Christmas Concerts and Performances

Ellie (aged 5 and a quarter) has really done us proud these last few months.

Not only has she had to embrace and come to terms with another move, another new country, another new house, another new school - straight into Kindergarten 8.30-3.30pm, there's no such thing as breaking them in gently at her school. Another culture, trying to make new friends when all she really wants are her old ones right back at home, but she has also got on with it and tried new things and done so very very well. She has also been a wonderful big sister to Luke.

I hadn't fully appreciated her for all this and her efforts until I just wrote it.

Thank you Ellie, you really have done us proud. XX

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All Aboard the Santa Express

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Now, Where Was I?

Oh yes...
Back in November I asked whether Thanksgiving and Christmas all kind of roll into one here and I think I can safely say that they both do combine into the 'Happy Holiday Season.

The festive and seasonal songs continued 24/7 on the radio and there are just so many for the radio schedulers to choose from. Most we knew, many were new to us. They'd have had even more to choose from if they included the likes of Slade, The Pogues, Wizzard, Mud and Jona Lewie but I never even heard a whisper from any of them and Christmas just isn't Christmas unless Noddy has shouted it from the rooftops. Is it?

The weekend after Thanksgiving where there had once been pumpkin patches along the roadsides, Christmas tree patches sprung up and the majority of the population were out in force selecting their trees, stringing up their lights and placing life sized nativity scenes in their front gardens.

What the hell we thought, if you can't beat them, join them! Besides, such was the chaotic scramble for trees and decorations we feared there would be nothing left if we left it to our usual weekend or so before Christmas. I also heard somewhere (someone may have told me this or I could have heard it on the radio or TV I can't remember) but apparently this year many Americans so affected by the recessaion are re-using their old decorations and displays *gasp* instead of buying new as they would normally do. That shocked me, I mean what happens to all the old and discarded ones each and every year?

So, off we all went in search of our tree and it wasn't even December yet! The criteria for our tree according to Ian: It must be big and it must be symmetrical (Engineers for you).

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Why oh Why?

'Why?' Luke's new favourite word.
'Ellie did it.' Luke's new answer for everything when anything goes wrong.

Meanwhile...

Ellie is apparrently 'Too clever to be a child'.
...And is apparently a vegetarian. She announced this one whilst tucking into steak and asking if she could have this for dinner every night because it is so 'yummy'

H E L P M E!

Countdown to New York

• Flights booked
• Hotel booked
• Empire State Building tickets booked
• Boat trip to Statue of Liberty booked
• Tickets to Lion King booked (thank you Nanan & Grandad!)
• Hop on/off tickets booked
• Santa visit planned
• Warm clothes, hats, gloves, boots and scarves bought
• Not quite packed, but there's a few hours yet.

All week we have been counting down in 'sleeps' to our long awaited trip to The Big Apple and to say that there is excitement in this household this evening would be an under statement.

Out of my almost very nearly disastrous and hugely expensive trip back to England a couple of months ago came some good... the travel company who had supposedly booked my flights admitted fault and after some tough negotiating from Ian (damn he's good!) they offered us a $1000 towards this trip. Happy Christmas to us!

Yee Haw Greetings!

Christmas Greetings From North Carolina!

The previous post to this (blogger kept crashing when I tried to edit this in. Grrr) is a Seasonal Greeting to one and all.

In Tar Heel style (a nickname applied to the state and inhabitants of North Carolina.) We have 'Elfed Ourselves' and had much fun doing so (thanks Megan for the link, shame there wasn't a Bollywood version!) Oh how we've laughed! I think we looked the best doing 'disco' but then that wasn't going to be so topical!

Go on....'Elf Yourself'....You know you want to!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Reasons to be Thankful

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day.

I feel a little lost to be honest...I'm seasonally confused. When did Halloween and Fall end? There are still Fall like decorations and pumpkins in people's gardens. Leaves are still falling in their zillions. So does Fall, Thanksgiving and Christmas all roll into one? Festive lights are glowing everywhere and Christmas trees are popping up all over the place. What's the difference good American people? Does it all combine into the 'Happy Holidays'?

It was hard to find any sign of Christmas in India, so let's just say that it's certainly alive and kicking here - it just seems to be a tad too early. The radio station I listen to in the car to-ing and fro-ing to school began playing 24/7 festive songs 10 long days ago. It proudly announces every few minutes that it is the 'Triangle's Official Christmas Music Station'. I really wasn't ready for that amount of Christmassy stuff so soon. The kids are going to be in space orbiting Jupiter with the excitement by the time Father Christmas begins his journey. In a panic and in desperation thank goodness I found, purely by chance, BBC Radio 1 on a 5 hour time delay on my car satellite radio - Chris Moyles never sounded so good on the school run.

Having said that the new festive playlists do have their advantages and make some journey's easier and quieter...an argument or tantrum can quickly be diffused with a deft flick of a switch and there a couple of 'new to us' festive favourites that Ellie and I are enjoying listening to, Luke's easy as long as he can bop along to something...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihW56Xa3XGQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtqIM_bPTws

The day after Thanksgiving Day is called Black Friday and marks the start of Christmas shopping with sales and bargains galore to be had apparently, wish I'd known that before I began the Christmas shopping. Imagine our Boxing Day and January sales BEFORE Christmas, I mean how much could you save? Only drawback is (I think?) these amazing and spectacular sales are just for one day only, shops open as early as Midnight, 2, 3, 4, 5am and it's the biggest US shopping day of the year apparently....I don't think I'll be going anywhere in any desperate hurry.

So, these are my totally shallow reasons to be thankful at this very precise moment in time...

• Ian finally gets home tomorrow after a very long, almost 3 weeks away.
• Luke only had two full scale tantrums today.
• Ellie has stopped throwing up and is feeling much better.
• My car 'scrape' has been fixed by a very nice man and thanks to Ellie I didn't do any damage to Ian's car as I was driving it in/out of the garage. She really is the most thoughtful daughter and diligently reminded me that damage was a distinct possibilty each and every time I drove out or reversed in. Once upon a time I had some confidence in my abilities!
• 3 days off school. How I thank you Pilgrim Fathers...No 6.15am alarm. No mad hair raising, teeth cleaning, uniform finding, hair faffing, face scrubbing, toddler negotiating, nappy changing, pyjama peeling, egg wiping, milk mopping dashes, no red lights at every turn and therefore hopefully no speeding tickets.
• The chance of a full dress rehearsal for cooking Christmas turkey and all the trimmings.

You Can Imagine Alot About People...

