

First Saturday in London

Saturday was a really buys day for Dave and I. Well, actually, the whole weekend was busy.

After a quick breakfast at our hotel (that's where we eat every breakfast - thanks World Vision!), Dave's CEO, Scott picked us up. He drove us around the area so we could get a feel of what SW London is like. If you know the area, we went all the way from Wimbledon through several "commons" - like this one:

This one is Bushy Park. It looked almost exactly like this picture (including the trees changing colors!), although I found this one online. We did see several deer in this park although we saw even more in Richmond Park. 

We also went through Thames Ditton, which was founded in the 16th and 17th centuries, so it has lots of older buildings. Its a very neat place. This is what some of the buildings look like: 

Its just a quaint, beautiful place. 

Drove through Esher, Claygate, and Walton on Thames. Got lunch at an awesome pub in Cobham - an old building with 6 foot ceilings, the classic English pub. Drove through a few other cities such as Kingston, Surbiton and Weybridge. One of the things that are shocking to Dave and I is how close everything is to each other. Most of these towns sort of "merge" into each other, and their downtown areas can even be half a mile or a mile from each other. 

After we got home, we decided to have a "touristy" night and go to downtown London. We took the tube from Wimbledon to Victoria Station (about half an hour ride) and did some walking around in that part of town. We just did a quick overview (I don't have as much energy as I did a few months ago) of Westminster Abby, Big Ben and then walked past the Prime Minister's house on the way to Picadilly Square. 

So we didn't get any pictures of Westminster Abby, just Big Ben. Here it is again :-)

We then looked for a place to eat, and found a little Spanish Tapas bar in the Picadilly area. It was actually really delicious. And expensive. But that goes without saying. Here is Dave in the Tapas bar. 

It was a cute place - in the basement of a building. I think the kitchen was on the main floor. Just a cool atmosphere. Lots of the people in there were going to plays/musicals. We (well, especially Dave) were classing the place up with our clothes :-)

Sorry for the bad picture, but I didn't want to hand our camera over to some stranger on the street. This is us in Picadilly Square. 

We ended up taking the rail home. Our hotel is actually really close to downtown London... somewhere around 6 miles! It seems much longer because the tube stops so many times in-between here and there. So, taking the rail is a bit quicker. Overall, a great Saturday - although I was exhausted!

Day with Relocation Agent

Yesterday we met with a wonderful lady named Alison who is our "relocation" agent. She took us around the Wimbledon/Esher/Raynes Park/Thames Ditton area. We viewed 5 different properties and got a feel for the different cities.

It was great, except for the fact that we realized how great other parts of England are. I loved the feel of Esher/Cobham/Surbiton/Thames Ditton area. This is an area a bit more "country-ish". The houses are a bit more spaced apart, there is some room between towns, and the houses are much older. One house we looked at we really loved. It was built in the 17th century, and although its been updated, it still has the feel of an old house and has some unique molding. It has 3 large bedrooms (I think the master bedroom was larger than ours in California!), a lovely "reception room" (think living room) with dark wood floors. The kitchen was very nice and recently redone. The down side of the property is that it was in a small town (Thames Ditton) and although it seemed very friendly, we worry that there is not much to do there. We did see lots of families and little kids running around though :-) Also, the property comes unfurnished, so we would be buying furniture for a whole house. Dave likes that because we have the freedom to make it look however we would like. There is also only one bathroom. It is a nice bathroom, but still only one in the house. This property is within our price range, and seems to be the best "deal" that we looked at. It is within walking distance to the train, so we would be able to travel up to London area easily. We would probably purchase a car immediately. Here are some pictures of this place:

This is the communal garden. Pretty much the view from the front of the house. The houses on the left are also in the community. The place we looked at was a bit older than those, though, from the 17th century! 

The view from the front door. Look at the wonderful molding around and the chandelier in the ceiling. New tile floors in this room and the kitchen. 

