Expat Explorers - travels with my family ideas...insight...inspiration
Get in contact
  • About
    • Meet the family
    • Photo gallery
  • Blog
  • Travel ideas & advice
    • Expat suitcase >
      • Moving to Dubai
      • Moving to Singapore
    • Jigsaw pieces: travel advice
    • Australasia
    • Middle East
    • South East Asia
    • USA
    • Where in the world are we?
  • In the news
    • Freelance work
    • Who said that? Travel quotes
    • Signs that make you think
  • The book
  • Contact us
    • Explorers' Club

Let's celebrate

3/8/2011

0 Comments

 
Picture
In four weeks time we are due to board a plane taking us East. I said I didn’t like the cold winters and Andy has obviously taken my dislike for extreme hatred and arranged for us to live in Dubai. Not sure I can complain about -25C there.

So another adventure is on the horizon, but first I need to reflect and make some parting observations of our American life.

The topic of weather is usually a good and very British place to start.

It’s true we did have a very long, and cold, winter. October felt almost British with its fresh cool air. The air conditioning was a distant memory and within a week the heating was warming our toes. Friends had told us that Chicago starts to batten down the hatches for winter on Labor Day at the beginning of September. August had been very hot and we thought it was premature. Perhaps it was our fault that the weather changed overnight – we did go camping after all – the rains fell down and the jumpers were pulled out of the cupboard. 

Talking of getting in the spirit of things, people do like to celebrate everything here. Corpses were hung from trees, bones were shoved into the ground (not yet frozen) to resemble disturbed graves, huge inflatable skulls adorned street corners. And I’m not really sure what we were supposed to be celebrating. Death? Being alive? All a bit strange if you ask me.

Before Hallowe’en there is autumn, or fall, to celebrate. Hurrah, the hot weather is over and we’re now in fear of frostbite. Does no-one remember how horrible it was last year? So autumnal wreaths are hung on doors, sheaths of corn are tied to mailboxes, dried corncobs are dangled from eaves. No harvest festivals though, so not a celebration of Earth’s fruits.

After Hallowe’en you can decorate your house for thanksgiving, generally turkey-based paraphernalia. This is the biggest festival in the calendar and very much focusing on food. 

Of course there are the baubles, lights and tinsel of Christmas and New Year, and then everything is strangely quiet. Having been mildly distracted by the pretty lights I begin to feel relieved that I didn’t have to keep up with the neighbours’ decorating competition. We don’t have all the gubbins and stuff required to turn our home into a gingerbread house. Of course, people have massive basements here so storage is not a problem. 

January, February and March were very dark months. I thought spring would be around the corner and I could attempt to decorate the house with flowers. Strangely enough they don’t seem to celebrate that, but St Valentines is a big deal. All the children send little cards and sweets to each other. It’s more about appreciating friendship than a romantic display, and that’s an idea to be lauded. Could do without the sweet giving though. I’m writing this in August and I still haven’t let the girls eat last year’s stash of Hallowe’en candy yet! 

Spring didn’t come at the end of March. Or April. At the end of May, my brother and his girlfriend came to visit and we had tickets for a Cub’s game at Wrigley Field. I had three coats on that night and was still so cold we abandoned the game after the seventh inning and retreated to the warmth of a pub. The month was so wet. Grey curtains of water were a frequent sight. Even in June I was still waiting for Spring but finally came to the conclusion that we had missed it. Mam and Dad came to visit and the weather was a little unpredictable. Some nice days, some cold days, some wet days and a few hot days. Generally, summers are too hot and humid to spend any time outside and after dark you get eaten alive by mosquitos the size of small birds. Winters are brutally cold, so you risk getting frostbite before you’ve managed to get the children out of the car, but it’s generally dry. Sledging, or to use to local term, sledding, is fun if you can find a day not too cold, but don’t try and make a snowman, because you need English snow, which is wet and slushy.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Get the book

    Picture

    Destinations

    All
    Abu Dhabi
    Advice & Top Tips
    Al Ain
    America
    Argentina
    Arizona
    Australia
    Bali
    Batam
    Belfast
    Burma
    California
    Cambodia
    Chicago
    Dubai
    England
    Expat Life
    Hong Kong
    Illinois
    Indonesia
    Japan
    Java
    Jordan
    Kuwait
    Las Vegas
    London
    Malaysia
    Misc
    Myanmar
    Nevada
    New Zealand
    Northern Ireland
    Oman
    Ras Al Khaimah
    Restaurants
    Salt Lake City
    San Diego
    Scotland
    Singapore
    Southeast Asia
    Travel Musings
    Uae
    UK
    Usa
    Utah
    Wales
    Woodstock

    RSS Feed

    Or if you prefer to receive an email update click here to register.

    Archives

    June 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    June 2019
    April 2019
    July 2018
    June 2017
    May 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    September 2015
    August 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    August 2012
    April 2012
    February 2012
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    August 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.