EXPAT REVELATIONS: The Seasons

Weather and the seasons, that age old tradition that us Brits love, love, love to talk about. As you might have noticed, it does frequently feature on my blog. Which is why I enjoyed putting together this topic for the Expat Revelation series with Holly. I didn't consider the seasonal differences before moving here I will be honest. Maybe if I had, I would have been mentally prepared for the differences between South East Michigan and East Yorkshire. 

Michigan is both warmer (yey) and colder (boo) than Yorkshire. Average temperatures hit a high of 82F (28C) in July to a cold 17F (-8) in January. It seems in the last three plus years that America has been home, all averages have been smashed. Especially the average cold temperature, -8C would be a pretty warm seeing I've spent most of 2015 in -20C. Luckily, Michigan is a lot dryer than good old Yorkshire, not that that's at all surprising it does like to rain in Yorkshire. Less rain, more snow, I can't win. 

So let's start as we mean to go on with the season right out my window, winter:

PHOTO: NOAA via The Detroit News

Right now i'm covered under that super cold whiteness. Yes it's that cold and wintry.  

I have to admit, I have never seen as much as snow as I have until moving here. In winter you're guaranteed a good foot or four or snow throughout the season with -20C becoming the new norm this year. In fact in 2013 we hit about 100 inches in total of snow. Around here winter is measured by how much the Great Lakes freeze over. Currently that stands at nearly 85% of the Lakes being covered by ice. Which is pretty awesome when you consider the Great Lakes is home to 21% of the worlds fresh water by volume (ta wiki for that fact). Unlike the UK, Michigan doesn't grind to a halt and just gets on with it. Wearing four layers becomes the norm, -8C feels warm, and snow shoveling is a nice winter work out.

Spring brings hazy days but not until late April and May. Temperatures are much like a warm British summer day. As  far as seasons go, it's pretty uneventful but lovely all the same. 

Oh summer with your long hot days around the high 20's into the 30's (C). Still a little hot for this Brit to fully enjoy. Sometimes we get a tornado watch or warning when it's the season (late spring through early summer). Sometimes one passes through, although rarely. Long warm days lead to stormy nights. The thunder is eerily loud and threatening enough that it use to scare me the first year or so.

And what's the result of those warm spring days, lovely summers and a mild autumn with it's colder nights? A beautiful colorful colourful autumn finale. The fall colours Michigan has to offer because of it's seasons is one of the reasons I love calling the mitten home. Burnt oranges, to crisp reds and dazzling golden yellows, the Michigan landscape comes alive. By the end of October the trees are naked and Thanksgiving always rolls around with a snow shower or three.

We're lucky in Michigan that we actually get to enjoy all four seasons with their quirks and charms. According to all the seasonal information out there, Michigan is more cloudy than the norm. It's one of the affects of being surrounded by all the Great Lakes. Many leave the mitten and it's surrounding northern states for the warmer climes of the south to retire, it certainly tests what you're made of. But those fall colours, having those of your doorstep, that makes it all worth while in my book.

EXPAT: On Becoming a Little Bit American

[Chicago]

When you make a new country your home, it's only natural that the more you feel a home there, the more you adopt some of the local culture, traditions, mannerisms. It can be a fine balancing act juggling my British ways and finding my feet with new American ways, sometimes they past me by. Many of them actually did until I got thinking for this edition of the expat revelations link up with Holly.

So, in the three plus years America has been my home, how do I think I've become just a little part of the furniture?!

A for Effort with Coupons
The art of coupons is very much a sport over this side of the pond, of which I am but a mere beginner. I do love being able to put coupons on my shoppers card but I don't go the extremes of buying Sunday papers just for the coupons. It is pretty fun though seeing how much you save. 

Americanized Spelling
Just for points sake I stuck the z (zed though, not zee) in there. I wonder if we didn't have an eBay store that this would have changed as much as it has but I have adjusted my spelling. It's not so conscious anymore especially when typing. I miss out "u"s and throw out "z"'s all over the place these days.

Reese's to Hot Dogs

I eat like an American I will be honest and I love love LOVE American food especially with all the choices you can find here. Then again I was never one for traditional British food - well the meat pies, the roast dinners at least. Granted we live in a HUGE metro area so if you fancy Mexican it's right there, some Korean, perhaps some Mongolian?! Well that's there too. We're pretty spoiled in Detroit for some incredibly good food.

