Tag Archives: holiday

A Morning With The Girls At Topeekeegee-Yugnee Park

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Since tomorrow is 4th July and it falls on a Saturday this year, I had today off work, which makes for a nice 3 day weekend.

Fortunately I was allowed to go and see my daughters (4 and 8), so I took them out to eat at Einstein Bagels, which is where my eldest daughter likes to go for breakfast.  They are usually pretty good when I take them out to eat, and after breakfast we headed down to Topeekeegee-Yugnee Park (popularly known as T-Y Park), which is only a couple of miles up the road from where they live.  T-Y Park is pretty large, 150 acres, and they enjoy not only the playground, but also walking around the large lake, feeding the Squirrels, and especially petting each and every dog that passes or comes close to them.

Today it was pretty hot and sticky, close to 90 degrees and not much of a breeze at first, so I took them to the playground, where they had a good time, and then we wandered across to the lake.  It has been raining so much the last couple of weeks, that the level of the lake is close to 2 feet higher than normal, so it’s larger, deeper, and the fish seemed to be having a good time, as well as the dogs that were swimming in there.  Walking around the far side of the lake we found someone who had 2 large black dogs that enjoyed swimming, and they would race each other to get to every stick that the girls threw into the water.  They had a great time.

We also fed the Squirrels, or at least I did.  Someone had left a pile of peanuts on one of the picnic tables, so I grabbed a few and had the Squirrels eating out of my hand.  Unfortunately the first Squirrel who I tried to feed wasn’t too sure, so instead of reaching out for the peanut, he clawed my finger and then bit it, his claw drawing blood, but so far I don’t seem to have suffered any infection.

Being a Friday there were fewer people there than usual, and subsequently there were more Squirrels, Birds and Iguanas out.  We usually see quite a lot of Squirrels, and birds too, but today I managed to get some good photos of a Blue Jay, almost got decent ones of a Kingfisher, and I got excellent ones of a couple of the larger Iguanas that were out sunning themselves on the grass.

Their Mom wanted them back by 12:30pm, so after the park we headed to Wendys, usually easy to get a quick bite for lunch, but today it was packed, and since this must be about the slowest Wendys in the country (service is always horribly slow, pathetic, and they take an hour to clean up and mess or restock too), we headed to McDonalds instead.  Now this isn’t the best either, but today it was practically empty and at least the service was quick.

Back to the house, dropped them off, got my usual myriad of hugs from my eldest, much to the disgust of her Mother, who usually just wants me out of there as quickly as possible, and back home, via my local Walmart to do my weekly grocery shop.  Now for the last 2 months they have been completely revamping the food section, and it’s a nightmare trying to find anything.  So since today was chaotic in there, I just got most of the essentials and then headed to the Farmers Market down the road for the rest.  The service here is really good, friendly, and the prices are good too.

The UK Versus USA Culture Shock

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I was born in England and spent most of my life there, apart from a year in New Zealand in the late 1980′s, but although I am well travelled, having visited many countries around the world both on vacation as well as for work, the cultural differences between the UK and the USA never cease to amaze me.

In 1994 I moved from the UK where I had been living for 15 years, to Northern Indiana, where I would spend the next 12 years, before heading south to Florida.

Most people think that the biggest difference between the UK and the USA is that in England you drive on the left side of the road, and in the USA you drive on the right side, but it’s really far more than that.  There are a myriad of cultural and social differences that only really become apparent when you spend a significant time in the other country.

There is an awful lot that I don’t like in the USA, I have to admit that.  Let’s face it, I didn’t grow up here, so things are not what I am used to, and that is normal for anyone to find.  However there are also a lot of things I do like here, and a lot of things that I don’t like about England too.   In a perfect world I would take a blend of ideas from multiple cultures to get the best of everything.

