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Post by jadzie on Sept 26, 2007 1:35:37 GMT 12
Hi This is my first Entry. I'm in NorthHampton England from September 21st 2007 to January 3rd 2008 staying with my boyfriend Chris and his family. he's got a large family. His sister Clara lives on the next block with her husband and 2 young sons who are a huge handful. His brother Jonathan lives at home.
This is all new to me, kids and animals all around. In NYC where i lived with my family, we only had a fish tank and no young children running around. and now here theres dogs and a cat and a bird, and large horrible spiders everywhere. and the food is very different from home. Not England in particular but his family, they like food very bland, which is the very opposite of the way I like it. So Its very overwhelming at times. but I"m dealing. well, trying to deal anyway. I'm in tears atleast once per day since i've been here ( 5 days) I really really miss my family.
So far I"ve been to Irchester to visit his friend Andy. and Kingsthorpe to visit his maternal Grandparents. while Chris' house is in a village called Cogenhoe.
We're pretty much doing the rounds in the beginning to see all his family and some friends. I'll keep you all updated as it goes on. Please feel free to leave me any comments or tips or advice. I need all the communication I can get.
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Post by rdsmum on Sept 26, 2007 4:23:20 GMT 12
Boy do I know how you are feeling lol. I went from a tiny town of 8000 people in NZ to NYC!! I cant really offer any advice.....I stayed with family but it was my first time away from Mummy!!
I havent been up Northampton way, I am on the South coast of England, Portsmouth...so if you ever visit down this way, PM me.
Good luck, you'll get used to it...it is hard...but Ive now been here 16 years... and even married a pom!!
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Post by Lux on Sept 26, 2007 8:00:52 GMT 12
Hey Jadz, you be kind to them there children ya hear!  pssst...the kids will get you through it. |
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Post by cookie on Sept 26, 2007 20:21:15 GMT 12
HI ya Jadz, why dont you offer to make dinner one night?
I expect the crying is because you are home sick? It will get easier as time goes by I'm sure
Instead of looking at the negatives, try looking at the positives instead. You've got a great opportunity to travel around the UK, most of us that live in the UK dont get out of our own city ever...But thats not me, I've lived all from NZ, Manchester, Germany, and Now Norfolk.
Have fun!
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Post by yollie on Sept 26, 2007 20:58:46 GMT 12
I sort of know how you are feeling too.
I was 15 when we came back to Holland, after 12 years of growing up in NZ.
But at least I had my family with me, but boy did I miss my friends!! Lots of letters went back and forth in those first few months. I never wanted to leave NZ in the first place.
But you get used to a place and the people, give it time and as cookie says look positive (but I'm sure you know that).
At least nowadays there is email and msn to keep in touch, and even the phone is nowhere near as expensive as it used to be.
All the best, look forward to hearing more of your adventures.
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Post by rdsmum on Sept 26, 2007 23:25:12 GMT 12
Have a look at this www.northamptonshire.co.uk/northamptonshire.phpand maybe make some plans for a day out with ya boyfriend? Like Cookie said, make the most of your time here, and have a good look round. Scotland is a beautiful place, especially in the highlands, but then down south in Devon/Cornwall are also lovely. Also ya get used to the poms and the funny ways they do things!!! |
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Post by bingbong on Sept 27, 2007 11:11:55 GMT 12
Hey Jadzie
These are 2 emails from a friend that has been recently to the UK her experiences, not for me to judge but she is a good judge of and very funny but some good awarenesses and insights and useful tips.
I hope the tears evaporate quickly and you go into enjoy mode as time will soon pass to hunt out the fun stuff . Some family are like fish, go off after about 3 days!
