A little over a year ago we packed our six suit cases, five back packs, three car seats and camera bag and ended an adventure…so that we could start another.
We had spent the year living in the desert in a kibbutz in southern Israel. Now we were moving to London in pursuit of a job opportunity for my husband and more adventure for the rest of us.
The change meant a giant leap for all three children in school (my fourth grader went to year 6, my first grader to year 3 and my preschooler to first grade); it meant that we would have to develop an in depth knowledge of public transportation seeing as we don’t have a car; and it meant adjustments in vocabulary, daily routine, clothing, food consumption and a general major life overhaul. It also meant we got our father and husband back. He had spent the year commuting between Chicago, Israel and Europe. But now we got to live with him full time again. It also meant we got our stuff back. We had spent a year living out of what we could pack into 6 suitcases – and what we could acquire along the way, while all of our stuff sat in storage in Chicago.
It has been quite a year. We have learned so much both academically and culturally. It’s true what they say: the Americans and the British are separated by a common language. We have taken the opportunity to travel – and are loving every minute. We have set foot in 7 different countries in the past year (if you count the time we accidentally went to Austria), and have plans for at least one other trip abroad within the month. We have also spent several weekends visiting different parts of England too. Alas, it seems like we will need a car to explore farther afield here in the UK – tains are fun, but taking three kids on a six hour train ride to get away for the weekend seems like a bad idea…
Now that I have picked up this blogging thing again, I hope to relate our adventures large and small, and I have done before, and you will be amused or intrigued or annoyed as you’ve done before. Stay tuned…adventures ahead.