Looking Back

As we prepare to depart for our winter break holiday we wanted to take this opportunity to review our first four months in the UK.

Arriving a few weeks prior to Mike starting school made for a smart move.  We were able to explore our new surroundings while waiting for internet and phone connections without anxiety.

While we lived in Seattle we would enjoy long walks along Lake Washington or from the light rail station to our home.  During this past summer we especially enjoyed walking around our temporary home on Queen Anne.  Happily, our walking tradition continues here in Dundee.  Mike walks Desi to work every morning for her 6AM start time and is usually there to pick her up when she gets off in the afternoon.  These walks will vary as Desi changes jobs but we enjoy this time together and are happy our walks have survived the move.

It took us a few months to get settled but we think we've begun to form a comfortable groove.  We've got friends whom we can go to with our cultural questions and we're even beginning to have a social calendar again.  Desi is enjoying the last few days of her first job in the UK and Mike is celebrating the end of a successful first semester.  Best of all, we didn't experience any catastrophes, which is something we're always grateful for.

As far as the Purge of 2010, there are many things we miss having but overall we're enjoying living simply and light.  When we first moved here we wrote down all our possessions, which didn't amount to much.  We think that list has stayed about the same over the months, a few more kitchen necessities but a few less clothing items.  There are also a number of items we wish we hadn't brought.  For example, Desi has a couple of lovely pairs of stilettos that she chose to keep but that she'll never wear.  Perhaps keeping her hiking boots or trainers would've been wiser?

In just a few months we've been able to visit a fair number of Scot cities and towns, places we probably would never have seen if we didn't live here.  Because our time in Dundee is limited we really want to make every day memorable, which we were really good at in the beginning but have since slackened a bit, allowing life to take over.  We've been consumed with adapting to our new location, which has provided us with a good foundation but not necessarily with memorable experiences, more just general knowledge.  Hopefully, upon our return in the new year we'll get back to making each day memorable.