[hello Bingbong from the land of two up two downs, sad poms and beautiful countryside. it is like a great big museum and the people are either filthy rich and avoiding the oiks or are downtrodden and sad. the service is appallling, the food and everything expensive but i have managed to find some junk to bring home, found the antique places really fast. also managed to buy a persian rug for $30 ($75). only small but don't know how i will get it home.
our hosts are the most sour faced bastards you could meet. P and i are constantly finding ways of escaping from them. they are very close to P's daughter who is vile and hates our relationship so we are resented somewhat. anyway we are off to the greek islands for a week very soon and will be in rome for three days prior to that. we have been to manchester and lots of beautiful countryside, and i mean beautiful. gorgeous houses and farms where the folk with money live. we are laso going to london and bath. to tell you the truth i am sick of old buildings etc and of paying $2 for a cup of tea ($5.20) so look forward to something foreign and cheaper.
we did go to strattfor-upon-avon and see a play. we stayed for 2 nights at a typical b+b which was lovely and a stunning experience. beautiful tudor buildings everywhere and we had dinner in the oldest pub in stattford, build 1460
i am buying buying buying but i will have to stop stop stop as the airlines will be mean to me if i dont. that cheapo ryan air makes you pay to take baggage on board the plane above and beyond your airfare. how about that. just spent four days in f***ing horrible 1950s blackpool, home of the incredibly unwashed and talk about some ugly ugly people. horrible place but we stayed with some lovely people and that was great. went to a typical english working class caberet last night with an elvis impersonator and a john lennon, buddy holly and queen. very amusing and that was only the crowd.
tomorrow we are off to Edinburgh and then wednesday to london. then to whitby where jimmy cook was born and then rome and then crete.bus busy busy but will definately have some sage and somewhat witty reparte ready for you when i return to that beautiful country called nz. oh how i despise those wonderful British dramas that fail to show the major part of the population for what it is. do you know Bingbong i have not been to one clean toilet in this country, apart from private ones of courrse.]
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Post by jadzie on Sept 28, 2007 14:03:16 GMT 12
Hi Bingbong, i was laughing my butt off at your friends insightful yet funny commentary about England. my boyfriend is gagging to take me to Blackpool, thanks to your friend, i'm now preparing myself for the trip!! also luckily for me, my boyfriends family have lovely homes as do his friends, altho you can definitely tell who the richer ones are by their houses.
So far everyone he's introduced me to has been either fantastic or just nice. anyone who said English people were friendlier than Americans were plain lying. Its all about the individuals.
This whole pounds thing is killing me, because it looks like a smaller amount because their money is worth more than everyone elses, you think ooooh i'm getting a deal for 2 for 5 pounds or whatever, when in actuality, their totally ripping you off. when in new york if you ever put frozen dinner on sale for 2 for $10 everyone would scoff and go for the real deal, while here they put it as 5 pounds, you start thinking oooh this is a good idea completely forgetting its pounds not dollars, and then your screwed. good grief, i'm going to go broke sooner rather than later.
I think i'm losing my mind, i'm starting to actually look forward to the tea thats offered everywhere. I've visited both sets of my boyfriends grandparents. They are really great. one set is the rich set they're very posh sounding and gave us really lovely cakes and tea in lovely china,and the other one lives in a council provided house, they make really great cups of tea and make me laugh. nonetheless they were all really down to earth and nice to be around. Since i personally never had a grandfather, i'm always searching for a replacement. I adore friendly elderly men. I don't know why. and since I adore women of all ages, his grandmothers are true gems.
I have not cried in 2 days, how ever i have been in despair over the sizes and frequent sightings of the overly large spiders. Also much to everyones dismay i've also been watching all the british soap operas and Eastenders is probably my favorite of them all. I miss american tv tho, i don't get my trashy reality tv fill!!!