....and their pets, their hobbies, their perspective on life...not by the cars they drive (I don't have a clue what's hip and what's not) but by these stickers that get plastered on car rear windows. I see so many of these here and they really amuse me, especially when you peer inside the stickered car and see someone completely different to their car persona!

He works hard, she's glam and shops hard, firstborn plays hard, youngest is just 'well 'ard'

It's not so easy to snap things here while you're on the move, ie I'm driving here...no Kumar to ask to slow down, stop, turnaround or catch up and, there isn't as much interesting stuff to photograph anyway, but when I've had the camera with me I've managed to get a few examples in the school car pool line and in car parks....not that I'm a stalker or anything - honest. People watching is good for amusement lest we all forget.

How many kids? And another one on the way...do you think they'll update their stickers? Hope they finally get a boy! Dad has a pizza box under his arm!

The Dad actually driving this car did not look sporty in any way whatsoever and the eldest child looks after the baby while Mum shops (or maybe it's HER baby!)

How Would You Like Your 'Bangs'?

How indeed? I hear you ask.

Well, I'm talking about hair...what were you thinking about?

Luke was in desperate need of a haircut, being mistaken for a girl once was one time too many for Ian so reluctantly I took him to a hairdressers for a trim.

Hairdresser: " How do you want his Bangs?"
Me: "His what?"
Hairdresser: "His Bangs". Lifting up his fringe
Me: "Say that again...his what?"
Hairdresser: "His Bangs"
Me: "Never heard that one before...I'd call that his fringe"
Hairdresser: "His what?"
Me: "Fringe....the bit that covers your forehead"
Hairdresser: "We call it a Bangs, never heard of a fringe"
Me: "So we do all learn something new every day! Trim it.

Maybe I just got off the boat, maybe if I were a hairdresser, maybe, maybe...whatever, but I have never ever heard of a fringe called a bangs before! http://beauty.about.com/od/hairstylephotogalleries/ss/photosbangs.htm

Our House...inside

For those of you who have been asking....for a good while now. I finally had some time, a sunny day and fully charged camera batteries so here are some photos of the 'inside' of our home for (fingers crossed but don't hold your breath) the next 3 years.

Everything we had from England and accumulated in India fitted in perfectly, although I don't think I will ever ever forget our Indian Elves and Furniture Makers! http://madrasmater.blogspot.com/2008/12/elves-and-furniture-maker.html

The guest room has now been sorted out and is ready for visitors...just let me know dates and your flight details - we'd love to see you!

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The Boy Speaks...and drops me in it!

Luke is almost 2 and a half now. Unlike his sister he has been a little man of few words. I've worried. I've beaten myself up over the fact that he has been in too many different countries, with too many different languages and accents during his speech forming years and that it may have set him back.

This very week things changed. All of a sudden his one or two words together became three, four and even five. He has begun to 'chat' and I was loving and really enjoying his increased interaction and clapping my hands with joy...OK so he says 'Yes' like Sean Connery, has begun to say Uh Huh just like Elvis ALOT and on occasion calls me 'Mommy' but he's talking more, not allowing his sister to do it for him and I was...loving it.

Then something happened. We had to get some shopping. The aforementioned Ida storm was battering us. The kids were in the trolley in the shop car park as I packed the car. I'd asked Ellie to hold my purse whilst I put Luke in the car. A gust of wind took her and the trolley careering down the car park, so it was no wonder she dropped my purse in the circumstances.

We got home. I parked the car in the garage. Looked around me for everything and asked Ellie for my purse. Only she didn't have it anymore. We searched the car and as my panic rose I realised it was probably in the trolley...in the car park...in the torrential rain... with my money...my cards...my ID...my driving licence. And wouldn't you just know it - Ian is OUT OF TOWN. He left just the day before for England and then India for like weeks. Why do things like this always happen when you're (I'm) on you're own?

I rang the shop, explained the situation, that I knew where my purse was and if someone could just go and retrieve it for me I would be back in 5 minutes to collect it. The 'customer service' girl on the phone said...and these were her exact words 'It's raining real hard out there so I don't thaink anyone can go and see for ya'. What? Never seen or been in rain? You do dry out eventually you know. It would also explain the fact that on the very day you could do with and need 'help to your car' no-one is around and offering at the checkout like they usually are. Yep rain trumps tips!

I wasn't at my calmest for several obvious reasons as I drove back out of the garage to go back to the car park in the hope my purse was still there and as I pulled out I scraped my brand new, never had one, car. The noise was horrendous and I just wanted to cry...even Ellie buttoned up and was quiet for a few minutes. "Will Daddy be cross with you?" she eventaully asked.

In virtual unheard of silence we drove back to the store (did i just say store?!) In the torrential rain I found our trolley and there lying in the foot well was my sopping wet purse. Hallelujah something had gone right!

Later, much later the kids and I are eating dinner and Daddy phones. Luke is his chair with ants in his pants...'Daddy? Daddy?' I hand him the phone - he's 2 and a half and doesn't talk much remember and never on the phone...

"Heyo Daddy Mummy scraped car."

A History & Geography Lesson (over dinner)

This was going to be tough stuff for a 5 year old but Ellie's been trying to place herself in the world and she began asking questions over dinner and this is how things progressed...my geography and historical facts may be sketchy in places so I apologise if any of these facts are incorrect or more fanciful due to my imagination.

We have been living in the receding wake of Hurricane Ida this week, very heavy rains, high winds and trees down. The very word 'hurricane' has struck fear into her little heart (remember the Tomato Tornato conversation?) The local ice hockey team are 'The North Carolina Hurricanes', she heard those words mentioned on the radio in the car today and thought Ida was coming back and panic ensued!

The news was on while we were having dinner this evening and Ida has now moved and turned into a Nor'easter http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nor and is battering Virginia and moving North...
Ellie: North. That's above us. Virginia? Is there a place above us called Virginia?
Me: Yes there is, and do you know that Virginia was named after an old English Queen, Elizabeth I?
Ellie: Wow! Really? But if her name was Elizabeth why was it called Virginia? (too quick for her own good)
Me: Virginia was her knickname (we'll save that part of the history lesson for when she's older!)
Luke: Mummy draw horse.
Ellie: ...and where's above there?
Me: (drawing a horse) Errr Maryland I think. (Guessing Mary Queen of Scots perhaps? Elizabeth I beheaded her after all)
Ellie: ...and where's above there?
Luke: Mummy draw cat.
Me: (drawing a cat) Errr New Jersey I think and guess what?...there is a place in England called Jersey.
Ellie: There's a place called New York, is there a York in England?
Me: Yes there is!
Luke: Mummy draw dog.
Ellie: Why are they called 'New' ?
Me: (drawing a dog) Do you remember at school in India you learnt about the brave Pilgrim Fathers on the Mayflower boat who sailed from England to the 'New' World, well maybe they were homesick for England and named places after their hometowns.
Ellie: I do! And they sailed for a long time and then they had a thanksgiving. What's up there next?
Me: Connecticut (struggled for a link on that one) and then New England and New Hampshire(technically Massachussets but you can understand my deviation there)
Ellie: New England?! You mean there is a New England? Wow! Can we go there? Is there a Kenilworth there?
Me: Yes there is (I only know this because I drove past it many years ago) but did you know than that across the road from your school there are some houses in a place called 'Kenilworth Court'.
Ellie: Mummy can I go there?!!