[Weaknesses - Reeses Puffs & Taco Bell]

Reese's cereal is the first cereal in 28 years that I actually like eating, I love a good milkshake from Steak & Shake, a cheeky order from Taco Bell, or a coney to American baked beans. And if needs be, I can happily eat a bar of American made chocolate without turning my nose up.

Issues - From Politics to Immigration
From politics, attitudes to healthcare, immigration, who might run for president in 2016 they all interest (and often annoy me), those choices affect my life even though as a green card holder I can't vote. Mind you it all gets a little depressing so I often tune out but, I have an interest for sure. I still know (to a point) what's going on in the UK politically but I have more awareness and interest over this side of the pond. 

Foreign Homeland
Saying that, the UK feels more and more of a foreign place to me. I cling to listening to the BBC, I like to know what's going on but there's a difference between being told what's occurring and what it feels like on the ground. I'm out of touch with friends, with what's on the TV, what the must have trend is in New Look. 

[Pittsburgh

All the Grown Up Documents

I have American health insurance, American life insurance, an American mortgage, an American dentist, an American bank account, a house here ... you get the picture.

"I'm an Alien, i'm a Legal Alien"

When May comes around I can apply for US citizenship. While it's not something I plan on apply for this year at least (we need that money for fixing up the house and my green card is good through 2024) I know one day in a couple of years I want to start the ball rolling and become a US citizen. It's not something I take lightly although it's something I know I want to do. I want the US properly to be my home and feel fully integrated. I want the right the vote here and to have the right to say I'm a citizen.

[I'm very very slowly exploring the USA] 

Sometimes knowing i'm becoming more American doesn't bother me, I take it with a pinch of salt, other times it brings on the homesickness and memories of that Brit that's still deep inside. Being surrounded by American culture, ways and means it's only natural that I take some of these aspects into daily life, i'm not immune to influence but all these things I do, I try to keep a balance with my British ways and traditions, which is probably worthy of a post in and of itself so i'll leave it at that for now. 

LIFE: My First Days as a Expat

This time of year marks the memory of that flight to the USA. It's a funny coincidence that the first topic in November's expat revelations series (run by Holly) up about our first days as an expat, which comes as I mark three years as America being home - after landing in Detroit on November 8th, 2011. I wish I could tell you so many details of those first couple of days, of all the things we got up to and the places we went. Yet, so much of it is a blur. Perhaps it's because everything was all so new, it was such a big thing, there was so much to take in that it's all got a little lost in time. That and my memory is typically rubbish.

Green Latern pizza // Johnny Rockets // Astoria Bakery, Royal Oak // Sushi at Totoro, Ann Arbor

It's funny. The one thing I do remember, or at least remember the situations is when food was involved. Landing and getting through customs in the middle of the afternoon and with my body still on UK time, my first ever US meal was pizza. I mean, let's set off on the right footing here. It wasn't just any pizza mind, it was a rather well known (at least in these parts) pizza from Green Lantern. It has a bit of a reputation that it's so bad that it's good. I call it death pie because it makes my stomach hate me. It's greesey, but it's good all the same. Time was spent drinking all sorts of Mountain Dew flavors, driving up to the Great Lakes Malls for burgers in Johnny Rockets to sushi in Ann Arbor's Totoro to finding out about the horrors of canned cheese. But I knew from the off I could get use to all this food.

That weekend and we drove into Detroit for my first trip downtown. And to tell you the truth, I didn't really know what to expect. 

   

I'd already seen the burnt out, abandoned buildings, the empty streets those can easily be seen from the freeways. I knew all the news stories, all the option pieces people have of the city, but I like to think i'm open minded. Driving around downtown I just remember thinking ow huge everything is, just how high the buildings reach up.  Now remember i'm a country lass and while I've lived in Newcastle and visited London, there's nothing to compare. As we visited Belle Isle, walked along the river front, stepped into the library I could see what the city has to offer, I could see it still had life in it. It's a shame people still write the place off so much.

Those first weeks where not only my first days as an expat but my first of ever being in America. It felt like a holiday and continued to do so for months. There was so much to take in. The difference in the small things that make up life - trying to constantly remember that a dime (10c) is smaller than a nickle (5c), that you have to look the other way crossing the road first, that sales tax isn't included in the price.