I think we're going to a fair in Rushden over the weekend and the Cogenhoe Town Center, I'll keep you all posted. xoxo
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Post by rdsmum on Sept 28, 2007 18:02:04 GMT 12
Hi Bingbong, i was laughing my butt off at your friends insightful yet funny commentary about England. my boyfriend is gagging to take me to Blackpool, thanks to your friend, i'm now preparing myself for the trip!! also luckily for me, my boyfriends family have lovely homes as do his friends, altho you can definitely tell who the richer ones are by their houses. So far everyone he's introduced me to has been either fantastic or just nice. anyone who said English people were friendlier than Americans were plain lying. Its all about the individuals. This whole pounds thing is killing me, because it looks like a smaller amount because their money is worth more than everyone elses, you think ooooh i'm getting a deal for 2 for 5 pounds or whatever, when in actuality, their totally ripping you off. when in new york if you ever put frozen dinner on sale for 2 for $10 everyone would scoff and go for the real deal, while here they put it as 5 pounds, you start thinking oooh this is a good idea completely forgetting its pounds not dollars, and then your screwed. good grief, i'm going to go broke sooner rather than later. I think i'm losing my mind, i'm starting to actually look forward to the tea thats offered everywhere. I've visited both sets of my boyfriends grandparents. They are really great. one set is the rich set they're very posh sounding and gave us really lovely cakes and tea in lovely china,and the other one lives in a council provided house, they make really great cups of tea and make me laugh. nonetheless they were all really down to earth and nice to be around. Since i personally never had a grandfather, i'm always searching for a replacement. I adore friendly elderly men. I don't know why. and since I adore women of all ages, his grandmothers are true gems. I have not cried in 2 days, how ever i have been in despair over the sizes and frequent sightings of the overly large spiders. Also much to everyones dismay i've also been watching all the british soap operas and Eastenders is probably my favorite of them all. I miss american tv tho, i don't get my trashy reality tv fill!!! I think we're going to a fair in Rushden over the weekend and the Cogenhoe Town Center, I'll keep you all posted. xoxo Man do I know what you mean about the tea!!!!!!!!!!! If you've got a problem,'lets have a cuppa tea' that cures everything!! And the money thing too lol, Ive been here on and off since 1991 and i still convert things occasionally into NZ$! |
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Post by Lux on Sept 29, 2007 12:25:37 GMT 12
It's lovely to hear that you are not feeling so home sick now Jadz, also wonderful to read about your adventures so far. I was going to advise re: Tea to be very careful with the china and to sip not guzzle. Hope you have a awesome time at the fair, if you meet simple simon buy the poor bastard a pie will ya! |
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Post by rdsmum on Sept 30, 2007 6:48:26 GMT 12
lol Lux, well its very wet and depressing down in the south of pomland, how is it up north Jadzie? The weather tends to be worse up there than here, we dont get the snow. Queenie who pops in occasionally, lives in Yorkshire so she knows all about the snow lol. If we even get a dusting, the kids are excited!!
The most snow Ive ever seen in one snowfall was in NYC the Xmas I was there, except it waited til bloody Boxing day to happen! I wanted a white xmas!
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Post by yollie on Sept 30, 2007 20:35:36 GMT 12
Glad to hear you are settling in! And as for the money thing - we converted from guilders to euros nearly 6 years ago and still get confused. One euro = 2 guilders so yes it looks cheaper and you tend to overspend easier. (still do!)
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Post by jadzie on Oct 1, 2007 0:32:21 GMT 12
it always snows after christmas in nyc, it does it on purpose i think, because everyone is constantly staring out the window on christmas eve hoping and hoping for a white christmas. and once everyone is completely disappointed by the lack of snow for christmas, the pressures off and it snows like crazy afterwards. bah.
So we didn't end up going to the fair on saturday instead we went to milton keynes which has this huge shopping center. everyone kept yammering about how i should go there so we finally went and i wasn't too impressed. it was just a big mall, blah blah i'm from nyc, everything was a giant mall aka times square and heralds square and queens center mall and rego park not to mention the places in long island and brooklyn. oh well it was a good try. I did get to see more cows as we were driving by. before this i'd never seen a real cow. so i count that as a plus.
His grandparents should be coming over today for sunday dinner, i think i'll make some scotch eggs for lunch for them. thats the only thing English i know how to make properly.
