an auspicious day
Tuesday, October 17, 2006

As of today, I have been in the UK for 7 years. Strange, I would never have guessed I would be living here this long. I am still very undecided about this place. When I first arrived, I was shocked at the difference in the standard of living between here and the US. There are many things that I miss:

  • My lovely friends in the US
  • Taquerias for fantastic, healthy, cheap take-away
  • Jamba Juice, or other smoothie places
  • Cafes that are open late and NOT Starbucks
  • The beach and the sea on my doorstep
  • The sun - although global warming has favoured south east England’s climate this summer and autumn
  • The openness and friendliness and easiness of making new friends in California
  • Cheap gas (this has changed), cheap rent (this also)
But then there are things that I only first experienced here in the UK:
  • Warm days in the summer with lush greenness everywhere
  • Letting go of the need to identify myself with an ‘ache/pain’ or a daily ‘drama’ and just being present in the moment
  • Not feeling that I need to be beautiful or look put together all the time (still working on this)
  • News media that is much more free speech than in the US (although I hardly follow news, it is still mostly alarmist and depressing here)
  • Meeting people who are really into issues such as organics and sustainability, although I work in a different industry than I did in the US
  • Actually, perhaps these things were always present around me in the US and I wasn’t ready/able to notice them before?
Things I worry about returning, and/or don’t want to be influenced by:
  • Obsession with money and identification by what car you drive, what your career is, your house, etc (my american friends weren’t like this, but the general overall energy affected me and I would obsess on wanting more ‘stuff’ - I still ‘daydream/shop’ but much, much less)
  • George W Bush - why do I hate him so? I dont know him personally, but he has done so many hurtful, careless, selfish things and so many have suffered/died because of his administration
  • I worry I will be drawn into my parents ‘script’ if I live closer to them, yet in so many ways I love and understand them and celebrate who they choose to be without trying to fix them (tho sometimes I cant help but try to suggest my ideas)
  • What if I cant find a job and suffer financially? Although this has never been a problem. I just want the same job or similar to what I do now, but for a slightly better standard of living (one more bedroom, and a cat or two
  • I think if I really look at what I’ve written, it seems that I would rather live in the US. There is a chance of possibly moving with my company, but the date is uncertain, possibly the next year or two. I guess it would be better to come post Bush anyway...

Posted byKarma at Tuesday, October 17, 2006  

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1 comments:

Anonymous said... Sunday, September 02, 2007  

we miss you!!!! Come home!
In my opinion, a lot of these things are what has happened to me with maturity, regardless of the US and evil George.

...although, we do call it "take-out" over here.

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