I'll bore you no more with the dialogue but finally I managed to bring the conversation back to North Carolina, whose capital city is Raleigh, named after Sir Walter, who returned to England after his New World tour to present Queen Elizabeth I who was guest of honour of her 'favourite' Robert Dudley aka Lord Leycester (and much more so rumour has it....no daughter of Henry VIII was ever going to remain so pure) at Kenilwoth Castle with tobacco plants and potatoes which were planted in the little Olde Worlde area next to the Castle that is called 'Little Virginia'. The tobacco died, the potatoes did not and that is how, legend has it, England got potatoes. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenilworth

Part of 'Little Virginia' Kenilworth - Elizabethan houses - not may potato plants these days!

There are I'm sure many historical links to be discovered. One of them that intrigues me are the large number of Holt's here. Holt was my maiden name and I know that there is a Holt town in Norfolk close to where the Pilgrim Fathers set sail. I've traced my paternal line back to Norfolk but then I drew a blank...maybe it's time to research it some more....when I get some time!

Nee Naw, Nee Naw!

For Luke at the moment his life revolves around anything to do with fire engines, trains and balls...and occasionally dressing up with his sister.


In North Carolina (could be the same in other States I don't know) if you dial 911 the first response vehicle you get is always going to be a fire engine, whatever the reason for your call whether it be police, fire or medical emergency and there are alot of fire stations to cover this. The firemen are highly trained in all aspects of emergency work and hugely valued members of the community and generations of families proudly enter this career. Given the large number of wooden houses here they are also very active in educating the community and especially children with life saving advice. There are two fire stations located within 5 minutes of our house in the direction we generally go, there could be even more in the other direction. During our 25 minute drive to school we pass no less that 5 fire stations. Makes a mockery of the state of the fire service in the UK, and by that I mean the closing down of more and more fire stations in cost cutting exercises, not the dedication and value we place on our firemen.


One of our local fire stations recently held an open day and Ellie and Luke were particularly excited to go although Luke doesn't look like it in the photographs but that was more for the fact he'd just woken up from a nap and he's never at his best then!

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Pumpkin Day, Fall Festival & Halloween

Like most of the Northern hemisphere we are in the midst of Autumn or Fall. This is my favourite season and it's so nice to see one again after India's distinct lack of seasons, hers being hot, wet and hot, hotter and stinking hot.

North Carolina's vast amount of trees have been treating us to spectactular shows of colour over the last couple of weeks and there are so many trees here, it gives a new perspective on the saying 'Can't see the wood for the trees' here you 'Can't see a view for the trees'. One thing I have noticed as the leaf fall progresses is that we do actually have a couple of neighbours in the distance through the woods. We can also more easily see the Deer that visit our garden, Luke calls then Beers! We had hoped to make it over to the mountains in the West to see the colours but that hasn't happened this year but we did make it out to the beach for a days play in the sand.


With the onset of the Fall there have been a few events at school firstly Johnny Appleseed Day , a Pumpkin Party, an evening Fall Festival and of course everything was rounded off nicely with Halloween last Saturday.

For Ellie and Luke's first time Trick or Treating you'd think they'd been doing it since the moment they were born and they didn't need telling twice, I think the motivation of sweets and chocolate helped a little bit perhaps? Ellie was going to dress as a Snow Princess but changed her mind at the last minute and if you asked Luke what he was dressed as his answer was 'Choo Choo'.

I was quietly surprised by just how many people get behind the Halloween event here and make a real effort for the children and create quite a social event in their neighbourhoods by decorating their houses and dressing up. Of course the real winners at the end of the day with alot of $$$'s being spent are the costume shops, sweet companies and eventually the dentists!

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Tomato Tomahto

This morning on the way to school...

Ellie: 'Mummy what's a tomahto?'
Me: 'A tomato'
Ellie: 'No, no Mummy a tomahto?'
Me: 'There are some words that we English pronounce differently to the Americans and tomato is one of them.' At which point I then begin a tuneless rendition of "You like potato and I like potahto, You like tomato and I like tomahto Potato, potahto, Tomato, tomahto, Let's call the whole thing off"
Ellie: 'Mummy STOP singing and listen to me...a tomahto is a dangerous storm...

The penny dropped.

Me: Do you mean a Tornado?
Ellie: Yes! Yes! A Tornato. Mummy they are very dangerous and if one is coming you must go into a room with no windows and close the door and stay there until it's gone. At school we have to go into the boys toilets but where will you go if you are at home?
Me: Errrr, the wardrobe?
Ellie: No! You must go into the downstairs toilet, the one with no windows. Actually there's two of those because I have checked so you'll be OK. Promise me you'll go in one of those if a Tornato is coming.
Me: OK Ellie, I promise.

There ended my Tornado drill from my 5 year old daughter. I will admit that Tornado's were not high on my danger awareness list for here. Having done some research I see that we're not in any hot-spot but at least we all know the drill now!

Pardon? How Much?

Not alot seems to run smoothly in our lives does it?!

A week or so ago I took a short trip back to England for a few days. I had a new nephew to meet and a good friends Hen weekend to celebrate.

A few days before I left Ian, who had been diligently watching the air fare prices announced he'd booked my ticket and handed me all the confirmation paperwork for my trip. Raleigh Durham - Newark - Birmingham and back. I was all set.

On departure day I was all packed and ready, we picked up Luke from nursery and headed to the airport. I went to check-in and presented my ticket and documents and the girl at the desk starting tapping away at her computer. She tapped and she tapped whilst all those checking in around me came and went. I began to have that sinking feeling.

Me: 'Is there a problem?'
Girl: 'Well, err hmmm, let me call the helpdesk..... Well, the good news is there is a seat held for you but it doesn't seem to have been paid for.'
Me: 'I have this confirmation with a booking reference, surely I couldn't have that if it hasn't been paid for?'
Girl: 'Well technically yes, but let me call the helpdesk again and also speak to my supervisor.'
Me: (thinking calm thoughts) 'I'll call my husband to see if he knows what could have happened.'

