The Maces are all home now!!! Yippee! It was so good to see Jonathan again, and even though we feel like family now, it was lovely to meet Bev and Alan and the rest of the crew. They are all lovely. (See-lovely. I wouldn’t have used that word before I moved here.) Charly and Lawrence came down and stayed the night Sunday night, so we had a full house for a few hours! And they brought the dog back-more about Archie later.
Friday, October 3, 2014
Week 2: Orientation
Becky introduced us to Shepherd’s pie. I’m sure I’ll make more of that in the days to come.
Jonathan didn’t have school this week, so he drove us around to some more viewings. I found a 2 bedroom flat, fully furnished, and had a great feeling about it…until they told us the landlord decided he won’t have children living there. Boo. Also, several agencies are being finicky about accepting student loans as our “income”. They require a “guarantor” which means additional fees. (Watch out for those hidden fees! They are like little goblins hiding behind every bush, just waiting to grab ya!)
Paul had orientation for his program this week. Real classes start next week, but he met with his cohort (class of 9) that will become his other family for the next two years. Really eclectic group-big variety in training, experience, type, and background. Two of them are married and one has kids, so I may form a support group for us poor unfortunate souls that married “actors”. Haha!
We went into the city as a family and met up with the head of Paul’s program. The school is really modern-huge screen on the ceiling, tons of escalators going out of the main lobby, interesting furniture, and huge glass windows into the design department. There’s a cool area with a bunch of fountains shooting out of the ground, and we walked over to the shopping arena nearby called “The Bullring”. Jonathon met up with us and showed us around the gorgeous square with the City Hall and the brand new library. (We may or may not have napped in the library for 45 minutes).
Jonathan convinced us to go on a field trip to Stratford on Avon to see the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of “Love Labour’s Lost” on Tuesday night. We got tickets for 10 pounds each! We loved the way they incorporated their own original music into the production, and the guy who played Berowne was BRILLIANT. Bev and Alan (and Viv-from the ward) took shifts watching Rachel and put her to bed for us, so we could have a date night. Dana and Becky came with us. It was a great evening, and more than anything, it helped me forget my troubles for a few hours. Thank you theatre.
Saturday, Bev and Alan took us to Calke Abbey which is from the 1700s, I believe. We walked all around the grounds and saw a tree called “The Old Man” that is over 1000 years old!! I loved it! It was great to just walk and talk and bask in the glorious old English countryside. Bev has almost convinced me to join the National Trust which gives you entrance to lots of old Abbeys, Castles, homes, and other venues all over the UK. We’ll probably do it, but I’ve got to get a baby here first and have a place to live.
Things I’m learning:
-bandaids are “plasters”
-trash doesn’t go in the trash can, “rubbish” goes in the “bin”
-pants means “underwear” over here, and “trousers” means pants
-hob-I’m pretty sure this means the fan above the stove…
-when you say “bye”, you should sound cheerful and encouraging-multiple pitches are recommended
-I will NEVER feel comfortable driving here. Not only is it the wrong side of the road, but you’re driving on the wrong side of the car, and most cars are stick shift. Nope. Not gonna happen.
-Paul thinks all things dairy taste better over here-especially cheese!
-I get to watch Downton Abbey in time… everyone be jealous.
-Did you know you can park facing the wrong way and it’s totally legal?
-Aldi is the cheapest grocery store, and ASDA is somehow connected to Walmart, but it still doesn’t have the right brands.
-If you don’t think about the conversion from dollars to pounds, you don’t feel as sad about how much things cost.
-Indian food is not my favorite. I can deal with it, but Rachel can’t, and it probably wasn’t wise to try to introduce it whilst I’m pregnant.
-The English cold shoulder is nonsense. People are just as friendly here as they are in America. Englishman have better insults, though.
-Gas is called “petrol” and it costs 3-4 times more here than it does in America. That’s RIDICULOUS.
-Even the biggest motorways here feel small compared to American freeways. However, they don’t have ANY billboards-like anywhere. So you are free to enjoy the beautiful English countryside or the traffic without any distractions.
-Bev taught me the hanging laundry to dry is better than using a dryer. I'm struggling to believe...
Things Rachel has learned:
-Songs: “Twinkle Twinkle”, “Happy Birthday”, “Do You Wanna Build A Snowman”, “Let It Go”, “When Will My Life Begin”, and every line from the movies Frozen and Tangled.
-Archie, the dog, makes a great playmate.
-She has outgrown the excitement and novelty of bath time (aka “Baffin time”)
-Snuggling is fun!! (This is a big improvement for our little squirmy Bean.)
-When you’re the only child in nursery, you get lots of attention, all the toys, and extra biscuits. (cookies)
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About Me
- mel
- We are the Cartwrights! Paul and Melanie, Rachel, and Alice. We spent the first 2.5 years of marriage in the Salt Lake area, and we now live in Birmingham, England while Paul attends grad school at the Birmingham School of Acting. We love good movies-especially comedies-and nerdy things like Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. We apparently love flying by the seat of our pants and having adventures! Most of all we love our Savior, Jesus Christ, and our Heavenly Father. We belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon).
I love all of this!
ReplyDeleteYou two are such wonderful, talented, brave and courageous parents! The sacrifices you are making will become a blessing to you and your future family.