My internet is slow, so if you want to see more pictures, visit facebook:
You'll actually have to go about halfway down in the album to see the houses. There are pictures of both places in the album.


The second place that we loved came at the last minute. We were meeting with an "estate agent' and he recommended another place that he had. More expensive (still do-able, but not much wiggle room) - around 200 pounds more a month than the first place. Yet, this is partially furnished (we would not have to buy almost any furniture!), and in the Raynes Park area. This is the area we *think we want to be near. There is a church in this area that we have heard many good things about and have some potential friends down the street. I say potential - we're meeting them on Sunday! The flat is huge! over 1400 square feet, with 4 bedrooms and an office. We might not need to purchase a car since we are close to shops and rail station. This place is currently un-occupied so we would be able to move into it ASAP (which is great for me!)

 The living room. Isn't it just so wonderful? Love the wood floors....

The bedroom downstairs. The house has many built-in closets and shelves like this. Love it!

Okay... so now that you know all the info, what would you do? Place 1 - cheap, out in the country, unfurnished, large bedroom, 17th century or Place 2 - expensive, in the city, furnished, lots of room

Let me know what you would choose and why! 

Baby update: So... we went to several General Practitioner offices yesterday to see how they would treat me. One of the offices said that I would be seen, but would have to pay out of pocket for everything - doctors visits and the hospital delivery until I have been in the country for 6 months. 

The second office said that as soon as I filled out paperwork, I would be seen. But not for my pregnancy, since it is a pre-existing condition.  So, I would have to pay out of pocket for everything pregnancy-related, but anything else would be treated under the NHS. 

We have a call in to people who know more than we do. Hopefully they can sort this out, since I'm not trying to have an anchor baby! The options are that we can get the NHS to cover everything because we have long-term visas. Second option would be that we pay out of pocket and hope that our health insurance in the US would cover it. This might get tricky since we are now "residents" of the UK. I don't know how the US insurance companies would like that. 

Well, pray for this situation! We have lots of decisions to make regarding both the house and the baby. We have limited time, which is making this even harder on us. We have temporary housing for the next month, and the baby could come anytime after that! 

Arrival in London

Here's a quick post to let everyone know we arrived in London! It was quite an experience, although I believe God gave us traveling mercies. It could have been much worse, traveling with 10 bags on a 10 hour flight when 8 months pregnant :-)

The bags that we took with us on the airplane. 5 of them... haha... so much for light traveling!

Check-in at the airport was fairly easy, thanks to Dave's Premier status (frequent flier miles do pay off! - we get to use the special premier check-in at LAX). We did have to re-pack one of the bags, but really for traveling with so many bags, that was easy. We also were in the Economy Plus section of the plane and shared three seats between the two of us. I was able to stretch out, and although I didn't sleep, it was really nice to have that extra room. Also, the plane had really fun touch-screen TVs on each seat, so I played some boring games (Bejewled or Memory anyone?) and watched two movies to pass the time.

Talking on the phone to people before we leave... saying last minute good-byes!

Upon arrival at Heathrow, we quickly found all of our luggage. We did have a problem with the stroller and stroller box that we brought. As Dave said, it looked like a bear mauled it. Pretty well said. Good news is the stroller still works. Has a bit of cosmetic damage. Bad news is that the bassinet is broken. We're in talks with both United and a company that "repairs" destroyed goods. So, we should either get a new stroller, a new bassinet or it will be fixed. I was so happy that it was just the stroller, because if any of the other boxes had been destroyed, it would have resulted in a "rainshower" of clothes/books/baby items!

Looking at the box, its actually amazing that there wasn't more damage to the stroller.... 

Here are some pictures of our day here!

Dave before dinner at the pub. I realized I didn't have any pictures of him!

Our "traditional" dinner - fish and chips and "jacket" with beans and cheese. 

Had to take the touristy picture of the double-decker bus. We'll have to ride one of them soon!

Just kidding!

Almost 32 weeks pregnant :-)

Another picture of the pub. Sorry for the bad order of photos. 

