Over Halfway Done ?!?!?!

I realized a few days ago that my time here is just over halfway done. its so crazy! in a lot of ways I feel like I have been here for a very short amount of time, like I haven't accomplished much or seen everything I wanted to see. In other ways it seems like I have been here much longer - I feel very comfortable here, despite not having my own space or a job to keep me busy. Its so strange that in a few weeks I will have to leave....Don't get me wrong, I will be very glad to sleep in my own bed and be around my family and friends. My mom even told me the other day that we might go on a bit of a family vacation when I get back. All of this I look forward to.....but leaving here will be so very hard. I know its too early to get myself all down and stressed over leaving and that I need to enjoy every moment I have left. And believe me, I am.....but the thought of leaving makes me sick and brings tears to my eyes. I know that sounds over dramatic.....but I really don't want to face leaving Alex. I am now so used to seeing him all the time and can actually say we have experienced be around one another all the time in a setting other than camp or longer than 10 days.....and I love it. so much that I don't want to do without it. I just hope and pray that I find a job before I have to leave so that I know for a fact that I will be back soon. I came here on a mission and it hasn't been completed yet, and time is running out. If I don't find a job then it will be 2-3 YEARS until Alex and I can be together like this again. And I will have to return home a failure that was stupid and quit my job in tough economic times to chase a dream. I wouldn't regret my decision if that was the case because I know I would have always wondered about this amazing 2 months and I would have missed out on so much happiness....but if it ends up that I don't find a job then I will be more than crushed.
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(big sigh) OK I'm done. done with being insecure. I just had to get all of that out there in the open. Everyone I keep telling my worries too just keeps telling me the same things - that I have plenty of time left, that things will work out as they should, that everything happens for a reason, and that I will come away from this with a job. But it just doesn't feel that way sometimes when I haven't had any interviews yet. BUT overall I am still confident that the right job will come my way or that something will happen so that Alex and I don't have to be away for that long. And next week I do get to go into the place where Alex's uncle Martin works and have an informal interview and poke around to see if working there might interest me....I just don't know much about it yet. i know they are taking applications or whatever but I also know that the job Martin does is temporary and he jumps around to different places a lot. That kind of thing wouldn't work for me. I need to be on salary with a consistent workload where I won't get cut hours. We shall see how it pans out. I am hopeful and keeping my fingers crossed.

Well since I started out this blog and wasn't intending it to go the way that it did, I shall swing back around to what I originally was intending......With less than half of my time left here I realize that I only really tell you guys what has happened to me. Which I am sure is probably of some interest to you, otherwise you wouldn't shill be reading through all of this business. However, I haven't really told anyone much about all the odds and ends that I have come to like or hate. So here are some with explanations where appropriate:


LOVE:

• Comparing English accents - I can actually hear the difference in people now and am starting to distinguish between different areas of the country.
• That Even at Posh Restaurants You Can Order Chips as a Side - not that I order them, its just amusing.
• The Adorable Houses - most front gardens have hedges, brick walls, wrought iron fences/gates (or a combination of those), and all of the houses are old and made of brick with bay windows and lacy curtains.
• Truly Multi-Functioning Buildings - all of the small towns (and even the big ones) use and reuse buildings over and over again without remodeling the outsides so any one building has probably been a dozen different kinds of shops throughout the years and many of them still have structural evidence of that. We just don't do that in the states.
• That Umbrellas and Wellies are Stylish Here - Wellies, or Wellingtons as they are properly named, are just rubber rain/mud boots but here they have a bit of a heal on them and are full of crazy patterns that even adults wear!
• Colored Hair is More Than Acceptable - Its not uncommon to see professionals, grown adults, and elderly people of all social statuses with crazy colored patterns in their hair. I've seen purple, pink, blue, green, multicolored, stripes, spots, zebra patterns, cheetah patterns...and its completely socially acceptable.
• English Slang - they really commit to it more than Americans do. And, as said in the movie Eurotrip, they really are on a totally different level of swearing. The comparisons they making are truly amusing.
• 911 is Valid Here - not that I have ever needed to utilize it, but its nice to know that so many Americans visit that they actually use 911 in addition to their own emergency service numbers.
• Everyone is So Friendly - Nearly everywhere you go people are nice to people they don't know. Everyone greets everyone else on the streets and will invite you in for a cup of tea. They even give the home repair guys tea and some tv before he starts his job!
  