Meanwhile at the desk next door a brassy type of woman is also checking in and telling anyone who will listen that she has had to postpone this trip of hers to Europe because her daughter "Darn well went and got the Swine Flu"....but she's not contagious anymore apparently. From the looks from everyone around us it was obvious we were all having the same thought - Yes, BUT YOU MIGHT BE! She checked in and all the staff reached for the hand sanitiser and aerosol sprayed the air around themselves!!

Girl: 'If you want to catch this flight you are going to have to pay today's fare.'
Me: 'Which is how much?'
Girl: $1800
Me: 'HOW MUCH?'
Girl: 'Plus taxes, booking fee and if you pay by credit card there's a surcharge. You have 5 minutes to make a decision and then check-in for this flight will close. If you take the next flight you won't make your connection.'

I call Ian again and again, who is calling and trying to make sense of the travel agent. Eventually I get him and he says to 'just book it and go.' I do. And then I run. I have 5 minutes before the flight goes and oh s*** I'd forgotten about going through security and get stuck behind some moron who is arguing about the fact he has to take his shoes and jumper off - PLEASE! Just take the stuff off and let's get moving. By this time all I can here is "This is the final call for Emma Wilson, FINAL CALL".

But I made it...just. I boarded to the disdainful looks of my fellow passengers and I just wanted to shout "It's not my fault". Thankfully I sink into my seat, close my eyes and take a few deep breaths....and then I hear her... "I had to postpone this trip because my daughter darn well went and got swine flu". On and on she went all the way to New York as the people around her shifted uncomfortably in their seats. I'm thinking.... Just. Shut. Up. Because if you don't there will be alot of people sticking needles in an effigy of you if they get as much as a sore throat.

We land in New York and I call Ian to find out what's happened...turns out that the travel agent he used doesn't accept credit card payments for international travel - have you ever heard of anything so ridiculous? And did they think to call and tell him that...of course they didn't because that would have been too much like customer service. So my $700 fare finally equated to $1980.

I board my Birmingham bound flight to find that my very expensive seat is over the wing and doesn't recline....yeah, nothing quite like a night time Trans-Atlantic flight with NO. SLEEP. Then I hear her..."I had to postpone this trip because...blaady blah....daughter....blah blah... Swine flu". Shame you can't carry needles on a flight these days.

On the plus side I had forgotten just how easy travelling without children can be...I read a book, watched 2 3/4 films and didn't get a wink of sleep - the most expensive night without sleep I've ever had.

Vorsprung Durch Customer Service?

Vorsprung Durch Technic - apparently German for Progress Through Technology and the infamous strap line for Audi. I hope that they are progressing through technology because over here they are definitely not progressing through customer service. Here's a little synopsis of our 'Audi' experience...

Ian finally got his social security number, his first one never did turn up and he had to re-apply and that process was further complicated by the fact that he'd travelled back to the UK in the meantime and wasn't showing again on the immigration lists, he still doesn't have the card but he was given a number which finally enabled us to get our cars.

I've never had a 'new' car and by that I mean a shiny, sparkly, never been driven, straight from the showroom car. Always let some other mug take the financial hit I was told. We have to purchase/lease cars here, unlike India cars and drivers are not part of the package (damn it...I mean...what a shame!) We also found it was better to purchase before we got here via a company called International Autosourcing. This way you benefit from a tax incentive but your choice of car is limited, but you can use your UK credit rating/history - a good thing - because having been here for such a short time that's something else we don't have.

There is an Audi dealership about 5 miles away from our house and that's where I thought we'd be going to collect the cars. But oh no. Audi delivers to International Autosourcing who then deliver it to a dealer, only they've fallen out of love with our local dealer so they deliver them to Greensboro about 2 hours away. Not far really but it took a couple of hours worth of phone calls to change the car hire drop off location and around $150 in penalties! Grrrr!


We arrived at the dealership, did the paperwork and I asked who would be 'handing over' the cars and showing us....OK read 'me'...all the ins/outs/gadgets. The girl doing the paperwork looks a little embarrassed as she explains that no-one, nobody will be doing this as it is 'technically' not one of their sales, it's just a handover. Hmmm is it? We've bought 2 cars, spent alot of money, tickled the American economy and Audi's sales books in troubled times....can none of the idle coffee swilling, thumb twiddling sales staff sitting around here spare us a few minutes? Apparently not.


Ian's car is sitting outside ready and he's quietly having kittens and chomping at the bit because he realises that his car is actually a better model than he ordered and keeps disappearing outside to marvel at the fact. Mine, they tell is on it's way from the workshop. Hello? They did know what time we were coming and the cars were delivered to them a week ago. Meanwhile the kids are running around and playing with a little soft ball which doesn't amuse the snooty manager who thinks it pertinent to point out that one of the cars in the showroom is worth $150,000 and he doesn't like the idea of fingerprints on it. I'll just send them out into the car park by the busy highway then shall I?


Eventually they bring my car round and it looks luuvvelly...wait a minute...apart from the scratches on the door, the wing, the bonnet. The sticky shipping tape residue on the doors, the boot and wing mirrors. This car had obviously not even been given a cursory glance over. At which point we did finally get some attention - a man with a cloth and some kind of T-Cutt stuff to polish out the scratches and some luke warm soapy water to remove the sticky stuff. Except he missed a bit.

Almost done here we thought! We changed the kids car seats over into my car, strapped them in and we were almost, nearly, just about to drive off to return one hire car. I reverse out. The car stops. It isn't going anywhere anytime soon because there is no fuel in it and it appears the keys to the hire car have gone missing. After several dialogue exchanges with various people eventually a nice man with a Jerry can arrives and dribbles a few drops of the hard stuff into my tank. "Hopefully that'll get you to the nearest fuel station half a mile a way". Gee thanks mate you really know how to help a girl out!

We get talking and it turns out that the nice man with the Jerry can has been to Chester and Wales (that'll impress some people that I know!), had a lovely time in Wales and thinks it is terrible that nobody is helping us nice English people out...so bless his cottons he helps firstly in the half hour search for the missing keys and then proceeds to do a little of the sort of 'handover' I'd been hoping for! Now I can almost work everything. Finally we limped off their forecourt in search of some juice to get us back home.

One thing of great value he did tell us, which neither of us knew....is that you should never use cruise control in wet weather - he spoke from experience and a lucky escape.

