Travel For Two

Sister Wed, Family Fun and Shopping

Posted on October 29th, 2007 by k.
Categories: Travel, United States.

We left mid-month to visit my family in Southwestern Virginia and to attend G’s sister’s wedding in Louisville, KY.

Since it had been six months since I visited, and more than a year since G’s last visit to the US, my family took off work in rotation in order to maximize their time with us–and fun! Grandma threw an impromptu “Welcome Home” party to celebrate our visit. My brother came in from Northern Virginia. We played mini golf and LOTS of card games. Mom cooked our favorite meals. And that’s just the start. And despite my age I still couldn’t stave off the tears on Tuesday morning as we started on our journey to Louisville, KY.

Luckily for my parents who were in the midst of a severe drought, our drive to Kentucky was lined by Fall color drenched in RAIN. Along the way, we made a pit stop in Blacksburg to see all the recent growth on our old campus and were pleased to see the orange and maroon Hokie spirit all around.

The drive to Louisville was lovely, but LONG. G kindly drove the whole way (likely due to the fact that I’m a novice driver after over a year off the road!—Though, I did renew my Driver’s License while in the States). I think we last drove that distance in one go during our Spring Break trip in 1999!

Upon arrival in Louisville, we suffered a bit of hotel drama. But all else ran smoothly as we had a wonderful dinner with G’s sister, Cynthia, and her fiance, Will, on Wednesday night, had girls and guys nights out on Thursday, the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner on Friday and , finally, the wedding on Saturday.

The evening wedding ceremony was beautiful with autumn colors, musicians and a soloist. G’s sister and her new husband seem very content and excited. And we’re very excited for them…and wish for them the happiness that we found in marriage.

We’ve written many times about the benefits and drawbacks of living in London. Louisville is ~10 hours from Raleigh/Durham and DC. G’s sister’s new husband, Will, has a fear of flying. We live in London on one income. These factors and others led to an unfortunate circumstance. During their ~2 years of dating/engagement, we had only been briefly acqainted with Will prior to our arrival in Louisville for the Wedding festivities. Not ideal, but you do what you can…hence, we arrived in town a couple days early in order to have dinner with them as a couple, to become a bit more acquainted.

And thank goodness we did! As is always the case at family weddings, our family time and interaction was very limited. The bride and groom and G’s parents were frantic with wedding arrangements, details and hosting out of town guests. SO we took advantage of our spare time. We drove through horse country, ate at favorite restaurant chains (PF Changs, Cheesecake Factory, Panera & Qdoba) and shopped like crazy.

Thanks to G’s parents’ quick thinking and pre-booking, we were able to visit at Churchill Downs to witness opening day, we watched the horses from a lofty Skybox. While it wasn’t my first horse race (Royal Ascot was earlier this year), it was fun to have a bit more time with the other wedding guests who remained in town…and to see the famous and iconic spires of an American Institution, Churchill Downs. A great time and we only lost a few dollars

Now, we just need to put another American visit on the calendar to conquer my homesickness…having a timeline seems to help.

Click here to see additional photos from the wedding weekend. Click on the individual photos if you’d like to see the caption.

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Wow.

Posted on August 9th, 2007 by k.
Categories: Living Abroad - Life in London, United States.

What else can I say…we just had dinner with the lovely family from Cary that I ran into on Tuesday as I walked to the train. G and I had Disciple I with the mom, Sarah, when we were newlyweds (5 years ago). Apparently, a few months ago (as they planned their trip), she wondered why we hadn’t been to church recently and asked others and found out we had moved to London. She had thought about contacting us, but being the mom of two very active and *brilliant* children, it slipped her mind.

On the flight over she thought, almost jokingly, maybe I’ll just run into them. To then only 4 days later do exactly that as she walked with her family through our very suburban borough just north of the more touristy districts. It can’t be coincidence. These types of things make me think a bit deeper. Wow.

We had a delightful dinner with the Haws and were very fortunate to find them amongst the millions…

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Small, very small, world

Posted on August 7th, 2007 by k.
Categories: Living Abroad - Life in London, United States.

Today, I was walking toward the Hampstead Heath Overland train station when an aparition appeared. From the opposite direction walked a friend from G and I’s Disciple I course in Cary. At first, I thought I was out of my mind, but then my suspicion was confirmed. Sarah and her husband and two children from Genesis Methodist Church in Cary are in town to visit the International Jamboree (going on in the UK at present) and were spending a bit of time in London during their visit. Unfortunately, I was on my way to the train to make an afternoon appointment and wasn’t able to offer them much time (the frustrating bit is that my train was cancelled when I made it to the station! I could have offered them way more time). I’ve given them my contact information, hopefully we’ll be able to get together for a bit of a visit while they’re in town. Fingers crossed that they’ll call…Fun coincidences confirm that it’s a very small world.

2 comments.

Finally, the truth!

Posted on June 7th, 2007 by k.
Categories: Living Abroad - Life in London, United States.

Some of you may remember my post from a month or so ago about “passports”. Finally, the truth has come out! About 40% of folks in the US hold passports. This article appeared in the tube paper last week.

2 comments.

Whoa, Nellie!

Posted on June 7th, 2007 by k.
Categories: Living Abroad - Life in London, United States.

