Bringing Up Brits » #MyExpatFamily

Croeso Cymru

Meg — Mon, 10 Aug 2015 15:30:29 +0000

All I can say is that South Wales is a MUST for all Americans (or non Brits) visiting or living in England. A few years ago we went to North Wales, climbed Mount Snowdon and got all castled out. I gathered from my husband that he thinks North Wales is more spectacular and it may be, but I prefer the beauty of South Wales. We were near Swansea and the Gower and the scenery is absolutely stunning. The kids enjoyed it and we all noticed a big difference to the landscape compared to where we live in England.

Highlight was the award winning and 9th best beach in the world, Rhossili Bay. Stunning. Where else in the world can you have long stretches of golden sand with sheep and cows grazing in the nearby hills. Typically British while a-typically tropical.

Beware, it is certainly a challenge for American drivers. The roads are so tiny most of the time there’s hardly enough room for one car, let alone two, so lots of reversing, lots of stopping and waiting, lots of near misses (collisions into oncoming cars, trees and bushes). Plus, we encountered horses, sheep and cows hanging out in the middle of the roads! I definitely feel like a very skilled driver after a week of all that!

And the horse trekking was a big hit with the kids!

We did have a few rainy days too, as can be expected.

Off to France via Eurotunnel in a few days.

Bon Voyage!

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Meghan Peterson Fenn is the author of Bringing Up Brits and co-author of Inspiring Global Entrepreneurs with Heidi Mulligan Walker. Meghan is also Co-founder and Director of Design and Web at Shake It Up Creative. And, she is an award winning expat blogger.

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It’s the little things that make you happy when living in England

Meg — Fri, 29 May 2015 08:10:22 +0000

Living in England as an American is mostly good. It takes a long time to learn how things are done, adapt, fit in, find friends, feel at home, and love the way of life here. It’s not easy, but it does get easier. I love talking to newbies, people who are struggling, people who need to hear the positives. My life and outlook on life has definitely changed since I first moved here.

Things that make me ecstatic that I never thought would even factor in, let alone make me happy and add to my enjoyment of life.

Doing a wash and bringing in dry clothes from the washing line, within 6 to 8 hours only
Not having to turn the heat on to heat the radiators in order to dry clothes
Buying peanut butter from Marks & Spencer
Buying Kraft Macaroni Cheese from Ocado
Being asked in a shoe or clothing store if I need any help
Being smiled at by staff pretty much anywhere
When our food order comes all together and no one has to wait
When my youngest child’s food order comes first (instead of very last)
Public transport
Watching Britain’s Got Talent with my children
The splendor of the Royal Pavilion in Brighton
The view of the sea while I watch my children do their swimming lessons
Discovering new books about cross culture, TCKs, CCKs, language, mixed race and cultural differences
Meeting other Americans
Always having an extra sweater or jacket when out and about, even in August
People asking me where I’m from and not being surprised at my response
Really good pub chips (french fries, not potato chips)
Online Tesco delivery
Meeting people from Romania, Bulgaria, Russia and Holland (and probably many other countries too)
Talking to other parents about raising children in Britain
Talking to other parents about raising children in America
Being called ‘love’ by taxi drivers
Being called ‘mum’ by my children
When my husband makes me a ‘nice cup of tea’
Discovering short breaks to places like Amsterdam and Bruges
Visiting Spain, another foreign country that is nearly becoming my third ‘home’
Business lunches in London
Street food
Finding a place to park our car in front of our house
My dishwasher
Keeping in touch with family and friends who live all over the world via Facebook
Meeting amazing people who share my sense of global entrepreneurial spirit through Twitter and Expats in Biz
Pinning on Pinterest
Afternoon tea at Bill’s (actually, afternoon or cream tea anywhere!)
Asking “What do you fancy…”
Saying “I’m knackered”
When my neighbors smile at me
When my children smile at me
When my children’s friends ask for a ‘cookie’ instead of a ‘biscuit’

I could go on! The joy (or should that be the trials and tribulations?) of living in England! Of course there are plenty of things that make me unhappy (such as having to bust a gut to bag up my shopping quickly so as not to anger the checkout person or annoy the next customer by taking too long) but I wanted this post to be full of all the wonderful and somewhat weird discoveries that have become so much a part of my cross-cultural life within a cross-cultural family here in England.

#MyGlobalLife link up

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Meghan Peterson Fenn is the author of Bringing Up Brits and co-author of Inspiring Global Entrepreneurs with Heidi Mulligan Walker. Meghan is also the Director and Chief Designer at her own design company, White Ochre Design Ltd. And, she is an award winning expat blogger.