So as you can probably tell the whole day was not the 'Audi experience' we expected, but we did meet a very nice man who has been to, and had a nice time in Wales.

Going Downtown

Here are some photos I took at the weekend of our local 'Downtown'.

I say local because this is our town 'address' however all the town boundaries here seem very vague and I reckon the cities of Cary and Raleigh are closer...having said that Apex is much much prettier...and you can WALK around it!

It feels very old and 'Southern' and 'film set-ish' I kept thinking Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, which I know was set in Alabama --but you get the picture?

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Princess for a Day

Our little girl has turned FIVE! How did that happen?!

The first birthday of mine that I can clearly recall was my Fifth so I was hopeful that I could make Ellie's 'One to Remember'. Problem was that we were in a new country with a topsy turvey house and not alot of time to get organised...I hope we pulled it off!

One afternoon with not alot of time to go I stumbled upon http://www.grandmasprincess.com/ and Ellie's princess tea party was organised! All the girls had a wondreful time and it was a magical afternoon for them all (and us!)

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What's This? Where the Hell Is That?

As the trauma of yet another move subsides and we thankfully slip back into some kind of domestic peace and normality, (We think we're quite normal even if you don't!) you begin to remember things that you once had and wonder where on earth they could be? You also wonder how some things managed to even get packed into your boxes and shipped in the first place.

What's This? Several open bags of assorted and now spilt spices and some lentils? - I know I said 'bin them'. Ahem... A couple of mosquitos - I kid you not - alive and kicking, how on earth did those little devils stow away and make it all this way? It won't be long until they rule the earth. Being the ace mosquito swatter that I now am they will not be introducing malaria or dengue into North Carolina anytime soon. One rollerskate? Assorted useless plastic containers? probably from take-aways - didn't even know we had them, the containers that is, why were they kept? One set of completely battered and trashed, and I mean trashed saucepans and cooking utensils? A couple of half depleted plug-in mosquito repellants? And....3 toilet brushes and 8 rolls of Indian toilet paper???...thanks packers - but NO thanks! I can now buy Andrex and Charmin - no more 1-ply for us!

Where the Hell is? Framed hand prints of both the children aged 3 years and 6 months? The huge spotty plastic tablecloth which protected our dining room table so well? ALL of Luke's farm animals which I clearly remember packing into a plastic box and asking the packers to pack with the farm? The farm made it, the animals didn't? I know we had more books than we've ended up with and there are photographs missing? Every single pillow protector that we owned? Some bed sheets? There are several empty DVD cases? Our bank card reader that enabled us to make UK payments from overseas? Useless without the cards - we hope!

What was Damaged? Several picture frames, an occasional table - top split clean in half. My dressing table - top split almost in half. Kids play kitchen - stuffed in a box and in stood on to make it fit, fell apart this end. Ellie's dolls pram. One pouffe/foot stool, knackered, probably jumped on!

At the end of the day most of it doesn't even matter because 'things' can be replaced. Moments in time like handprints and photographs can't - fingers crossed they turn up.

Legal Aliens

As I was reading and filling out the forms at the Social Security Office around 2 weeks after we arrived I realised what it was that Sting was singing about all those years ago....the only box that 'fitted' me was that of a Legal Alien. 'In Law, an alien is a person in a country who is not a citizen in that country'. I never actually had seen the term written down before.

Just like getting a drivers license it is very necessary to have your social security number and alien status because without it, and your drivers licence you can't get any of your utilities connected, rent a house, get your rubbish collected or buy a car, to name but a few things, I'm sure there must be more. It's catch 22 wherever you turn until you finally have both pieces of paper in the palm of your sweaty hand.

On good advice we waited 2 weeks after we arrived to schedule our appointment, enough time we were told for Immigration to do their thing and get you 'into the system'. But hey, they're probably busy and when we'd filled in our forms, made our way to the interview window we were told "computer says no". Not on the system = no social security number and therefore none of the above necessities in life. We are given a temporary letter to say that we have applied, but it doesn't really help much and told that the system will keep on being checked and our numbers sent out to us...it could take anything from between 3 days to 3 weeks. Thankfully we have a cool landlord who just kept everything connected for us at the house until the numbers came through.

I say numbers, but in fact 1 week later my social security number arrives but Ian's doesn't. At least I can set up everything we need, except the delivery of the cars, they're both in Ian's name. When another week had gone by we both tried calling the SS office but that has an even more time consuming and annoying automated system than the bank and unfortunately you can't sit and press zero until you get a human being and it didn't recognise frustrated yells either. There was nothing for it but to go in person but that meant Ian having to find a couple of hours in the day and then he had to return to the UK for a week so more time went by.

Last week he managed to get there, turns out that his number was dispatched on the same day as mine where it went to nobody knows. He had to re-apply and eight weeks and 2 days after arriving we are still waiting for his elusive number. We are still waiting for our cars too which are somewhere in the US waiting for us as they were ordered in July (there's a tax incentive if you buy before you fly.)

Eight weeks after arriving in the US it still hasn't arrived....maybe it'll come today then again maybe it won't.

The Driving Test

In order to 'Drive Thru Our Lives' here we had to take a driving test and I will tell you that the very thought struck terror into me. It's been a few years, OK a good few since I took my driving test in England...and I failed first time round.

A drivers license is very necessary here because obviously it enables you to drive, it also acts as your photo-id which you have to carry everywhere with you and present fairly regularly, I was very nervous carrying my passport around all the time knowing my propensity to lose things and I don't lose any old things, just important things. It also enables you to own a car - if you also have a social security number...but that's another story.

We had the date set and around about 100 pages of North Carolina Highway Code to revise and just the sight of all those pages were overwhelming and we just didn't feel confident enough so we postponed it for a week. The day approached and Ian thought about postponing it again but by this time I just wanted it over and done with - if I failed I'd just have to take it again the following week.

The day came and we made our way to the test centre. We presented our paperwork and waited to called by our assigned examiner. Mine was Miss Frosty and I don't think it helped her mood when I pulled out an anti-bac wipe to clean the binocular like eye test machine - I'm not THAT fussy or an OCD case but it did look very greasy where hundreds of other foreheads had probably rested to take the eye test. Next was the computerised multiple choice theory test in which you had to get 20/25 correct to take the driving part of the test. Thanks to Jo (a Brit friend in New Jersey) I was well prepared for this as she'd told me about a website where you could practice questions. The test wasn't hard but some of the terminology was very different to the DVLA version and I can't now remember all the examples but...'defensive driving' was one. Should you practice defensive driving? Ian and I both thought that this would be a bad thing but apparently defensive driving is a good thing! I got one wrong and passed on another because I just didn't understand the question and it was onto the 'driving' test.