The numbers are rising and it’s official. We’re now greatly outnumbered…I think it’s safe to say that our friends have moved from core marriage stage to baby stage…with another pregnancy announced yesterday, the count now stands at 13 US friends’/family pregnancies/births since we left the States last September (+3 if you add UK classmates).

For the first time since our marriage 5.5 years ago, the number of births (or impending) outnumbered the number of marriages. Marriages: 4 (+3 if you add classmates).
Whoa! Don’t think we’re getting any ideas…with so many in the “family” now, we can just borrow yours.

1 comment.

Perspective and Passports!

Posted on May 1st, 2007 by k.
Categories: Living Abroad - Life in London, United States.

Since arriving here last Fall, Londoners have referenced the low percentage of Americans with a passport in casual conversations with me numerous times. Since so many people use this line and are aware of the statistic, I sometimes wonder if they memorize it in schools or recite it on the news at 6PM daily bizarre

The numbers vary with each delivery, and it’s always used as a segue to argue an offensive political point–and almost always a good clue that this person is not good friend material. The first couple times, you get trapped in the inevitable political conversations because you think you’re headed for a casual conversation about travel, but then you find yourself in the throes of a political discussion. Not fun.
SO after going through it yet again last week, I decided to get to the bottom of the numbers and offer a bit of advice to you all since I’m seasoned, by now, in dealing with this trap. Hopefully you’ll never need it.
The closest I’ve gotten to a valid number of Americans who travel internationally is a guy’s site that uses Gov’t numbers regarding the number issued per year and the 10 year expiry date to guesstimate ~60m of the ~280m residents hold a valid Passport. By his estimation (assuming that some Passports expire earlier than 10 years after issue), this means ~20% of American citizens hold a valid Passport. Hmmm…from his analysis and passion for the calculation, I wonder if he’s an expatriate faced with the same situation as I?

Regardless, the passport line is generally used as a segue to political debates and I’m not one who appreciates this type of social discussion. Not pretty. Especially now. So, if you travel abroad and find yourself in a conversation with someone who insists on going there, here are a couple pointers to move through it without becoming too inflamed or battered.

Make the point that, if abroad at the time, you are an active traveler and value cultural differences. Speak about your most recent trips and travels. Make a mad dash to drive the conversation toward the topic of travel, in general.

Sometimes folks, for whatever reason, really just want to “take the piss out of an American” and debate. Not good when you’re looking for a light social conversation. You’ll know this is the case because they’ll drive the topic back to a political slant and refuse your attempts to steer elsewhere. A la “Americans do not understand or even appreciate what other cultures outside the US have to offer”. You may not know it yet, but they’re headed to a political debate on the War in Iraq. If you’re completely willing and able to go there, do. If not, I’ve established an angle that seems to work well:

Start with “Have you ever had a class or a meeting and been the only one to show up? [They won't follow]. Let’s say class. You show up for your class and 20 others decide to sleep in. The professor’s upset and decides to lecture those who show up on why it’s important to be in class. [The lightbulb will click.] Sometimes I feel that way in Europe. I wish that more Americans had an interest in international travel, I really do. But, even more so, I wish that Europeans were more accepting and polite to those of us who do venture over so that we’ll have a pleasant experience and inspire an interest in others. I respect you and your culture, but let’s not debate.” Then, segue to another topic you prefer.
If all else fails, you can also reference that the size of America and the size of Europe are roughly the same and that American states are roughly the size of European countries…sometimes this will offer them a taste of perspective and get them off the hunt for a political debate.

2 comments.

We are Hokies

Posted on April 21st, 2007 by k.
Categories: Living Abroad - Life in London, United States.

As most of you know, G and I are Hokies. We graduated in 2000 and, like most VT graduates, are very loyal to our alma mater.

As luck would have it, we were in Mallorca when we learned of Monday’s horrific events on the Virginia Tech campus. Hence, we had a TV and access to 24/7 news coverage of the event. It’s unimaginable that this type of event would occur in low-key, hospitable, and wholesome Blacksburg. We kept asking ourselves “Why Virginia Tech?”.

We watched, horrified, as international newcasters demonized Americans and the US political environment. We overheard conversations about the incident at the local cafe (uttered in German, Spanish and English). For the first and, perhaps, only time, our Virginia Tech was on the minds of the world. We were upset by the events, found it difficult to imagine what the families and victims were going through and found it impossible not to be defensive when others criticized at a time when our Hokies needed support.

We watched Tuesday’s memorial service and were moved by Nikki Giovanni’s closing remarks. We all needed her words. We are Virginia Tech.
After returning back to London today, we are still gripped by the events and unable to fathom what those in Blacksburg are going through. As we prepare for [and dread] the work and school week ahead, it’s difficult not to think of the dread that Hokies feel when faced with returning to campus tomorrow. But, we are also proud today. Rather than hanging our heads in embarrassment or shame, we are holding our heads high. Rather than blaming or making the incident overtly political, students and other Hokies kept focused on the incident and their need to heal. Our fellow Hokies stuck together and are lending their support and attention to those in need.

We returned to inboxes from our friends to ensure that our “Hokie family” is still intact. Messages for prayer requests. For strength. Thankful well wishes. Thank you for thinking of us, for your messages and for supporting VT when it needs it the most.

2 comments.