The Ash Has Passed! U.S.A Bound!

Who would have thought I would ever live in a place where air traffic was at a COMPLETE standstill due to a volcanic ash cloud?   And...in case you are having trouble pronouncing the Icelandic volcano's name, check out this video.  Its been quite a news adventure here in the United Kingdom, but it sounds like the ash has passed, and we can now travel freely again.  

I am headed to New York, North Carolina, and Las Vegas over the course of this next month, and while I am so excited to see my family and friends, I really will miss this place.  That's hard to admit, considering the mess of a time we have had with the house we live in, getting unpacked, and trying to have all appliances functioning, as expected, at the same time - hasn't happened yet.

It's been difficult because there is a level of customer service, a sense of urgency and the "get in done now" mentality that we have in the States, that really is lacking in the UK.  Things take much longer to get repaired and no one is really concerned with our issues, the way we want them to be at least.

There have been days these past few weeks, where it really was not easy or fun at all.  There were days when we both have said and thought "What in the Hell were we thinking moving here?!?".  There have been days when we forgot about the awesome opportunity we have here and focused solely on the things that were going wrong.  Being the ultimate optimist, this is not what I would normally recommend, and sometimes it takes both of us to pull ourselves back on track and focus on all of the amazing things we have going on in our lives (living/working abroad, home finally rented out in NC!, traveling the world together, wedding in 5 months) - there are so many life experiences that we are getting to share together - and we try our best to remember that on those days when nothing here in the UK seems to go our way.

While its been tough some days to adjust, there is no one else in this world I would want to share this experience with, and there is no other place I would rather be than in Cambridge, UK where the plumbing sucks, internet is unreliable and the food can be rather bland :)

I would like to ask whoever reads this blog to remember this on your tough days - it really doesn't matter where we live, or how much $ we make, we each have our WTF days, and its ok to have them and to feel that way.  But, its important when those days arrive, we remember the awesome opportunities that have come our way, the amazing people that we are so fortunate to have in our lives, and the funny/sad/adventurous/inspiring stories we create AND live everyday!  I, for one, cannot wait to tell our children about our time abroad.

I look forward to my travels over this next month, but oddly enough this crazy place is starting to feel like "home" to me, and I look forward to returning here in a month! Of course, I do hope all the repairs are made before I return!

Safe travels in your daily journeys and adventures :)