Ian took his first and passed, so there was no pressure was there? Me and Miss Frosty make our way to Ian's hire car and in my head I keep repeating to myself, speed limit (I'd been practicing for days at trying to stick to it!), 3 point turn and emergency stop. After checking the car for road worthiness we were off. One thing I had noticed was that there is usually a speed limit sign at least every 200yards along every road - but not this one! I hazard a guess that it's 45 and breath a sigh of relief when I do eventually see a sign. Around this time Miss Frosty thawed and became quite chatty which I didn't think was very helpful and made me wonder if it was a distraction technique!

So ten minutes in and I've observed and stuck to the speed limit, turned left and right, carefully 3 point turned and I'm thinking, 'just an emergency stop to go, just an emergency stop to go.' When Miss Frosty says 'stop' I did THE best emergency stop I've ever done...only she didn't quite want it to happen then because she actually wanted me to just stop and then show her how good I am at reversing. Ooops! Thankfully she saw the funny side, I reverse, we drive on and then she lets me do my emergency stop. Not quite as good as the first but it was good enough.

Back to the test centre to be told I had passed, have my mug shot taken and to hear that my license will be in the post in a few days. Celebration time! - Ian and I actually had lunch together, on our own, which I don't think has ever happened during the last 5 years!!

The BIG 5

Happy Birthday Ellie!

Our First Week Home Alone

"Hey Emma, glad to hear you have settled in now and life is getting back to normal. Ian's away again, so that's got to be kind of normal!" (FB comment from a friend in India!)

So yes, Ian's had to do his first (of many in the future) stints away. We'd only moved into the house for one week before he had to bid us farewell and fly back to the UK. By the way I have actually stopped saying I am from the UK and now say England because twice this week people have introduced me as being from the Ukraine.

In England I knew our house, I knew our neighbours and our friends were close by. In India I had 3 guards rotating the house 24hours (unless they were sleeping! http://madrasmater.blogspot.com/2009/01/twas-night-before-christmas.html ) and a driver who always assured me that he was only ever 10 minutes away if I needed him. I felt safe. It's not quite the same here at the moment, we have no close neighbours, and well I won't go on. What we do have is a new and very super duper alarm system and we do live in an area with a very low crime rate...and it just takes time to settle into a new home get used to its noises and creeks - I haven't slept much, but probably more than I think.

So, if anything can go wrong it will - when your husband leaves the country...

Day 1 - 2am in the morning and the new super duper alarm system begins to bleep constantly. It wakes me up. I lie in bed. I cannot move. In my sleepy head fog I run through all the scenarios, as you do, and I try my hardest to remember all the instructions the alarm guy had given us and convince myself that an intermittent bleep is NOT something to worry about. I get up and go to the control panel, press a button but it doesn't stop. I look for a phone number, see one, call it, to be told it is no longer a number in use - 'oh help me'. Then my eye falls on another button that is lit up and I gingerly press it. Thank goodness, because it tells me the problem, stops the bleeping but doesn't actually put my mind at rest. There now follows a very wakeful night. In the morning I talk to Ian and he says 'why didn't you just call the telephone number on the window stickers? and through gritted teeth I reply because no-one had told me it were there and that was where I should look!

Day 3 - And I'm Driving Thru My Life and I have to Drive Thru the ATM on the way back from school to get cash to pay for Ellie's birthday party deposit. Ellie & Luke are kicking off big time in the back of the car, through the screaming (them and me)I manage to take the money and the receipt but leave the card behind...which I discover when I'm in the supermarket later trying to buy stuff for dinner. I try to use my English credit card but after a certain number of transactions abroad you have to call to re-verify your card - and I've left my cell phone in the car. Thankfully my UK debit card works fine and we're eventually on our way. When I got home I spent a very unproductive 2 hours trying to call the bank to stop my atm stranded card via, joy of joys - an automated service - and if you thought UK automated call centres were frustrating - think again! The options available were just not what I wanted. At least the 'voice recognition system' eventually (about an hour eventually) recognised my shouts of I WANT TO TALK TO SOMEBODY. So an hour to talk to somebody and a week to wait for a new card and I have about $2 in my purse and no husband around to sub me. So, the next morning I paid a visit to our 'branch' and the wonderful staff at Bank of America issue me with a temporary debit card there and then - they are, apparently one of the only banks in the world to do this.

Day 5 - 3am and a phone rings and wakes me up. In a very similar fog to the one of a few nights before, I pick up the home phone by the bed - no-one there. Perhaps I'm dreaming. But I can still hear noise and voices and I pinch myself so I know I'm awake. Panic, no terror if I'm honest - and I can hear rustling and muffled voices. SH**! I know I turned on the security system, what's going on? And then I hear Ian's voice, mumbling but his voice nonetheless and he's talking to someone. I leap out of bed and out into the hallway....and from the cupboard where he has temporarily wired up our UK Vonage phone I can hear him talking....from, it transpires the same phone which is now in his pocket that he called our Vonage phone a few hours earlier and has accidentally managed to activate, call the answerphone and spook the living daylights out of me! He thinks it's quite funny...I think I aged considerably overnight...over the last week in fact.

Arachnophobia?

Come and stay with us in creepy crawly North Carolina and we'll cure you!

This large critter was waiting to welcome us at the front door when we arrived to move in. At least it's not red, I was always told that anything red = danger. Haven't seen a Black Widow...yet...or a snake...yet - but have been told to be watchful. {{shudder}}

It's Fun To Play at the YMCA!

I think it would be very fair to say that back home the YMCA has a rather different 'image' to the one it has here. When our re-location agent suggested that membership of the 'Y' could open all sorts of opportunities...I couldn't help but silently snigger at the very thought, the only memories I could conjure up were obviously Village People and a rather seedy 'hostel' next door to Sainsbury's in Surbiton in the 80's - I wonder if it's still there?

Different here, so different. Every 'Y', and there seems to be at least one in most towns of a significant size is an almost state-of-the-art fitness and leisure centre with every conceivable type of fitness class, swimming pools - and get this - a FREE creche, and loads of kids activities, playgrounds and swimming lessons. Only downside is that all their pools are outside and they all close after Labour Day, 1st week of September - even though the temperature is still in the 80's most days. There is one 'Y' close to Ellie's school that is having a 'bubble' erected so that the pool can be used during the cooler months.

We joined up and one day, a couple of weeks ago after school ,when it was baking hot and a cool off was becoming very necessary as was escaping the dark poky temporary apartment I took the kids for a play, the kids pool wasn't open for another half an hour, it didn't matter and oh how they played...

