Throw Back Thursday!
To use a local Texas phrase... this is not my first rodeo. I have attempted blogging at various times over the last decade, and I've found it a fun and diverting pastime. But one of the best things about it, is that it is like a diary. It captures a moment in your life and records it for posterity. So it was interesting for me to read a blog entry I wrote almost exactly 7 years ago exactly when I was initially settling into life in Houston. Oh, how things have changed since! The overall tone is somewhat negative, and it's far from how I perceive living in Texas now. I guess I have ironed out a lot of of those niggles I experienced as a newbie! One thing it's made me realize (although I guess it's no surprise) is that moving to a new country is tough initially. I'm going to have to steel myself to a rough few months ahead in the knowledge that it will get better eventually. Anyway, I thought I would share it for s***s and giggles!
America is a funny place. Not as in funny "ha ha", but funny weird. It really is a place of stark contrasts and it is more 'foreign' than I imagined it would be. Watching American films and TV shows over the years, I guess I had a notion of familiarity with what I thought America was. They may speak the same language, but that doesn't mean the culture is the same as I am finding out.
I hope that doesn't sound disparaging towards my new home nation, as it's not meant to be ... There are many things that I love about living in Houston!!!! For one, the sunshine is great! If I was skeptical about the so-called S.A.D. Syndrome before, I'm a true believer now ... There's something uplifting about a clear, blue sky that makes everything seem brighter (literally and metaphorically speaking!) The flip side of that is the heat and humidity that native Houstonians only assure me will get worse over the next few months. That and the Hurricanes. I'm surprised at just how seriously the locals are taking the warning that this hurricane season is going to be a bad one. I've had several people remind me to sort out a hurricane survival kit (on my to do list!)
Another thing that has pleasantly surprised me is how friendly people are. Admittedly, there is also an element of insincerity to the overt friendliness of the many people expecting a tip, but in general the people I have met have been exceedingly welcoming and have made the move here seem a relative breeze. With regard to the issue of customer service and tipping ... let's just say it has proved difficult to adjust to. I thought that the 'have a nice day' attitude so synonymous with America meant that the 'customer was King', but I've had some pretty dismal customer service (from AT&T in particular) since we've been here. Annoyingly, it is customary to tip just about everyone ... and not just for good service. On a recent girls' night out, a sullen barmaid earned a very nice $5 for every wine bottle she opened for us. Not that she brought it to our table. Or poured the glasses. Or even smiled. But apparently, a 20% tip is expected if you want to visit the same place again!
Anyway, to get back to the topic of positives, it's always nice to lose 2 dress sizes without having to diet at all ... I can't honestly remember the last time a size 8 had room to spare!!! However, it's not just the clothing that's more generously proportioned stateside. Our house is huge and soooo much bigger than anything we could afford in the UK at the moment. The boys have space to play and run around without the living room seeming like a preschool ... Clem and I finally have child-free space! The downside of that is the never-ending cleaning ... it's like the Forth Bridge!! We keep talking about employing a cleaner but at $80 a week it's hard to justify while I'm not working. We have conceded to a gardener as neither Clem or I fancied pushing a lawnmover around in 35'c temperatures with 100% humidity! The guy that comes seems immune to the heat, although he did take a thirsty swig from our garden hose pipe the other day, which horrified Sam. He was so worried that Carlos and his team were thirsty he raided the fridge for them to take a Diet Coke break!
Without seeming to focus too much on the negatives and to make you all think that we hate it here, I can honestly say that I'm not a big fan of the nature here in Texas. Not on my Christmas card list so far are: cockroaches, mosquitoes, leeches, hornets, brown recluse spiders and black widow spiders. Oh, and apparently a cougar was spotted in our local park ... nice! Seriously, I take it all back about the urban foxes and house spiders in the UK!
And my biggest bugbear so far is the lack of recycling. I mean, c'mon ... it's 2010, not 1970! It goes against the grain to put things that you know are easily recyclable (to great financial and environmental benefit) straight in the bin. But after nearly filling our garage with boxes of recycling that were not being collected, and not being able to find a recycling centre to take it to in person, we have regrettably started putting paper, card, cans, and glass in the bin. I even find it hard to type those words let alone actually do ... it's such a bitter pill! I find it really hard to believe that a country that considers itself a world leader could not organise waste disposal a bit more responsibly. Then again, I probably sound a bit hypocritical now that I'm driving around in a 3.5 litre gas guzzler, but needs must ... I swear we've probably quadrupled our carbon footprint since arriving in Houston!!!! It drives me nuts!
