Having traveled lots in my 30s, to the extent that I was away more than home, the thought of relocating a family of 4 to the USA didn’t seem too large a step to take.  However, unlike most expats, my husband is just on secondment from his UK office and relocating for us doesn’t include the contents of our house…We came with only 9 suitcases of our UK life, but guess what?  We are not really missing any of our possessions, which leads me to believe my children need far less toys etc. than they think (although my daughters’ soft toy collection is growing faster than I can keep up with!).

Living in the USA however, brings whole new challenges.

In our first few weeks there were many challenges, our very first being driving an automatic car and learning not to keep reaching for non-existent gears. Then there were the moments of reaching for non-existant gears and remembering which side of the car to get into.

At the same time as speaking the same language, it is also a whole different language. I’ve found myself trying to describe the oddest things to shop assistants who have no clue what I want!  The school shopping list for provisions was a challenge, I literally followed other mums around to see what they were buying!  And blue tac, which I needed for home… how would you describe that without using a brand name?  Here it is simply called removable mounting putty, obvious really, but not when you know it as Blue Tac! Never mind asking where the toilet was in a store, the poor shop assistant had no clue what I wanted.  I politely ask for the nearest restroom these days.

My first supermarket shop took forever too, I literally stopped in each isle and just stared at all the new brands, none of which meant anything to me.  As recently as yesterday I wanted a joint of beef to roast, I had to tell the butcher how I planned to cook it in order for him to recommend a piece of beef to me.

My children have had to adjust to some new challenges too. Measurements are a cause of confusion, my children are now better than me at using inches, feet and yards and I have re adjusted to ordering food by the oz and lb too.

I asked Justin, my husband what he found most difficult to adapt to and he made some good observations..…. Restroom doors have huge gaps underneath and at the sides, anyone can, if they choose, snoop on your more private moments! But more seriously, he is somewhat confused that here in NC he can’t take our children into a liquor store to buy spirits, however, he can take them to Walmart and buy a gun!!! Now where is the sense in that?

**************
Jo Wise is a British mum of two and a professional photographer www.jowise.com

Share this!

The post Wise Tales – Living the USA Dream appeared first on Bringing Up Brits.

My latest discovery via Google Alerts, via an article on digitaljournal.com is of an amazing organization called SeaChange. SeaChange helps young people who are third culture kids (TTKs – I talk about TTKs in my book, Bringing Up Brits), global nomads and expat students in high school or university. They offer mentoring and guidance in order to help young adults apply their international background to academic, professional and personal success. They also help young adults develop resilience and life skills to be able to navigate transitions to university and their passport country.

If you are a parent of a TTK aged between 14 and 20, or you’re planning to move to a foreign country, then take some time to look at the SeaChange website and get in touch with them directly. It could make all the difference to your children’s lives abroad, their education and their personal outlook on life which will ultimately help them in their current daily lives and beyond into young adult life.

SeaChange also run events, symposiums and give lectures and talks. It’s such a great idea and think of what an amazing thing this could be for your son or your daughter.

Follow SeaChange on Twitter @Seachangementor

Follow SeaChange on Facebook

Website: seachangementoring.com

Share this!

The post SeaChange appeared first on Bringing Up Brits.

Raising children can be difficult at the best of times. The way we parent is determined by many factors and our cultural environment and heritage are definitely important. I am an American mother raising my three children in the UK with a British husband. Because my children were born in England, I haven’t had the experience of bringing them up in the USA so it wasn’t until I visited my parents in my home country that I realised just how ‘English’ a mother I am……..

PLEASE CONTINUE TO READ THIS HERE http://lifewithadoublebuggy.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/third-culture-parenting-parenting.html

Share this!

The post Third Culture Parenting – Parenting Outside Your Own Culture appeared first on Bringing Up Brits.

It is amazing what you can get, for a price, and I really have to restrain myself from spending a fortune. I still cannot get dried chow mein noodles which I lOVE on salads instead of croutons. If anyone knows where to get these here in Engand, please tell me!

Luckily, over the years, I have found a few tolerable substitues. The only British peanut butter that doesn’t taste like cardboard is M&S peanut butter. However, it comes in teeny tiny jars so I have to buy at least 4 at a time! I recently discovered that Sainsbury’s do a cracker very similar to saltines. I use them to make my green bean bake so now i can use the Sainsbury’s crackers instead of paying over the odds for crackers. And I’ve forced myself to stop being lazy so now I buy a whole pumpkin in order to make pumpkin pie instead of ordering canned pumpkin from www.americanfooddirect.com. It takes longer but it also means i can make pumpkin bread and pumpkin soup, both of which the children love. Their friends often comment on the ‘different’ foods they eat when they come to play. I’m probably embarassing my children – when they grow up I’m sure they will make fun of me!

Anyway, these are some American things I make and bake for them which they love:
Chocolate chip cookies
brownies
banana bread
pumpkin bread
mac & cheese
pancakes with maple syrup
pumpkin pie
chocolate silk pie
green bean casserole
hashbrown casserole

I do also try and make/prepare traditional British food for them. Pie and chips is pretty popular in our household as well as traditional ‘puddings’ (dessert in America). My daughter loves victoria sponge cake. I really haven’t mastered how to make this and my attempts have been so bad I just resort to buying them at the store. My husband loves trifle. There is no way in hell i’m ever going to attempt to make trifle, so they are always store bought. I can make bubble and squeak but the kids despise that and I also like to make bread pudding, which I like. My husband makes a killer ‘Sunday roast’ for the meat eaters in our household. We all love that and I’ll make a veggie lasagne or green bean bake for the veggies. My son often requests shrimp enchiladas for supper. The recipe comes from a South Carolina recipe book and calls for a packet of ranch dressing. Well, you can’t get that here and it’s not sold online – at least I haven’t found it yet.

I really love that my children are experiencing  foods from both my childhood and their father’s childhood. It just takes a bit more effort to fix and prepare the American dishes. You can read more about nurturing a cross-cultural family on page 43 in the chapter titled Nurturing Tradition: Creating a multicultural family through food and mealtimes.

I only have one more bag of Fritos and one box of mac & cheese left so I guess it’s time for another American food grocery order! If anyone who reads this knows of other websites or stores that sell American food products, then please reply to this post! The more we know, the better. And, if anyone know good websites for ordering other ethnic foods in Britain, then please reply this post as well.

www.americanfooddirect.com
www.skyco.uk.com

Chow mein dried noodles. Delicious as a salad topping

Share this!

The post Nurturing cross-cultural kids appeared first on Bringing Up Brits.