The Sea Shipment Cometh

Remind Anyone of Anywhere?

Finally, finally all was arranged and we moved in to the house that will be our home for the next3 years....yeah I know, heard that one before but this time around they'll have to take me kicking and screaming because this family needs a little stability and routine for a while. About 3 years a while.

Day 1 of moving in and the Artic lorry (and a half) rolled up to the house. I'd like to tell you that we really don't have all that much stuff and it was the exhuberant Indian packers that managed to bulk everything out - to the extreme, but I don't think you'd believe me anyway so I won't try and blag it. So far so good, the three unloading guys were worth their weight and never (that I saw) raised an eyebrow when one of us told them to take one thing somewhere to be told by the other to take it somewhere else - we thought we had the A Team on our side

Day 2 of moving in and the Z Team arrived to unpack us, I say this because their idea of unpacking was to open boxes, unwrap the exhuberant handy work of the Indian packers and dump the contents on the floor wherever there was a spare piece of carpet...and leave it there. Much frustration! The Z team consisted of a mother and daughter who spent a great deal of their time on their phones to friends bemoaning the fact they had a 'big job on here', Grrrrr! The daughter was ill and unfit for work and didn't really do much, but wouldn't go home because that meant they'd both have to leave...and not get paid. I gave her painkillers but they didn't improve the situation and eventually at around 3.30pm they asked if we'd mind if they left. Mind? We were doing a better job ourselves. Don't get me wrong, I was very sympathetic for her plight - but should she have really come to work for the (half) day? The Mother half of the team told us that her and her husband would return the following day to finish off...It didn't happen.


If we thought we had the A team on the first day then we had the AAA team on the Saturday morning, so fast and efficient were these two Mexican guys that I never even saw them. By the time I'd got the kids up, dressed and breakfasted in the apartment and made our way over to the house at 10.00am - they were done and long gone, Ian felt he'd run a marathon trying to keep up with them. Yeah right! You're not that fit! I think he forgot to turn the air-con on!

All in all, a very similar experience to 'Moving In In India' except the lorry was much smaller and had to make several trips to and fro and there was a a very efficient team of about 1000 men!! http://madrasmater.blogspot.com/2008/10/we-have-our-stuff.html

Driving Thru Your Life Part II

Thank you to Gill for this Driving 'Thru' Your life example!

Toilet, Bathroom or Potty?

As many of you know Ellie is almost 5, going on 15.

She has an endearing habit (not) of shouting at the top of her voice 'I NEED THE TOILET'.

After receiving several strange side looks in restaurants and supermarkets when she declares her need I decided that we had better work on our phrasing so last weekend just as she had screeched out her need for all to hear we had a little chat - it went something like this...

Me: Ellie, I think that perhaps it would be more polite while we're here in America if, instead of hollering at the top of your voice that you'd like to use the toilet we quietly ask instead if we can go to the 'bathroom.'
Ellie: Why? A toilet is a toilet Mummy and it doesn't have a bath in it at a restaurant.
Me: I know, but Americans don't seem to use the word 'toilet' and prefer to say bathroom.
Ellie: OK Mummy, I will definitely try to remember to call it a bathroom.

So far so good.

This morning whilst trying my hardest to get both Ellie and Luke to eat up their breakfast so we can get out of the door to school and perhaps not be playing the eternal game of Beat the Clock, Traffic and Red Lights, she shouts her loudest 'I NEED THE TOILET' ever...

Me: Ellie. Please. We've discussed this. We do not shout. We do not call it a toilet. We ask quietly if we can go to the bathroom.
Ellie: At school the teacher says we must ask if we need to 'go potty', but potties are for babies aren't they?
Me: Yes they are but perhaps the other children at school understand that better. At home and when we are out we will say 'bathroom' OK?
Ellie: OK I'll try to remember. But Mummy, there are no Americans here with us at the moment to hear me so it doesn't really matter does it?

I think this could be a long battle.

The House That Greg Built

95 days
8,208,000 seconds
136,800 minutes
2280 hours
13 weeks

....since our lives were packed back up into boxes and the contents shipped out of India. We have stayed in two hotels, 2 holiday cottages (1 twice), 1 villa and spent numerous nights in the spare beds of good friends and 1 apartment, travelled on 4 aeroplanes, driven 4 different cars and lived out of 6 suitcases.

Tomorrow - I hardly dare say it in case I tempt fate - we finally move into our new home which we hope will be ours for the next 3 years...and I LOVE IT!

It's brand new and has been built by a colleague of Ian's who has been unable to sell it like so many people in the current climate. He heard we were coming here and let us know he was willing to rent it to us, we saw it, fell in love with it, looked at at least 15 other equally nice houses but this one ticked all the right boxes and although it is further from school for me we decided to take it.

So tomorrow the removals company will finally arrive with all our stuff 'n' boxes. It will be like Christmas for Ellie and Luke seeing all their toys again and having a rather large playroom in which to unpack and rediscover them. As for me, I am so looking forward to our lovely bed and my own kitchen knives and utensils - sad really!

Drive Thru Your Life

We are definately definately in the Land of the Car.

Nobody walks anywhere unless it is from and to their car, and everything is geared up for 'doing things from your car'.

Need some cash? You can drive to, up to and thru the cashpoint and obtain your money through the car window. Need to pay some cheques in? You can drive up to the bank window where a cashier is waiting for you and then you drive thru.

Need some medicines? You can drive thru at the pharmacy.

Hungry? Drive thru for anything and everything you may so desire. Burgers, Pizza, Donuts, Chicken, Sandwiches - the list is endless.

A coffee? Drive thru Starbucks.

Groceries? Why not phone or email your shopping list to the shop and then drive thru to pick it up.

Taking your child to school? Just drive up to the carpool line, join the queue, inch forward, unlock the door, teacher opens the door and removes child and you just drive on thru. The same applies when collecting your child from school.

In fact I have been inside Ellie's school just twice, once for a look/see and the other time on Meet the Teacher day....and I don't mind telling you that on this point I feel 'robbed'. Robbed in the sense that on my daughters very first day of 'big school' I wasn't able to walk her into her class and settle her in, and she looked so little in her big school uniform and she was a little nervous. On the plus side I suppose...at least the children and teachers didn't have to deal with a whole host of blubbering mothers!

I'll be on the look-out for more 'Drive thru your Life' examples! Haven't seen a Drive Thru cinema, but wait, I think that may be called a 'Drive In'?

