Really, I do. The more I interact with British people, the more I want an accent. In a conversation, I just sound so boring compared to them! I mean, even reading the Traffic Code book for my driving test tomorrow makes me wish I talked like that. "Look round and use your left indicator when moving off" or "give way to road users in the roundabout"... doesn't that sound so much cooler than saying "use your turn signal" or "yield"?!? Sigh. I think I should have been born in England.
Anyway, I must warn you that this will be another photo-less blog, thanks to the internet being out again. Last night I was too tired to stand in the lobby to write anything, especially since I was depressed about house-hunting. The Chapel House was not quite what I expected... though beautiful inside and out, it was squished up against other houses, and instead of front or back gardens (what we call yards), it had a small square of pavement in the front and a small rectangle of bricks in the back. No grass. So... I was very discouraged, as that house had been one of my favorites online. Two out of three favorites have not been what they seemed, so I started wondering if my perfect house really exists. I am trying to remind myself that I have only seen three, so don't give up. I have high hopes for the one I am seeing Thursday.
Funny story... I was standing in the lobby earlier this afternoon looking at the housing website, and the hotel owner (very friendly and funny older British guy) noticed and asked me how the search was going. The brand new hotel manager (younger British guy, today was his second day) was sitting at the desk listening as I described what I was looking for in a house, and when I was done, he says "So you want the cottage from that movie with Cameron Diaz?" My jaw almost hit the ground, because I am sure I told many of you before I left that I wanted the cottage from "The Holiday", and to hear someone else come up with that from my description (especially a guy), was hilarious.
Anyway, let's see if I can come up with something other than house hunting to talk about. The past two days I have been inprocessing on base. Monday was nice, only one briefing and then I got to hang out in the weather station a little and meet the OSS/CC. My new desk is next to a door with glass paneling that overlooks the flight line, so I can watch all the beautiful F-15s taking off. It's so much fun being back at a fighter base. :) The OSS/CC seems pretty cool, very enthusiastic... it's just a little weird that the squadron has so many random pieces, a very different feel from the OWS where all of us on staff were so close and did essentially the same things in our different regions.
Today was pretty much death by briefing and powerpoint. The chapel served us lunch, which was nice, and I found out that there is an Officer Christian Fellowship (OCF) chapter here that meets on Fridays, so hopefully I can check that out this week. Tomorrow is the driving class and driving test, then some random to-do-list stuff in the afternoon before my appointment with a letting company (to see several houses) at 4:15.
If I could upload pictures, I would post a link to a bunch I took on Sunday, when I discovered a "public footpath" off the main road down the street from the hotel. Of course I went exploring, and it took me into the middle of a bunch of fields with wildflowers and pretty horses. Will post as soon as my computer decides to pick up the signal again, or when I find a computer I am allowed to stick a jump drive in. Off to study for my driving test!
The roundabouts were one of the more confusing things to me when driving there. I often couldn't figure out which road (exit) I wanted to take when getting off the roundabout! (Mom)
ReplyDeleteLakenheath was our first OCF experience and we made some long-lasting friends. I hope it might be the same for you. (Dad)
ReplyDeleteHold out for what you want in a house...I know it's out there! Of course, of the ones you've talked about so far I think the first is what I'd pick, but that's just me and I tend to go for the convenience over the other things since probably finding what you truly want will involve a greater distance from the base...but you never know. I say, if you have the time, enjoy the shopping around and you should get lucky! :) (Joe/Laura)
ReplyDeletePS. we're still jealous as heck!!!
Actually, I'll piggy-back on my own comment and say that we first lived in a place much like the right-side type place you talked about. It had a lot of garden space and was very nice even though we only had half of it (and you're right, the gardens do tend to require a lot of upkeep). It was in a town called Southery, which is about a 1/2 hour NW of RAF Mildenhall. I had a friend who lived even further north in a larger town that had a great outdoor market...can't really recall the name though...(Joe/Laura)
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