• Rude People are Overly Rude - it seems odd, but its actually quite amusing. For such a polite culture they really do lose their tempers quickly and tend to over exaggerate their personal inconveniences. They do not hesitate to curse at one another in public, start yelling arguments in the middle of the street, and completely blow things out of proportion just to be seen as correct in the end and receive compensation. its kindof an art form really.
• Cats have More Than One 'Home' - so many of the cats I have met while being here live in multiple houses. They will belong to one house specifically but will eat at, visit, and sleep in multiple houses. Its really common for a cat to have 3 or 4 places it sleeps and gets fed. And any one of those people will take it to the vet if it needs it and buy it treats all the time. They also have those cat doors where the cat can wear a collar that allows only it to get in and out of the house whenever it wants. They are amazing. I am sure we have them in the states, but I've never seen them.
• Prawn Crackers
• Everyone is Fascinated with America - I can't tell you how many times I have had lengthy conversations with complete strangers about something American. They have so many questions and everyone seems to want to visit. Its like how everyone in America hopes to someday visit Europe...and I have all the answers for them. Well, not all, but they are still so very interested in knowing about America.
• Having an Accent - its so much fun! It gets me free stuff all the time. but it also causes confusion a lot as well. People are always wanting me to say different words that they think sound cool with my accent. They always feel bad and like its annoying me, and sometimes it does get annoying when I am trying to have a conversation with someone, but usually i don't mind and even find it amusing myself.....why so many people think they way I speak is cool is beyond me. But fair is fair because a lot of the time I am quiet and antisocial just because I like to listen to everyone's accent. That's another thing that never gets old.
  

HATE:

• Roundabouts - seriously, they are so annoying.
• Fish and Chips - WAYYYY too greasy.
• Indian Food and Curry Sauce.
• 2 Lane Streets and Parking on the Sidewalks - I understand that England was built before cars were around so that the streets are narrow and two lanes....but it's rather dangerous! Because many people do not have driveways they park up on the curb. Literally, cars will be half in the street and half on the sidewalks. Therefore other cars must weave in and out of tilted parked cars and pedestrians must walk around parked cars. Its not legal but people don't have much of a choice and nobody really gets in trouble for it.
• Wetslick Tights and 80's Madonna Skirts - So the fashion here is really broad....but the 80's sure seem to be making a comeback. People wear wetslick tights and those puffy Madonna crinoline skirts in bright colors. We have them in the states but really only Hot Topic sells than and not many people other than celebrities wear them....well not in the UK. They are everywhere and people are crazy about them! Specially the shiny wetslick tights. I'm sorry, that's one fashion trend I will not be following.
• False Balconies - So many apartments (of flats as they call them here) have big, glass sliding patio doors off of their flat....but when you open it up it leads nowhere. its literally up against a big iron railing to prevent people from falling out....then why have the patio door and not just a window? so strange.
• Chavs (particularly on the Bus) - I know that I have explained this kind of person before to everyone, but I will refresh your memory. A Chav is a person of any ethnicity, usually lower income, that are the American Equivalent of a cross between a 90s gangster (think baggy clothing like track suits or Ginkgo jeans with oversized shirts, some added bling) and a stereotypical white trash individual. They always ask 'Can I have a fag, love?' when they walk by you on the street and play their hip/hop music wayyy to loud on the bus. They also have then tendency to hang around parkinglots and stare at you creepily as you walk by. I understand that they are responsible for a majority of the vandalism and produce a large percentage of the teen pregnancies.
• Roosters - I think everyone knows why.
• Everything I Need Has Another Name - I cannot tell you how many times I have wanted something or spoken of a certain thing and nobody has a clue what I am talking about because it has a different name over here. I can usually describe it but a lot of times it is slightly different over here so people are still not sure if what I want is what I am asking for. I don't HATE it and I usually can get it worked out but it is annoying sometimes. At least I have learned a lot.
• Too Many Potatoes - everything comes with a potato of some sort. And most of the time there is multiple potato variety to choose from. I like potatoes, but not every single day! And also, everything comes in a sauce or in sandwich form. It usually tastes good, but I don't always want tons of sauce or so much starch. Therefore I ask for my plain sometimes. It isn't a huge hassle, just something I had to get used to.
  

well I that about does it for now. i have more I can add but its 2 in the afternoon and I haven't eaten or gotten dressed yet - been too busy with this and job hunting to do anything else today. I am sure my next entry will be long since I didn't focus on whats been going on....but I felt like a bit of a change. Hope everyone is well in the states - I hear its been really freaking hot these past weeks. Then again, I haven't spoken weather to anyone since last Sunday so I spose that could've changed. hugs to everyone!