My Country 'Tis of Thee.

American readers, you do realize that song is totally ripped off from England, right? It's their national anthem. The song used to remind me of making a vocal recording with Mrs. Huselid in 7th grade for a state honors choir audition. Now it reminds me of the music that would ring out for miles at 4:30 pm everyday over the loudspeaker at RAF Mildenhall and Lakenheath right before the US National Anthem sounded loud and clear as all vehicles and people came to a complete hault in the business of their day.

"America" is definitely feeling more second-nature after two months now. Just this last week I FINALLY stopped walking to the "wrong" side of the car to get in to drive. Sadly, much of my British syntax is fading as I am conscious that when I use the language that I have been for the last 3 years, most people in this country would look at me VERY strangely.

I love it here. It's wonderful to be home. But I really miss England. The realist, missionary kid in Philip reminds me very matter-of-factly "it'll never be the same - even if we go back because almost all of the people would be gone and things would have just changed" (he realized this when we went back to Mexico as a 17 year-old ---- the very idealized memory of "home" that he had held so dearly sadly no longer existed). But there are things that I really miss.  And to be fair, not all of my memories are attached to transient military-related, American things. . .

I realized how much I missed it when I was watching an episode of The Amazing Race last weekend. I'm not a fan of this show. My mother-in-law is obsessed with it (we actually would love to go on the show together - we figure we could offer them a good story with some [fake] in-law drama, however we know that realistically we're way too familiar with international travel for them to think we would look ridiculous enough to be on the show and boost ratings). Last week they were in England.

I looked at England on the screen and part of my heart was pointing and saying, "look, its home". It was the familiarity of Heathrow airport. The street signs. The roundabouts. The horrible roads.

Watching the show I cringed as I was reminded why a majority of the world has the stereo-type of Americans that they do. Ugh, American tourists. I won't lie, guys, they stick out like a sore thumb in Europe. ATs are loud. Often, ATs walk around like they own the place. ATs don't make a good enough attempt to blend in. As I watched the show, I could just read the minds of the British people who were being barraged by the contestants seeking directions. . . I cringed with them. But they were good sports. . .

So, the things I miss about England. . . (this list is by no means exhaustive of the daily stream of things that come to my mind)

