My Daily Questions

Recently I've been meeting more and more people.

That sounds weird. But now that I'm out and about more because of work, Saturday park runs, and Monday night group runs, I'm interacting with more people who are intrigued by my desire to live in England.

And they tend to ask me the most ridiculous questions. But these ridiculous questions are pretty consistent across the board. These are questions I get asked about once a day at least. Which makes me wonder where these people's priorities are!

I don't know if any other expats get asked these ridiculous questions as well, so I thought I'd share both the questions (and answers, in case anyone was too shy to ask!)

Why are earth did you move here from Florida?!

And yes that mixture of question mark and exclamation point is completely necessary. I probably get asked this the most. It's a fair enough question. It's the passion that they put into it that is the most hilarious. It's like they're instead asking "are you out of your mind?"

And I really don't think I need to go into detail here on why I moved. It's pretty obvious now, isn't it?

It wasn't the weather.

So you went to a real American high school? / Is high school just like the movies/TV shows?

Yes I went to high school... In America... And it was in fact real...

I always say high school is definitely not like movies/TV shows. Maybe for some people 90210 and The OC portrayed their lives perfectly. However, I was in marching band and AP classes. So no, high school is not all about standing around at your locker for 7 hours of the day and wearing pink on Wednesdays. At least not for me anyway!

This is me in high school senior year. We wore marching band polo shirts on Friday. And no, don't quote American Pie at me please. 

What do you think of our food portions compared to America's? 

I never know how to seriously respond to this. I mean, I don't really notice a massive difference except when it comes to like specified or set sizes. (So like, a large drink at McDonald's in England is an American medium, a medium drink is an American small, etc.) But it's not like I'm walking around going "OMG I'm so hungry! If only British portions were bigger!!" Yes, I know it's hard to believe, but I don't eat Cheesecake Factory sized food all day everyday. The only thing I miss about the food industry in general is FREE REFILLS. It's an epic concept.

I've also been asked....... 

Do Americans understand sarcasm? (No..... Not one bit.)
Have you met the Kardashians? (Oh gawd no.)
Does it snow in America? (Yes.)
Do you love Wal-mart? (Absolutely not.)

My shining moment in question asking was when a 9 year old asked if I was Hannah Montana because she never met anyone with an American accent before. No, I'm not Hannah Montana. But I was willing to sing Best of Both Worlds to her if she desired. (She didn't.) 

Anyone else get asked funny/random questions??

6 Month Expat Check In

Hello! Happy Monday! (Actually, now that I'm working full time, I know that there's really no such thing as a happy Monday.... Apologies....)

So all of last week I was so excited for Friday. Not only was it Friday (TGIF!), but it was also my 6 month anniversary of moving to England! I had big plans of celebrating this day. And then Friday rolled around and I didn't remember until about 9 PM! Talk about anticlimactic.

But I did remember that back in September, I wrote about my great expectations for my big move across the pond.

Obviously, I have to check in and see how these are doing 6 months down the line!

Learn to drive on the other side of the road... and the other side of the car...

Look! How very strange!

Well, remember that one time I learned to drive? Yeah... That's been the only time so far. I've been busy. Alex has been busy. The weather has been crap. It's okay. I don't plan on getting a car any time soon, if ever. But I'd still love to get back out there and try again! (When I say "get back out there", I mean "get back to the abandoned lot where I can't destroy anything.")

Run more (and in colder weather). Well, that did happen. I had a half marathon to train for, after all! I was running about 4 times a week at one point. Now, I've been super lazy about running. Oops. And the running in colder weather has been inevitable! So that's definitely happened. I need to get back into a routine and train for something....

Race more.

I actually look like I know what I'm doing here. I'm probably thinking "I want Nandos" or something.

Yep, did that! I've done 4 races in England so far, so I've more than doubled my amount of races that I did in America. I do actually love racing. The trouble is finding races close-ish to me. I feel like they skimp on races here. (Can anyone recommend any races in the south of England??)

Join a gym and/or running club. I joined a running club! Best. Decision. Ever. I'd recommend it to anyone regardless of whether you're an expat or new to an area or not. I haven't joined a gym, but I have looked into it. I think I will actually join one within the next month or so now that I'm working.

Understand the London Underground. Yes. I understand the tube and have used it (by myself! Just this past Saturday actually!!) I'm so very proud of my abilities.

Understand public transportation in general. I've taken trains on my own and stuff. Does that count?? I'm going to say it does.


Spell words with u's and s's and y's and such.

Where's the Z?!

This is honestly an epic fail. I spell things like an American. From now on, I'll be trying my hardest to spell things "properly".

Learn more about the Alex. When I wrote my original expectations list, I wrote "sometimes at random moments, I find myself going 'Hmm... I wonder if he likes blue cheese.'" I can now confirm I know he likes blue cheese. You're welcome for that fun fact.

Be a close knit family. I really wanted to embrace the proximity of Alex's family to each other. I guess I kind of have...? I don't know where I was going with this expectation. Nobody hates me yet. But I also let them freely call me a yank and talk about that time I said the word shit in front of Grandma. (It slipped out. I promised I am ashamed still) So we're close!

Keep in touch with the other side of the pond as much as possible. Skype and Whatsapp are amazing things. So are normal phones, when people remember how to use them!

The end.