Those first couple of days only could show me a glimpse of what America had to offer.

LIFE: Biggest Fear(s) as an Expat

I'll be the first to admit that I have a fair new fears, anxiety filled moments when it comes to being an expat. Even more so that this for me, is a hard topic to speak about, it reveals what I find to be my weakness, that being an expat isn't always a rosy experience. It's hard for to pin point one fear that troubles me more than other and the fears have certainly changed and no doubt will continue to do so.  So I thought I'd share some of the main worries for the last in the Expat Revelations with Holly - past, every day ones and possible future issues.

Healthcare
Moving from the UK with it's free NHS (well paid with taxes) to the US without any medical coverage was a big fear. Until I was granted my greencard I couldn't be added onto Joe's health insurance coverage. So for the first six months I was running uninsured and wild and dangerous and probably should have wrapped myself up in bubble wrap. That was until I got strep 3 months into uncovered period and I had to go to the urgent care. Without insurance seeing a Dr cost $100 - any treatment and tests just added up that total. Now fast forward and having that health insurance is a big relief, it's still not cheap to visit a Dr or get medication, but it makes it cheaper and something to stress about a little less.

The homeland
Honestly I worry about returning to the UK, even to visit. I haven't returned since I left, I worry, and well know that the UK isn't the same country - politically and socially and I'm not that unworldly girl that left in 2011. People have changed - friends have had babies, got married, people have died and again I'm not that person they use to know (I talk about immigration guilt which somewhat relates to this point more here). Absence changes everyone - yourself and the ones you left behind. Being so use to an American way of life - a life of American pancakes, of having money notes all the same size, American gas prices, of Target and mom n pop diners, being "British" again for whatever crazy reason, even if it's just for a week, is scary.

Of Being The Foreigner 
Being that British girl, that foreigner, of still being an outsider is always a constant fear. It's an insecurity that blankets my life, a fear of never fully belonging in either the US or the UK, like which country is really home. Everyday fears of my accent making me stick out but I also fear completely loosing my East Yorkshire twang, of meeting people, of being misunderstood, humour falling flat, saying, doing the wrong thing.

Paperwork
Visa, greencard paper has been a fear since 2011 but it's one that still comes into play when I have to apply for something new. Go back to April/May of this year and my fear of having to prove my marriage was real. Granted my greencard entitles me to live in the US for ten years, by then I want to have applied and being granted citizenship. But I fear not being able to remember all of the key constitutional points and it's amendments of all the government roles and things. I need to the battle the fear of applying for citizenship (and also what that means on a personal level as no longer being just a British citizenship - although being a Brit I'm granted dual citizenship but still) to stop the constant green card renewal fear.

Fears are something I don't think people speak about on blogs enough and certainly not enough on expat based blogs. It's not wrong to admit any of us has a fear whether big or small, but for some reason admitting you have a fear while being an expat is too real, it's too open about admitting that the expat dream isn't as amazing or as grand as you want everyone to believe.

LIFE: How I've Changed Since Expatiation

Sometimes I wonder if how I've changed as a person over the last two and a half years of being an expat if it's all been because of moving countries or because of growing older and everything else that's been thrown my way. How much difference have those 3,656 miles made?! So for today's Expat Revelations link up with Holly, I'm exploring how becoming a British expat in the USA has changed me - for good, or bad.

To back track I was a bit rebellious in my teen early twenties - the time that was matched with my university years. I went out drinking three times a week, probably drank too much, smoked a little, went to gigs and had lots of friends. Now I'd rather stay in of a night and watch Family Guy or read a book. Is that because i'm eight years the wiser? Because I'm nearly 28 and growing up (or old), or because moving countries knocked my confidence and i'd rather stay in and lets be honest here, hide a little. 

Which is odd when you think about it. Moving countries is a big deal, it's nothing to take lightly. You have to have confidence that this is the move, the life change for you. You pack your bags, you move thousands of miles. I moved to the US and had never stepped foot in the country before. I left family, friends and a job behind. I didn't have plans, other than being with Joe. Surely that took a huge ball of confidence? I guess it did just for some reason it knocked me down rather than built me up.

See I don't like bigging myself up can't you tell.