* AFFORDABLE TRAVEL ANYWHERE IN EUROPE (really grieving this loss, esp. since Philip and I couldn't have one final Mediterranean hurrah due to his delay in Iraq. . . boo)
* Driving on the road with people who KNOW HOW TO DRIVE (ugh, dc drives SUCK)
* the clinic
* my coworkers at the clinic
* the patients
* the Beck Row neighborhood before everyone freaking moved away (no joke, in three weeks Philip will be the ONLY ONE LEFT IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD as the lease agreement is not being renewed w/ the property owners and the military - all of the houses will now be rented privately rather than be "base housing")
* houses being named rather than numbered (Seriously, “The Olde Reading Room” is much cooler than “4225”)
* Dentol mouthwash (it's two colors, you shake it up and it mixes, you use it and when you spit it out it you can see your plaque because an ingredient in the mouthwash darkens it.  I love this stuff.  It it true brushing and flossing inspiration like I've never experienced.)
* (I never thought anything food-related would be on my list of things I miss but there are some big ones):
+ Malteasers (like Whoppers but they actually taste good - the chocolate is not waxy and nasty - it's heavenly and addictive)
+ inexpensive reduced fat fresh mozzarella cheese (I'd use a ball of it for a really yummo pasta dish for one that I would make --- now, the fresh mozz. breaks the bank and I can't get away with using an entire ball of it when it's not skim. . .)
+ giant pots of PLAIN activia yogurt OR inexpensive storebrand probiotic equivalents (really mourning this one!!!!)
+ hobnobs (though being back in the land of graham crackers, this loss has been easier than I anticipated)
+ Caramel Digestives
+ whole wheat couscous
+ dried nectarines and pineapple from Tesco
* roundabouts (really when everyone on the road actually knows how to use them they are the BEST THING EVER)
* beautiful architecture
* HISTORY (200 years old no longer counts as impressive)
* accents
* the joy on Lori Pankratz's face when I bring home Aero chocolate bars for her
* seeing all of the students walking around in school uniforms
* listening to my friends attempt an "American accent" (usually it sounds like a reeeeeeally nasal southern drawl --- I usually became really mortified and said, "WOW I pray I don't sound like that to you")
* being able to make people I knew well really uncomfortable when they "slipped" and made a comment about "bloody America" and I pretended to be really offended and they felt SUPER awkward
* girl nights discussing life, love and mental health with Miriam Crasnow
* listening to her daughter Lily's precious little accent
* the metric system (I now much prefer weighing ingredients than using measuring spoons and cups)
* charity shops (British equivalent of nice thrift stores --- as you can imagine you can find some very cool stuff . . .)
* frequent visits from my mother and father in-law on their regular work-related international travel ventures
* only having to put a postcode (zipcode) into the satnav (gps)
* no option of walking into target or walmart, spending $100 and walking out with nothing but some toilet paper, cleaning supplies and a tube of mascara
* the humor of learning what people think America is "really like"
* actually understanding the laws and procedures related to detaining mental health patients against their wishes
* having the option of going to London or Paris any weekend I fancied
* studying in Cambridge
* coffee dates in Cambridge
* going to University lectures in Cambridge
* coffee dates in Bury St. Edmunds on market day
* yummy hummus and olives
* Garlan cream cheese from the commissary (this is definitely top 10!!!!)
* light garlic and chive Philadelphia (not as good as Garlan but it would have been a little bit closer. . .)
* halloumi cheese at Nandos
* hiking or camping in Wales
* great public transit in almost all places traveled (DC is really good and definitely conducive to the pedestrian lifestyle, but it's not like I can get to CO on a high-speed train. . .)
* the fact that people who go to church WANT to be there, are usually very authentic in their faith and aren't just there for looks (I almost prefer the "if you don't actually want to be there, don't go and pretend to put on a show for the community around you")
* the experience of being in the UK during the world cup
* Harrods
* pub culture (NOT pub food . . . unless we're talking the chocolate junkyard at The Walnut Tree)
* the names of pubs
* the names of villages and towns
* the signs with the names of villages and towns
* afternoons at a beautiful seaside
* picking a place on a map and just driving until you get there on a beautiful Saturday afternoon in summer - widows open, the smell of flowers and fresh air rushing through the car as you drive under an endless canopy of lush green leaves on beautiful tall trees
* the sun not setting until after 9:30pm in summer
* British English
* COLA (cost of living allowance - can I get an amen from the military families who recently moved back to the US?)
* getting on the tube at Heathrow and watching how long it takes American tourists to realize that you do NOT talk on the Underground
* theater in London's West End
* tea at the Ritz
* Christmas Markets (mmm. . . the smell of mulled wine, giant pretzels and delicious sausages)
* schools still doing nativity plays
* people still saying "Merry Christmas"
* Christmas crackers
* almond biscotti tea, fresh chocolate chip cookies and InTreatment w/ Suzie Walker
* the game Articulate
* STUNNING churches, abbeys and cathedrals in every village you pass through
* watching people leave the unpopular chocolates at the bottom of the Quality Street tin
* the camaraderie that is ONLY found on overseas military installations --- you have not known military community until you have been surrounded by people who are also completely removed from their family and all that is familiar
* sitting in the front seat in the top of a double-decker bus
* red phone booths
* black taxicabs
* oatmeal being called porridge
* some good Garnier tanning lotion that I wish I would have stocked up on. . .
* working with Chloe
* hats
* Primark
* slightly edgier fashion and just a different sense of style
* horseracing
* the RAFM chapel
* lawyers being called "barristers"
* Journey group  (our Friday night small group who became our family for the 3 years of our life in England while we were half a world away from our own)
* being neighbors w/ Gidlows & Biggest Loser Sunday Nights (I know this is one of those things that I'll never get back, but some of my sweetest memories are of evenings at the Gidlow household)
* Lift and Stacey Manske's awesomeness
* going for tea at Emily's, Harriet's or Peacock's
* the ruhbarb cranberry tea served at Emily's in the summer
* Quorn vegetarian imitation mince (clinic recipe cottage pie made w/ real meat just isn't the same) + the bullion Anna used to make the recipe perfect
* turnips
* brussel sprouts
* one-person-sized restaurant portions
* MPS mail service
* watching Mel, Sarah and Chloe becoming addicted to Muddy Buddies like it was CRACK COCAINE
* Boxing Day (26 December)
* being able to go to Normandy, France on 6 June and seeing the D-Day festivities in Ste Mere Eglise
* walking in the steps of WW2 soldiers
* walking along the river in Barton Mills with Philip
* lots of rainy days perfect for napping
* being in the Cabinet War Rooms in London and seeing everything left just as it was the day the war ended
* Reading in the newspaper personal accounts of children who were sent from London to the country during WW2 due to bomb scares
* skeleton keys
* tulips blooming in February
* daffodils & poppys growing wild EVERYWHERE in the spring and summer
* armed guards greeting you at the base enterence for id check at all times (contractors in the US don't have the same effect as someone in uniform holding a loaded M16)

I will make myself stop before I start to get really sad. As I reflect, I'm reminded that the things that make home "home" are the million little things.

I'm excited for the big thing that is going to make this place feel a little bit more like "home": the return of my husband next month.

My "it's good to be in America" list will be posted in the near future. . .  stay tuned (sorry that the posting has been so sporadic lately - studying has been craaaazy - I'll try to be better.  Promise.)