David & I are married now (twice, in fact). A year ago we were still struggling with long-distance, and we are both thankful that's over. Being married brings it's own struggles of course, but at least we're together to get through them, rather than doing it over the telephone or Instant Messenger.

 

I've lost all the weight I needed to lose, thanks to sticking with my low-carb plan, and am quite please with how I look. I feel better and have more energy, and don't have those depressing "what can I wear that won't make me look fat" days. And surprisingly, England has helped me with all of this. Food seems more whole here, more natural. Marks & Spenser's has changed my life! British strawberries are something I wonder that I ever lived without - they make American strawberries look like radishes. The bread is more wholesome, the milk is more natural, the cheeses are gorgeous. I quite love British food, thank you very much. Minus suasage rolls. Ugh. And Scotch eggs. And blood pudding, kidney pie, and bangers.

 

The biggest difference to my health however has been walking. My first job in England had me walking 30 minutes each way, and it didn't even phase me. When I first came to England I thought "Oh God, can't someone just DRIVE me to the grocery store? I don't want to walk 15 minutes!" - walking was a foreign concept to me. Sure I did it in college, but even then I had a car for other things. At the time of writing this, I haven't driven in 6 months. David drives, even when we're in the states. I walk to work, I walk for food, I walk for fun, I walk walk walk. And I'd like to thank England for that.

 

I've had English things creep into my daily routine as well, over the last year. I read Hello! and OK! magazines instead of People. I read the Guardian newspaper instead of... well, to be fair I never read newspapers in America! I watch the BBC, and find TV so much more interesting here without cable. With cable I think both countries are equal, but when you've got the bare bones - England wins. I eat baked beans for breakfast - and love it. I say till instead of cahs register, mobile instead of cell phone, brilliant instead of cool, bloody instead of freaking, bins instead of trash cans. I can now distinguish the difference in accents from someone who lives in Manchester and someone who lives in Scotland. It was all the same to me before. I have, I think, a more rounded perspective of American and world politics now, especially having been ehre for all the Iraq War coverage. I drink a lot more coffee. A LOT more coffee. (Don't know if that's England though, or just David!) When looking for something to do on a weekend I no longer think of movies or bowling, I think of castles or gardens. I've gotten used to (but still don't like!) stores closing at 5pm. And well... this is all just the beginning. I've probably changed in a million ways that I don't even recognize, because it's me. Funny how that works.

 

I've learned that homesickness can be as painful as anything I've ever gone through in my life. That my family is unfathomably more important that I had ever known - and I thought I had known that before I moved! I've learned to appreciate everyone back home so much more, even when I'm super annoyed, because I'd rather be with them and annoyed than this far away and unaffected by them daily. Coping is hard sometimes. David helps, having my new family here helps - but I'm not sure this is the kind of things that ever goes away. You cope, sure. It's not all the time, sure. But it never stops. And I'm really, unbelievably lucky to have David in my life. He appreciates what I gave up to be with him. And he doesn't let me forget it.

 

I'm also a year older. I'm now the kind of girl, the kind of woman, who's capable of going alone on a train across country. I shop at distinctively *not* teenage shops. And I worked with girls that were 10 years younger than me at my last job, and how the *hell* did that happen! How am I closer to 30 now than 20? What in the world?! I'm thinking about all these adult things like marriage and family and housing markets and immigration and long-term job prospects... why am I not thinking about New Kids on the block anymore? Or well, why am I not thinking about them as *much*?

 

I've grown quite comfortable in my online community of other Americans living in England, and have learned so, so much from them. It's made my time here incredibly easier. I don't know what I would have done without it.   

 

And so here I am, still in England a year later, and still not knowing how long I'll be here. :) Life has a funny way of doing whatever the hell it wants and not asking me beforehand, so I've become quite comfortable in just sitting back and watching it do it's thing, and enjoying what I have while I have it.