Miss America?

While on the train to London one weekend we had an interesting conversation with a woman sitting across the aisle from us.

She asked us general questions about where we were from in the States, how long we'd been here and where we're staying in the England  Then she asked an question that we don't get much here: whether or not we missed America. A tricky question that took some thought to answer.

Do I miss people?

Yes. 

But do I really miss being in America?

Not especially. 

And right now, do I want to go back?

Not really. 

A little bit harsh, maybe. Perhaps a little over-simplified. But still the truth.

She seemed surprised by my answer (and the others who seemed to echo similar sentiments). I think she expected us to have a list of thing we miss so much that it makes us want to to return home. I mean, yes, I wish I could buy some maple syrup and that I could turn on the tv and watch the Nationals in the playoffs at a reasonable hour, but as a whole I haven't had too hard of a time adjusting to the things I have to go without.

I think she wanted us to miss American because she herself was missing America. And she herself wished to go home. I also think that talking with us made he a little at ease because she was able to talk about the things she was missing with people who would at least understanding what the products are.

However, the propensity to miss American products and familiarities may have to do with the length of stay in England. If you're only abroad for two weeks it's just a vacation and its all about trying new things, not missing familiar things. That's how I felt my first few days here.

If you move to another country permanently  the things that you are missing becomes painfully obvious because you have no opportunity to satisfy your pumpkin craving or catch up on the experiences that you've missed. I would imagine that if I was studying in England for my whole degree and didn't intend to visit home during that time, that I would feel similarly to the woman on the train.

In my situation, studying for just a semester, aspects from the vacation situation are applied to a semi long term stay. I think I was a little too flippant when I discussed things I missed earlier. I don't want to give you the impression that I don't miss material things about my life in America because there are a lot of things from American that I wish I had:

• All my comfortable pillows and blankets from my bed at home and at HPU
• A tv set (I mean, what's the purpose of being in England when the new Doctor Who series airs when I can't even watch it on BBC)
• My pens, pencils, notebooks, binders etc that I use for classes at High Point
• My cellphone and being able to text anyone whenever I wanted to
• Some of my favorite snacks that you don't realize you like so much until you can no longer buy them: Goldfish (although Cheese Savouries are a pretty good replacement), Hershey's Twix and KitKats (quite different from British Twix and KitKats), Marshmallow Fluff , Wonka Candy
• Being able to drive places instead of waiting for the bus
• Baseball (I know I already said this above, but it warrants another mention. I really miss watching Nationals games with my family
• Free laundry

I'm sure if I needed to list more items I could, but there's a difference between acknowledging that I miss things and letting it cripple me in my time here. It's all about perspective.

I miss things about American but I know that in three months I will have easy access to all of these things so I don't really need to worry about now having them right now. For now, I'm just happy to be in England and trying new things, so I can accept and move on from the fact that you cannot buy Alfredo sauce anywhere here.

And, add in the fact that there are so many things I have here that are the same or similar things that I have in America. Luckily, the Oreo has just recently reached the UK (where they have become quite popular) so I haven't had to live without my favorite "Chocolate Flavoured Sandwich Biscuits". You can still buy fuzzy socks to keep your feet warm and Coca Cola (which I really don't think I could live without) and I can find nearly every tv show I'm missing online the next day. There also exists here restaurants like Wannaburger? that keep me supplied with American food.And it doesn't hurt that my came to visit, so I had a little bit of home with me here in England.

And it's strange to think about going back to America. To go from being immersed in the United Kingdom and having the time of my life back to the United States where everything is familiar? It's going to be difficult. I've heard that people have a hard time adjusting back to life in America, and I feel like that might happen to me.

And the idea of going to class all day every day next semester is killing me. Here, I go to class only on Tuesdays and Wednesday and only about 4 hours a day. So it's going to be quite the adjustment.

I'm sure that in a month when I find myself on a plane back to America I'll be ready to go. But right now as I have the time of my life traveling and experiencing new things, I'm just soaking it all in while I can.

So, long story short, I have thankfully have no problem adjusting to life in the United Kingdom and haven't experienced any of the dreaded 'culture shock'. Really, I'm just loving life!