I have learned that paradise doesn’t exist, since nowhere is perfect.   Take that dream of a tropical paradise for example.  It sounds perfect doesn’t it!  Golden sands, the sound of the ocean, little tiki bars and restaurants, swaying palms.  On the other hand you have maybe a high cost of living, limited entertainment, limited shops, theaters, museums or any of those things that you take for granted in the big city.  Hurricanes!  Did I mention those?  Frequent power outages… just to name a few things that you might miss.   Have you ever wondered how many people who live in places like Jamaica and The Bahamas actually go to the beach?  Relatively few actually.  Like most people, you don’t visit places that are on your doorstep.

However I am digressing instead of writing about the original topic, which was differences between the UK and the USA.  I’m good at getting sidetracked, as Debbie well knows :)

I found so many odd differences between these two countries, that I have actually pondered whether someone said “we have to be different to England, so let’s make everything work differently to them”.  Read on and you too might wonder, but I also wonder which came first, the American or the British version…

We all know that electricity in the UK runs on 240 volts, and in Europe and most of the rest of the world on 220 volts.  The USA and it’s neighbors runs on 110 volts.  Why is that?  It seems that 220 volts is more stable, but I have no idea why the difference.

Now driving on the other side of the road I can understand, and it historically goes back to horse drawn transport centuries ago, but other things I have no idea about.

Take the old rotary phones, which I grew up with.  In the USA the dial and numbers went the opposite way around to in the UK.  Fortunately I didn’t have to use one, because it would make calling really hard.  It was bad enough in the UK, especially when the phone slipped on a high digit, causing you to mis-dial and you had to start again.

Many locks on doors turn the opposite way in the USA compared to the UK.  What’s the logic there?   And light switches go the other way.  In the UK you flip the switch down to turn a light on and up for off.  In the USA it’s the opposite.

One thing that you will never change my mind about is chocolate.   To my dying day I would declare that Cadbury’s is the best chocolate in the world and not Hersheys!

But take something like health insurance.  In the UK it’s free!  If you go to see the doctor, or need a triple bypass – it’s free!  In the USA you could end up spending a small fortune if you got sick, and you have to pay high premiums on health insurance.  It’s also almost impossible to afford if you lose your job or your work doesn’t provide health benefits.  However, if you get sick in the UK and your treatment isn’t urgent, you could end up on a waiting list for a year.  The quality of treatment is often better in the USA, but it comes at a price.  Good if you can afford it.

The thing that really hit me hard was when I got my first job in the USA.  I had been living in the USA for 5 years before I got my first job, having been employed by a software house in London since I relocated.  I had a horrible shock when I was told by Human Resources that the working week was 40 hours (but they expected more like 60), and that there was no vacation time the first year (“come again?”), 5 days the next year, and then 10 days off – but wait – you get 3 weeks off after 5 years service!   I was shocked!  In Europe by law companies have to give you a minimum of 23 days off a year, and many companies in the UK expect you to take a 2 week chunk of that during the summer, rather than have constant long weekends throughout the year.  Many places also have a 35 or 36.5 hour working week.  My heart sank as you can imagine when I heard that.   But I have gradually got adjusted, except when I hear from friends in England who have been on an exotic trip for 2 weeks, and then are planning another week somewhere in the fall, whereas I have to figure out how to make the most of my 10 days, allowing for trying to take time off over Christmas, which leaves maybe 4 days for the rest of the year.

Easter always hit me hard too, since in the UK everyone gets both Good Friday and Easter Monday off, making it a 4-day weekend.  This falls in the middle of the 2 week Spring Break for the schools, so it’s great for parents.  I couldn’t believe that a country that is far more religious than the UK would not have time off for Easter, at least in many companies.   Then Christmas of course, where in the UK we have Boxing Day, the day after Christmas Day.  It’s hard to think about going to work the day after Christmas, but so far I haven’t had to and hope I never have to.

