Wise Tales – Living the USA Dream
When I casually said to my husband “I want to live somewhere hot” one freezing winters day back in the UK, I never imagined myself living as an Expat in North Carolina……Never mind that we thought we were heading for Dallas until 2 months prior to leaving! We are actually in Cornelius, North Carolina, which is beautiful and much sunnier than home.
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?
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Jo Wise is a British mum of two and a professional photographer www.jowise.com
A great read Jo! I can relate to so much of what you write… but in reverse! Especially the measurements and the asking for the restroom. I now ask for the toilet here! And I bought scales so that I can bake using British recipe books. I also had to buy the American cups so I can use my American recipe books too. But no idea what a ‘stick’ of butter equates to! Have you figured that out yet? Glad to see you’re having such a fabulous time. Thanks so much for guesting on Bringing Up Brits!
Meg,
A stick seems to be 4oz, I was amazed at how easy everything is here…fancy dividing the butter up for you so you don’t have to measure it out!! I too have scale and cup measures.
More and more things come up each month we are here, and some of our American friends admit to not always understanding us!!
See you in a week or so when I’m back visiting the UK.
Looking forward to it Jo! You might find you have some reverse culture shock while you’re here. Especially if the weather is still cold or at least NOT summery.
I find that gap in the doors quite odd too especially as its more prudish here, glad you brought that to light! Very important to know if you are planning a trip to the States!
We went to a shooting range where my 14 year old was allowed to practice her gun skills, along with other kids there much younger than then her. The fellow behind the counter told me that Arizona was a ” gun friendly ” State, ummm is that a oxymoron to the Uk ears?
After going there I went to a gun fair a bit like going to a festive food fair in Brighton on the level except they were selling guns, being a photographer I couldn’t help myself and had to take out my camera – I was promptly told I could not “shoot” in there – is that weird ???
Been great chatting to you Jo over the past few months I am sad to be leaving and have actually really enjoyed our stint in the Arizona. Back to Brighton soon xx
Ooooh when are you back Moose? Can’t wait to see you in person and hear all about your time in good ol’ US of A! It’s funny because when I was a kid growing up there, I never even thought about how people have guns or could buy them or if you saw a truck with lots of gun racks or a gun case in someone’s house would seem odd. But now, I notice it so much because others do. My husband comments on it if we’re watching an American tv show with your average next door neighbor…. who has a gun case. So glad to hear you enjoyed your time there (despite all the guns and the gappy bathroom doors) and can’t wait to catch up 🙂
Moose,
The gun thing is becoming more the norm to me now. I don’t really mind people having guns, it’s the few that have them in reach of children that bothers me more. I will probably have a go at shooting at some point too.
I am now finding more of everyday life here to be the norm now and may struggle when I go back to the uk in a few weeks.
I think you should stay:(
Jo