Being an expat makes me feel like the odd one out, being the one with the funny, the odd accent (that everyone thinks is Australian) or jokes that I was Joe's mail order bride knocked me for six, it's made me so self aware of myself that I pull myself apart. Waitresses sometimes can't pick up what I say, you get double takes, you get people complaining about foreigners right behind you. All that compiles in pushing my social anxiety to the forefront. It makes me question myself about being the outsider. 

Regardless I remind myself that being an expat has made me strong. It's given me opportunities to do things I would never have otherwise, I mean after being in a long distance relationship I get to be with my guy that's worth it all. But it's additionally the estate sales which created a vinyl collection through which I got into blues music. I'm a lot more aware of the beauty of the world and just how vast it is and of how sheltered my youth was. Maybe moving countries gave me the kick up my arse to grow up, to take a bit more responsibility. It's certainly made me a bit more adventurous about exploring places - something I regret not doing more at university. Granted I need a push from Joe at times, but I love finding new places to eat, new places to visit, it's given me a new and better appreciation of the world around me, and I certainly would never have thought about promoting Detroit like I try and do here even knowing it was going to be my home until I took to exploring the city for myself. 

Being an expat certainly changes you, it makes you so self aware, it makes you aware of the world around you - the small things, the big things. While it can make you aware of yourself, your nationality, your confidence in doing such a huge thing, it can also make you so, so aware of being an outsider and as someone who likes to fade into the crowd a little, it's hard to handle at times.

I for one certainly could do with reminding myself how strong I am.

LIFE: Seeking Comfort in a Foreign Land

Source

While I often talk about exploring the US as a Brit, it's rare that I that share the feelings, the emotions of being thousands of miles from the land of my nationality. Sometimes that British land, it's countryside, it's TV shows and food feels so far away. So as part of the expat revelations link up with Holly - the blogger behind English Girl Canadian Man, I want to find the words to talk more about being away from the homeland in a strange country and all the emotions, feelings behind it. I mean it has been nearly 3 years, and writing about it might just help me deal with my lack of confidence because of being a bit of an outsider.

When those times arise when I miss the country, or all the rain reminds me of Yorkshire or I crave mushy peas, when I feel a little lost or I get bugged about my accent again, the one way of finding comfort for me, is food. But not in the comfort eating piling on the pounds way. Food is comforting but it's also a fantastic way of embracing your new home and culture and a way of keeping in touch with your homeland.

I admit, I love food, I love trying new food, granted sometimes it all feels a little overwhelming but it's a great adventure all the same. Prior to moving to the US I'd never eaten any Mexican food nor really had a milkshake - now both firm favorites. Let's be honest I'd barely stepped into a fast food place prior to moving here. Food is that bridge between cultures. You can embrace the new (the BBQ, pancakes, burgers) your own culture (the fish n chips, pasties) and even find new foreign cuisines in your own foreign land (in my instance Mexicantown). That's one of the things that makes America so great, it's history of immigrants, of movement and travel there's so much international influence in food. It all comes to play in food.

The English (left) verses the America fish n chips - which would you prefer?

It's even fun to make it a challenge - like my adventures in trying Cornish Pasties up in Traverse City and Mackinaw City to finding the best place in Metro Detroit that serves up fish n chips. I still get to eat a British favorite, but I'm eating how Americans think it should be. Sometimes it's bang on, sometimes it's presented in a way you might never have considered, sometimes it's way off the mark. It's fun all the same and sometimes I just need that plate of fish n chips, or I need that bacon sarnie with HP sauce dribbled all over, a boiled egg with soldiers for my lunch, my salad topped off with salad cream not one of the thousands of salad dressings you'll find in a store here.

I could go on.

Food itself is comforting. It can warm you up, cool you down, fill your needs and invite your senses to new places. Embracing the local cuisine, eating where the locals eat, to having a favorite on a menu is that step to reaching out, to finding a home. But sometimes just a trip to the local store (Meijer in my case) just to pass a glance over the British section of the international food aisle. Picking up a treat whether it's brown sauce, salad cream or an overpriced Yorkie bar, just that can take a girl back to her Yorkshire roots. 

But if there's one thing that is more comforting than anything, well that's always a cuppa tea.

That and my childhood teddy bear that I brought over with me, reading a good book, crafting but the cuppa tea, that's always a winner lets be honest.