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A little show called ‘Friends’

Meg — Fri, 15 May 2015 16:06:52 +0000

Many British people have told me how much they loathe ‘Friends’ one of the most successful television shows ever because it’s either too loud, too stupid, too American, not funny enough or the actors are just annoying. Thankfully, my British husband is not amongst those who don’t like it and tolerates my forever addiction and need for a daily dose of it – even if only a quick five minutes.

When ‘Friends’ came out in the US in September of ’94, I didn’t watch it because I was living in Prague and had no TV. Even if I had had a television set, I still wouldn’t have been able to watch it. Oh but did I hear about it? – yes I did, mostly from my younger sister who gushed and declared it was the best thing EVER. Then I moved to Tokyo and still didn’t have a TV and then when I did get a TV we could only watch videos on it or some incredibly bizarre Japanese game shows. It wasn’t until after I moved to England that I watched my first episode of Friends and by then they were only showing re-runs.

Now I do end up watching either a whole half hour show or a snippet of one thanks to ComedyCentral (before it was E4) nearly every day and my kids all seem to share my love of it too.

So it may sound like something trivial, something a bit silly. It’s only a TV sitcom. And now, I suppose it’s a pretty old TV sitcom seeing as it ended twelve years ago, but for me, it’s a wholesome slice of American pie (oh no that’s another show!) that I cannot get anywhere else or anyway in my life. My kids and I have bonded over it many times and they often ask me to explain something about the culture or traditions that come up in some of the episodes. They also love the humor and the characters – there really isn’t anything else like it surprisingly enough because it’s such a simple concept but it’s executed so brilliantly.

I suppose for me, it’s a reminder of the twenty-something American life that I never had. I spent my twenties in central Europe, in the Far East and in middle England so I never experienced that American way of life post college and pre-marriage. It’s like I’m living vicariously through these characters that I can so easily relate to. I understand the references, the jokes, the humor. It’s something I know and almost long for because I never had it first-hand. Plus, it’s my age group – we didn’t have mobile phones or tablets or apps or Facebook or Periscope when we were that age. It was just good old fashioned life with friends. You can’t beat that for a daily dose of American escapism.

Cast Members Of NBC’s Comedy Series “Friends.” Getty Images
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/friends-turns-20-20-memorable-quotes-series/story?id=25631057

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30 things I love about my cross-cultural kids

Meg — Wed, 08 Oct 2014 10:27:01 +0000

They call cookies cookies and not biscuits.
They love peanut butter even more than I love peanut butter, and I love peanut butter. I recently watched a movie about an American family who moved to France. They asked where the peanut butter was in the store and were met with scorn. So the British are not the only ones who dislike the American obsession with peanut butter!
They enjoy eating meals together as a family and equally love my husband’s British Sunday roast dinner and my American bean bake and macaroni cheese.
They have a great deal of tolerance for my ‘weird and foreign’ ideas.
They get excited about Halloween – yay!
Two out of my three children like ‘Friends’ just as much as I do.
My daughter’s favorite dessert is Eton Mess – something I had never heard of until a few years ago.
They know who George Washington is (because I teach them American history lessons on the sly) and what he did and why he did it. This is something that none of their school mates know.
They have quarters and dimes mixed in with their euros and pence.
My two older children can translate for me and do so very willingly.
My eldest has a desire to live abroad when he’s older and is intrigued by my childhood years in Texas.
They know way more European capitals than I did when I was their age.
Although they often mock my accent, they are actually quite good at ‘speaking American’.
They understand that their American grandparents sometimes struggle with their accents and things they say so are good at being patient and explaining things.
My daughter is proud of her mixed heritage and although sometimes gets confused, she’s not afraid to talk about it.
I love their accents and sometimes I have to stifle a giggle when they say something that sounds SO British.
My eldest and I shop online together for American snacks and drinks and salivate over junk food from my childhood.
They are happy to walk in the rain for an extended period of time without a raincoat or an umbrella. It does not phase them.
My daughter’s role model is Emma Watson.
My 5 year old’s favorite cartoon vacillates between Tom and Jerry and Sponge Bob Square Pants.
For all of my kids, Florida Disney trumps Chessington, Lego Land and even Alton Towers.
My older two have read and re-read every Harry Potter book and love the books over their film counterparts.
They say zed instead of zee.
They lecture me on my misuse of the word pants.
They lecture me on my ‘bad’ spelling.
They share my passion for good customer service.
Sometimes I can’t actually understand what they are telling me because of their accents.
My older two recognize the British reserve and are proud to be British but they don’t let their reserve inhibit or limit them.
They are learning how to be naturally resilient and optimistic. Not all the time, but I’ll never give up leading by example.
After years of relentless training, writing ‘Thank you’ cards is something my older two do without me reminding them (well sometimes I have to remind them).

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