One Year

It's my one year anniversary today. I landed at Heathrow with 150lbs of luggage split amongst 3 bags to find out my pre-ordered taxi had already come and gone without me. This left me at a pay phone trying to find a company that would pick me up at a decent price after a 3 hour wait. No worries. Looking back I was remarkably calm about reaching my new life in Oxford. I had no idea what to expect.

In someways, I feel like I've been in the UK forever and in others I feel like I just got here. A lot can happen in 12 months though and its these types of anniversaries in life that make you reflective, nostalgic, introspective and speculative. I'm not sure what will come next, but I'm happy with where I've been.

I've explored the best of British cities (St. Ives, Edinburgh, Bath, London), some of the not so great (Scarborough, Exeter) and some of the quirky (Manchester).

I've learned Cockney Rhyming Slang

I've managed to obtain a British Driving license on the first try despite the amazingly stringent requirements and procedures.

I've traveled to the French Pyrenees, the Amalfi Coast, Madrid, Rome, Brussels, Brugge, Amsterdam, Malaga and Granada.

I've been challenged with new projects, new clients and gone through 3 bosses since I arrived in the UK. Hopefully the current one is going to stick around for a while.

I've made friends with people from England, Ireland, Spain, France, Italy, Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Ukraine, China and Sri Lanka.

I've picked up golfing more regularly to the shock of British men. It's an old man's sport in England. Perhaps one day I'll break 100 and be able to show them girls can keep up with them.

I've learned to whine about the weather alongside the English.

I can decode the English language and learned how to be self-aware of common American snafus such as not saying please and thank you regularly enough.

As a city girl, I've grown to love and appreciate the countryside.

I've passed through passport control more than a dozen times despite my seemingly invisible fingerprints that are required for visa holders. They haven't stopped me yet.

Somehow I think everything I've done leading up to this was meant to land me where I am today. The expat life is a good life.   #no regrets