Anyway, rant over. Just thought I'd update everyone on the trials and tribulations of life in Houston from a Brit's point of view!
Mx
America is a funny place. Not as in funny "ha ha", but funny weird. It really is a place of stark contrasts and it is more 'foreign' than I imagined it would be. Watching American films and TV shows over the years, I guess I had a notion of familiarity with what I thought America was. They may speak the same language, but that doesn't mean the culture is the same as I am finding out.
I hope that doesn't sound disparaging towards my new home nation, as it's not meant to be ... There are many things that I love about living in Houston!!!! For one, the sunshine is great! If I was skeptical about the so-called S.A.D. Syndrome before, I'm a true believer now ... There's something uplifting about a clear, blue sky that makes everything seem brighter (literally and metaphorically speaking!) The flip side of that is the heat and humidity that native Houstonians only assure me will get worse over the next few months. That and the Hurricanes. I'm surprised at just how seriously the locals are taking the warning that this hurricane season is going to be a bad one. I've had several people remind me to sort out a hurricane survival kit (on my to do list!)
Another thing that has pleasantly surprised me is how friendly people are. Admittedly, there is also an element of insincerity to the overt friendliness of the many people expecting a tip, but in general the people I have met have been exceedingly welcoming and have made the move here seem a relative breeze. With regard to the issue of customer service and tipping ... let's just say it has proved difficult to adjust to. I thought that the 'have a nice day' attitude so synonymous with America meant that the 'customer was King', but I've had some pretty dismal customer service (from AT&T in particular) since we've been here. Annoyingly, it is customary to tip just about everyone ... and not just for good service. On a recent girls' night out, a sullen barmaid earned a very nice $5 for every wine bottle she opened for us. Not that she brought it to our table. Or poured the glasses. Or even smiled. But apparently, a 20% tip is expected if you want to visit the same place again!
Anyway, to get back to the topic of positives, it's always nice to lose 2 dress sizes without having to diet at all ... I can't honestly remember the last time a size 8 had room to spare!!! However, it's not just the clothing that's more generously proportioned stateside. Our house is huge and soooo much bigger than anything we could afford in the UK at the moment. The boys have space to play and run around without the living room seeming like a preschool ... Clem and I finally have child-free space! The downside of that is the never-ending cleaning ... it's like the Forth Bridge!! We keep talking about employing a cleaner but at $80 a week it's hard to justify while I'm not working. We have conceded to a gardener as neither Clem or I fancied pushing a lawnmover around in 35'c temperatures with 100% humidity! The guy that comes seems immune to the heat, although he did take a thirsty swig from our garden hose pipe the other day, which horrified Sam. He was so worried that Carlos and his team were thirsty he raided the fridge for them to take a Diet Coke break!
Without seeming to focus too much on the negatives and to make you all think that we hate it here, I can honestly say that I'm not a big fan of the nature here in Texas. Not on my Christmas card list so far are: cockroaches, mosquitoes, leeches, hornets, brown recluse spiders and black widow spiders. Oh, and apparently a cougar was spotted in our local park ... nice! Seriously, I take it all back about the urban foxes and house spiders in the UK!
And my biggest bugbear so far is the lack of recycling. I mean, c'mon ... it's 2010, not 1970! It goes against the grain to put things that you know are easily recyclable (to great financial and environmental benefit) straight in the bin. But after nearly filling our garage with boxes of recycling that were not being collected, and not being able to find a recycling centre to take it to in person, we have regrettably started putting paper, card, cans, and glass in the bin. I even find it hard to type those words let alone actually do ... it's such a bitter pill! I find it really hard to believe that a country that considers itself a world leader could not organise waste disposal a bit more responsibly. Then again, I probably sound a bit hypocritical now that I'm driving around in a 3.5 litre gas guzzler, but needs must ... I swear we've probably quadrupled our carbon footprint since arriving in Houston!!!! It drives me nuts!
Anyway, rant over. Just thought I'd update everyone on the trials and tribulations of life in Houston from a Brit's point of view!
Mx
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