There are so many things that I can think of.  If you know of any differences that I haven’t listed, or have any theories, please leave a comment.   You can also find some more information on Cultural Differences between the UK and the USA on another article that I wrote at Associated Content.

I GOT MY USA VISA!!!!

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Well, it finally arrived!

Four whole months after my interview at the US Embassy in London, and the help of my M.P. (Member of Parliament), this arrived:

Please be advised that we are now in a position to issue your US Visa. Please resubmit your passport to us for visa issuance. Note that you have three months from the date indicated above in which to resubmit your passport.

Three months?  It was on it’s way the next day!!  Of Course, this email was quickly followed with:

We regret the delay in responding to your inquiry. We have been waiting for information on your case from the Non-Immigrant Visa Unit.

Why the wait?  Where have they been?

I have to say, I’ve been appalled at the way this has been handled. This all started to go wrong when Tony and I decided to ‘do things properly’ and get a Non-Immigrant USA Visa to allow my to visit to the USA for a year. How often do you get the opportunity to have a whole year off work to spend in another Country?

At my first interview, I was asked questions about Tony that I simply didn’t know the answer to… why would I know what his social security number is? The consular officer that interviewed me obviously had a hunch that she wasn’t comfortable with and so denied me the visa.

As the Chief Immigration Officer at Miami quite rightly summed it up ‘ I was denied a visa because some A**H*** was having a bad day’ Some bad day. Some bad day that took away my only chance to have a year out. Some bad day that caused me to be held for 15 hours at immigration. Some bad day that left Tony stood in arrivals all night long not knowing what was happening. Some bad day that cost us in changing flights and re-applying for interviews. Some bad day that my employer went to a lot of trouble for and then did it all over again so I could return to work early. Some bad day that meant I had to find somewhere new to live from 4500 miles away. Some bad day that worried my kids, my parents, my friends not to mention Tony and myself. Some bad day that meant I couldn’t even go through the United States in transit. Some bad day that meant Tony and I couldn’t spend time together last week when I had the week off work.

I hope she doesn’t have another bad day any time soon. I appreciate the authorities have to be very careful over who they approve for visa’s, but when you’ve done absolutely nothing wrong, have a government job for which your criminal record has to be checked reguarly, meet all the required criteria, have documentation to prove you intend to return and funds to support yourself, why does it come down to someone’s gut feeling? A gut feeling that left me almost having a nervous breakdown.

A gut feeling that will leave me feeling sick every time I travel to the United States in the future. A gut feeling that will almost give me a panic attack as I go through immigration and see those men in black waiting to check me out.

Surely the system isn’t right if it relies on gut feeling? Do these officials have any idea of the impact on people’s lives when they make these decisions? Her gut feeling was that I wanted to live in America. If that’s what I wanted, why bother going to all the trouble of getting a year off work?

Apologies for sounding angry, but somehow I feel I’m entitled to. Here’s something to make us all smile though – Funny Immigration Video I hope you enjoy it :)

Email From The Consular Information Unit Arrived!!

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Finally, a response to my email sent on the 13th January.

I was shaking and felt my heart pumping when I found it sat waiting for me in my mail box. I quickly opened it, and here’s what it says;

‘Your application is subject to additional administrative processing and
is currently being reviewed by the Nonimmigrant Visa Chief. As soon as
we are able to proceed, you will be notified.’

GREAT!!! 3 months of waiting to hear it’s being reviewed. For goodness sake, don’t they think people have lives that they want to get on with? The works been done by immigration at Miami. I know because I sat all night watching them scour every known database in the world for information on me. They even showed me the 3 inch thick file of paperwork they’d completed. This was made up of printouts from the online file that’s also been produced.

In three weeks, there’s a week long school holiday over here. I would love to fly over to see Tony, but it’s not going to happen is it? Even if I receive a  reply before then, we’ll be pushing it to get my passport back to the Embassy and for them to process it and return it to me with my visa, oh, and we need to book flights.

I’ll keep you all updated.