First Day of School

Ellie started Kindergarten last Thursday. So far, so good she is settling in well and enjoying everything, she has even asked if she can stay later because 'some kids stay longer and get to go to the gym' - After school club I think. Oh yes, and how could I forget...she is also picking up the lingo! As she climbed into the car yesterday afternoon she said. "Tomorrow we have gym so I have to wear my sneakers to school, then she paused, that means trainers OK Mummy? Got it?"

Our First Weekend (Not Househunting)

The first weekend we were here in North Carolina was a very long one spent househunting, that's all behind us now that we've found a lovely house to live in and we will hopefully be moving in towards the end of this week.

Our second weekend here we managed to get out and about to explore 'our local' area a bit more and it was really helpful to orientate ourselves (read myself) before school started. During our grand tour we took some well deserved time out of the car and took the kids to this wonderful childrens museum in Downtown Raleigh http://www.marbleskidsmuseum.org/ it was like Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory for Ellie and Luke after the confines of the car and our temporary 3rd floor apartment, interesting, interactive, stimulating, hands-on and they had a fabulous time, we had to drag them away kicking and screaming (I kid you not) when the place closed with promises to return again very soon. It was so good we signed up for an annual membership there and then.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

School Uniform Shopping

...another education!

Ellie starts school this week so one afternoon last week we made a trip to the 'approved outfitters' to purchase her school uniform.

Luke was thankfully drowsy in his pushchair and we were greeted by an ever so helpful assistant who told me she would be the one to assist us in our quest. We told her the school, she got her list, glanced down it and said that the very first thing Ellie would need was a 'Jumper' and off she waltzes. Hmmmm...I'm thinking...the temperatures here are in the 80's-90's for quite a while yet and a 'jumper' would not be the first thing I'd think of buying just yet, but then she presents me with what I'd call a Pinafore dress!

Me: Oh yes, we'd like a couple of those but I thought we needed a Jumper too?
Girl: This is a Jumper
Me: Is it?!! Now, I'd call that a Pinafore Dress - OK whatever, we'll have 1 plain and one tartan.
Girl: Tartan? What's tartan?
Me: It's the check like fabric.
Girl: We call that Plaid.
Me: What's next?
Girl: Skorts, skirts or shorts?
Me: What's a Skort?
Girl: Shorts that look like a skirt, very good for the active jump around type of girl - protects their modesty.
- We both take one look at Ellie rolling around under a clothes carousel with her legs in the air -
Me: We'll take 2 pairs please!

Add to that list 2 blouses to go under the 'Jumper', 3 polo shirts and a pricey pair of shoes and in the blink of an eye we've racked up about $350 worth of stuff...and I didn't even bother yet with the cold weather 'Jumper' I was thinking about!

Can-You-Speak -ENGLISH?

This was the question I was asked this morning!

It was 6am. The alarm didn't go off. We had overslept and Ian was late to pick up a colleague from a hotel so while he jumped in the shower I called the hotel and this was how the conversation went...

Me: Good morning please can you tell me if there is a man named Simon waiting in reception to be collected?
Man: Errr say that again
Me: Can you tell me if there is a man waiting in your hotel reception to be collected?
Man: Errr what?
Me: Is there a man.called Simon.waiting.in.reception?
Man: Errrr can you speak English?
Me: (never at my most patient or best at 6am in the morning) I AM English, I am therefore speaking ENGLISH!

Now, Simon who was in fact waiting in reception to be collected had thankfully overheard and got the gist of the conversation and took the phone - thank goodness because I don't know where we would have gone from there!

In India I found it very hard to talk to Indians over the phone, I found their accents too thick and without being able to see their faces it was hard to decipher their words so I avoided talking on the phone unless I had someone nearby who could be my interpreter. I just hadn't imagined that the same thing would happen here! I think I'm going to have to work at 'tuning in' and remember to speak more slowly!

Apparently what I should have said was, 'Is there a guy in the lobby waiting to be picked up', and he would have known exactly what I meant!

What's It Like There??

I've been asked this a few times since we arrived and all I can say at the moment is that it is very American, very green and very hot! We've been here less than two weeks and we really haven't been able to explore yet as we have been so busy orientating ourselves, house hunting, school visiting, uniform shopping, banking etc etc, so in the meantime here's a taster of North Carolina - Enjoy!
http://www.visitnc.com/

Baptism of Fire

We arrived in North Carolina with all our eight suitcases and assorted hand luggage courtesy of American Airlines on Tuesday 4th August. We left Kenilworth at 6am, endured an horrendous long long check-in at Heathrow, poor kids - no time for breakfast and we boarded our direct flight (thank goodness) to Raleigh-Durham.

Our next hurdle was the US Immigration queue, especially as we had disembarked the plane last and were therefore last in the queue and it was a good hour and a half later that we emerged in baggage reclaim. That part was easy though as it was only our luggage left on the carousel.

Next stop - Hire car company - Easy, and we were off on the road.

"Just follow me, says Ian, it's not far to the apartment". So I follow, he's in the 'BIG' car with kids and luggage and I'm in the small car - a ZZ Top kind of thing with the pushchair and not much else. He's zooming off ahead and I'm pootling along behind trying to get used to driving on the wrong side of the road again and trying to keep up and, all of a sudden we're on the Interstate and he's off into the distance, and it begins to rain. Can I work the windscreen wiper switch? Can I heckers like - and then I realise I can't see Ian for all the cars, big ones, in front who have zipped in front of me and my rain splattered windscreen - and I'm frantically hitting the intermittent wiper again and again as it really starts to pour and there is a loud clap of thunder.

At this point it dawns on me that I have no bloody idea where we are going - I've never been here before - where we are staying or how to get there on my own...and I have no mobile phone, no ID. Panic. I put my foot down and through the rain and the intermittent wipers that are starting to protest at their mis-use, I eventually spy Ian and the kids. Then I lose them again. Then I see them, then I lose them...and I'm exclaiming loudly at no-one in particular and cursing everything and everybody.

Miraculously I spy Ian ahead - don't know how as at this point all the cars were looking pretty much the same, the only distinguishing feature was that the BIG car had a Virginia licence plate, don't know when I spotted that and stored it in my memory but see it I did and it stopped me driving all the way to Florida.

Welcome

If you are reading this then you are either a good friend or family member or have been following my blog In-dia Straits http://madrasmater.blogspot.com/
then you'll know who we all are.

If not, we are an English family who have just spent the last year moving to and living in Chennai India. We now unexpectedly find ourselves back on the move and winging our way from one extreme to another - to the USA.

This blog is my record of our adventures, experiences and the day-to-day boring stuff as we live a few years of our lives 'Out of England' and therefore our comfort zone!