Update on us

So, here's a long-awaited update.

Life is going well! Our condo is rented out, starting in August, so we are beginning the process of moving. This process is complicated because most likely, we will not be moving to England at the same time that we move out of our place, so we will be living with Dave's parents, or if we're here a little longer, we'll be looking for a place to rent monthly until our visas are ready. We will be having a big garage sale to get rid of lots of our stuff, and may be selling furniture and a car, so if you know anyone interested, keep your eyes and ears open for more information later on. Most of the things that we own will be going into storage as I don't feel they are worth shipping to England.

We will be able to take a total of 230 pounds (each) of things to England. So, we will start packing our bags very carefully! Dave's work is totally taking care of us during our move, and I am so thankful. We will have a budget to buy things that we need once we get there. We have not chosen yet where exactly we will be living, but think we will be in the Wimbledon (SW London) area. We are looking at 3 and 4 bedroom places, so we will have room for anyone who wants to come visit us!

As far as I know, I am still pregnant ;-) It is still really hard to believe and I easily freak out about any little thing that is happening with my body. We had an ultrasound a little over a week ago, and everything was looking alright! Sorry for the unflattering picture, but its the only "bump" picture I have! I'm 16.5 weeks in this picture. I promise I look at least a little better in person. If all goes according to plan, I will probably be giving birth in England. I hear that people have good experiences there, so we'll see what happens!

Journey

For the past year or two, I felt as though God were preparing us to do something. Something big. Maybe go somewhere. Maybe give something. I searched for it. I tried different jobs, talked about it with friends, tossed around different ideas with Dave, but still didn't know what it was.

During the same time, one of my friends introduced me to her. This lady (I don't even know her name!) reminds me of myself. She had plans for her life - what it would look like, what her family would be like, where she would live, what she would do. Yet God's plans are bigger than ours and the things that she planned did not happen. It was difficult, but she finally began to trust God and He blessed her with peace and trust. Her life is still hard and she has struggles, but she has so much joy and love that exudes from her. And as I read, I realize I want that.

The last year was not how Dave or I expected it. I thought I would have a full time job. That didn't happen. Maybe just a good job? No.... I thought we would have a baby. Nope. At least be pregnant? nope again. Maybe Dave would be happy at his job? Eh.... on and off. Long story short, the year did not end up how we pictured it. And yet there were days I felt content. I felt blessed because I knew that God was using those difficult times in my life to teach me and prepare me for what was coming next.

For example, because I don't have kids, I am able to work with the 7th and 8th graders at our church. And I love them all. Over the last year they have become like my own children. I have cried for them, rejoiced with them, prayed for them and tried to teach them from the lessons I had learned. I have gone to camp with them, had sleepovers, gone to the mall, got coffee, unlimited text messaging, beach trips, singing Taylor Swift (oh well, I do that for myself, too).

Anyways, God has opened a door - he has revealed a tiny part of our journey. Dave has accepted a job that requires we move to London. We are in the process of packing and tying up all the loose ends. We will probably be leaving sometime in March or April. It is a two year job, and we are so excited to be following God in this adventure! I have been looking for ministry opportunities and/or jobs in the area. I am sure that God has something for us there whether it is in our future neighborhood, in the church we will attend or the people we run into.

Please be in prayer for us as we take this first step in our journey. We are very excited about all that is happening, but there are still many things to work out. Pray for Dave's negotiating to go well and for us to be taken care of in that aspect. Pray for me to find a "job" or somewhere I can volunteer or serve. Pray for our condo to be rented to a wonderful Christian family. Pray that we find a place to live that is in a good neighborhood. Pray that we will continue to listen to God as he guides us in this process.

Oftentimes, I want an ordinary life. I daydream about my house with a yard and 2.5 children and the rest of the "American Dream". But then I think about how awesome a life with God can be. Its exhilarating, rewarding, and joyful. Its so much more than what I can ever picture. I know I wasn't made to be ordinary.