I think these 6 months have gone by both slowly and quickly. It feels like I've been here ages. And 6 months sounds like an incredibly long time. But time has also flown by! It's April! (In case you didn't know!) And I feel like I've done a lot in the time that I've been here!

Can't wait for the next 6 months!

Eastleigh 10K Race Recap

Hey! I did another 10K!

I thought this as a cool part of the free t-shirt! Gotta love race t-shirts. This does not do the color justice. It looks in the pic that it's school bus yellow. It's actually florescent highlighter yellow. I'm not even kidding.

So I'm a bit late in posting this. I started my new job last week so I took a week off from writing until I could get into a good routine. (Side note, perfect time to start a new job in England. 4 day week. 4 day weekend due to TWO bank holidays. And then another 4 day week. I'm spoiled.)

I'll keep the recap short and sweet.  

Time was 1:04:28.

No PR, but overall I think this was the best 10K I've run out of my 3. I'm counting it as a personal PR (personal personal record? Whatever.) for several reasons.

Even though my time was about a minute slower than the last 10K I did, I think this course was a lot more accurate for distance. Also, all of my splits in this race were pretty consistent. I didn't really negative split, but I didn't positive split either. My splits kind of looked like a bell curve to be honest. (Bell Curve... What a dork... Statistics was always my best subject in high school/college!)

There was a hill between miles 2 and 3 if I remember correctly, and I felt like I conquered that like a champ. It wasn't particularly steep, but it was long and gradual. And honestly, sometimes those are worse. But I powered forward and felt strong going up it.

Oh and not to mention I did this entire race without music! I didn't want to do it; I really like running with music! And I always thought I was so dependent on my music to keep me going. But everyone was saying how strict they were with the "no music or headphones" rule. So I didn't use my iPod for fear of getting disqualified. And I didn't hate it! It's good to know I can run 6.2 miles without some jams keeping me going. 

Lastly, I loved this race because over 130 members of my running club ran it! We took a big group photo before it started. Even though I'm in the slower portion of the club, it didn't really feel like it mattered. And that felt good. Other members were constantly cheering everyone else on, especially at the end. It was some of the best camaraderie I've ever seen.

Do you like running racing with people you know or do you prefer to go at it alone? Do you run with or without music?

Inside The Wardrobe - Spring Is Here, Kind Of

For the first time (minus when I had that little 5 month adventure on the cruise ship...) in my life I'm not in Florida for Spring. Not like Florida gets seasons anyway, but at least I could always count on the sun shining and Target having new bathing suits and sandals for the first day of Spring.

Which makes me think.

The first day of spring really isn't the first spring day for most places, is it? I mean, I wouldn't go outside today in a strapless floral dress today. But hey, I can dream, right?

Dress . . Flats . . Sunnies . . Earrings . . Necklace

So this is more inspiration for the first spring day. Floral dress. Aviator sunglasses (which I normally live in when the sun... you know... comes out to play... a rarity in England). Simple crochet flats.

Can't wait for the first spring day!

Springtime. Has it made an appearance where you live?? What are your essential items for springtime?

(Link up with My Friday's Fancies)

Tips For The Expat Job Hunter

I recently told you guys a bit about my job hunt, right? I honestly couldn't have done it without loads of patience, preparation, and making the best of my American experiences in a foreign country.

Every interview I had always brought up the fact that I had never worked in the UK before. Well, you gotta start somewhere, right?!

If you're on the hunt for employment in a foreign country (and have the legal right to... duh), here are 5 tips to help you out!

1. Register with a job agency - I started off doing a lot of applying online and a few people suggested I submit my CV on job sites. However, I also had a lot of luck with a local job agency! They find jobs that aren't necessarily listed online at all and can give you some great pointers about the interview process or your CV. But definitely do your research! Don't just register with anyone. Find an agency that's right for you that works with the types of jobs you are seeking. Obviously, make sure you have your legal right to work in your new country first.

2. Turn your resume into a CV - Did you see the post I did for the Expat Hub? If not, check it out! It's all about how I turned my American resume into a CV! I definitely recommend doing this if you plan on submitting anything to potential employers. It just shows that you took a bit of initiative to do the UK norm.   

3. Get e-mail references - Probably the best bit of advice. If you do anything, seriously, do this. Before my working visa was even approved, I was nervous that no one would hire me because I only had international references. A friend of mine recommended I get a hold of some former bosses, managers, and/or colleagues and have them email me professional references (and include their email address in it). I printed them out and was able to give them to my interviewer. Whether or not they checked the reference (by emailing them), I have no idea. But again, showing a little initiative never hurts!

4. Practise writing/typing with the native spelling (even if it's not your favourite thing to do) - Do as I say, not as I do! I'm not very good at typing in British English. Then again, I don't try very hard to catch myself doing it either. Oops... Someone get on my case please. No but seriously, make sure you practise typing the way your employer would want you to. Sending important emails are going to be no fun if you can't spell correctly!

5. Prepare for harsher questions about your skills - That sounds mean. I'm sorry. But it's what I experienced during a lot of my interviews over here. It's not like they're being discriminatory; it's more like they're trying to find a weakness like they would with anyone they were interviewing. I got questions like, "How do we know you want this job and aren't just looking for any job to be your 'first UK job'?" or "Do you feel your communication skills are strong enough for this position?" Just have confidence and think ahead in case anything like this comes up.

And then..... When you finally do get a job.... Sorry.

First world problems....

Do you have any tips for expats job hunting in their new home?