I found the 99p store and the 1 pound store omg i'm in love. i swear i could go to the most awesome place in the world but i wouldn't be impressed until i've seen their cheapie stores. I've got a discount problem i think.
The weather hasn't been so terrible, i've seen worse in nyc. but its been raining off and on and apparently it turns between nice and freezing within the hour. lucky for me i just wear my winter coat all the time, so i don't really notice the difference to much. I can't believe how many people go sleeveless here when its not even very warm. like most of the people are wearing sweaters and coats the rest are wearing sleeveless or shortsleeves and summery looking clothes. i think i'm missing something here. can someone explain that to me?
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Post by Lux on Oct 2, 2007 14:29:00 GMT 12
We have the $2 shop here Jadz, they are everywhere, great place to take the kids at Christmas time with their pocket money to choose wee gifts for the rellies.
Also great for resource for the classroom or artroom when you're on a tight budget.
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Post by yollie on Oct 6, 2007 7:08:11 GMT 12
yep they are amazing - we have the euro shop, same sort of thing, great for buying large quantities of stuff as well, like for scouting. Its amazing how cheap things can get!
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Post by rdsmum on Oct 13, 2007 21:51:09 GMT 12
The pound shops lol - on almost every corner!!
Anyway how you doing Jadzie? Hope things are settling down a bit for you now. Been anymore exciting places?? lol. We have Halloween coming up soon, and altho the Brits celebrate it, they just dont quite manage to do it as well as the Americans!! NOTHING like it at all really, when I was in NYC we went to a parade at Greenwich - wow - never seen anything like it! Then its Guy Fawkes night on 5 nov so there will be plenty of displays and bonfires to go see. We dont do Thanksgiving here, so the next biggy is Christmas.
And back to you now, did you live right in Manhattan? I had never seen buildings as big when I arrived there lol. I flew into Newark, and was picked up and went to my brother's house in Hartsdale (westchester county). Then that afternoon my SIL and I went to Manhattan. I was completely dumfounded by it all lol, not the best thing to do to a little country bumpkin after she had been on a plane for 24 hours!!
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Post by cookie on Oct 17, 2007 22:52:42 GMT 12
Oh my bingbong I was nearly crying with laughter reading your friends ditty of the UK!
Blackpool, aint so bad its Great Yarmouth you have to watch out for!
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Post by jadzie on Oct 18, 2007 3:14:02 GMT 12
Hi Guys, Sorry I haven't written in awhile. I did live in NYC. the thing the natives there do is, not look up as much as possible, because no matter how long you live there, the buildings still wow you. well so far i've been to birmingham, stratford upon avon, irchester, rushden, milton keynes. And this week we're going to stay in a tiny cottage in stroud as we go see stonehenge, salisbury castle etc and then the friday of that week, we're going to go see BLACKPOOLE!!! after reading Bingbong's friends witty letter, i'm absolutely excited to see it. lmao i'm a glutton for punishment i swear. I've also been to Salcey Park, for the tree top walk , where you go up a wooden bridge, higher and higher until your finally up seeing over the trees and the horizon, its actually pretty cool. I'm still not in love with England. I mean i'm getting used to it but i'm still not a huge fan of it. perhaps when i see more places i'll start to get a certain fondness for it. i'm not entirely happy here but its not englands fault but its easier to blame it. hahahah you can see photos of my trip and leave me well wishes ( cuz i need it, the tears just won't frigging stop) on the website Chris has made me. www.chrisvaughan.co.uk/England. xoxo |
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Post by Lux on Oct 18, 2007 15:29:22 GMT 12
Try this - chrisvaughan.co.uk/england/Sounds like you are really getting around Jadz, just take everything in your stride and be spontaneous, share your love of fun and your cheekiness. The best thing about being somewhere where no-one knows you - is you can be a real egg and get away with it!  |
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Post by jadzie on Oct 19, 2007 1:35:15 GMT 12
lmao lux!! thats great advice. that made me smile! tyyy you always know how to cheer me up!
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pssst...the kids will get you through it. 
