Sunrise

Popped out on the front porch the other morning to capture the sunrise and the crow that sits in our tree every morning.  I'm ready to start a photo project but don't have any plans to try the photo a day project again.

Flowers in January

A few daffodils bloomed a couple of weeks ago which is early.  Snowdrops and Crocuses are on time.

New Year

We've settled back into our routine.  I'm ready to start taking photos again.  We had mild temps for a while so a couple of our daffodils bloomed.  Got cold again though (just above freezing at night) so the daffodils look very sad now.

Anxious to go to Morocco next month for many reasons - birthday celebration, experience a country we've never visited, enjoy being with friends, and new photo ops!

This morning was foggy and I spotted a Royal Navy ship going past so grabbed the camera which is always ready.

This one was me playing around during our 4+ hour layover in Amsterdam after a long flight from Detroit.  Nothing to do but eat, read, browse the duty free shops, and about an hour and a half of free internet.  So I took some pics.

Back home from the US

Danny and I spent 3 weeks in Michigan for the holidays.  Weather was milder than normal and very little snow.  Except for an epidemic in my family of a stomach virus, the visit was wonderful.

We flew Delta/KLM this time.  We were unimpressed with the flight from Amsterdam to Detroit due to a bad tempered flight attendant and others who seemed to be in bad moods.  On the way home the flight was much better as the flight attendants were friendly, and we had booked an exit row so had lots of legroom.  I loved having my new Kindle and actually read the entire 7 hour flight without getting tired or strained eyes.  The screen is easy on the eyes.

Our opinion of Delta overall is that they suck!  They keep changing our flight times for our May trip.  They changed our outgoing flight a few weeks ago whereas we'd arrive in Amsterdam several hours after our connecting flight had left.  A note in red at the bottom of the email telling us this was:  you may miss your connecting flight.  Duh?!  Ya think so?!  They changed it back after a long time on the phone.  Yesterday they tried to make changes in our return flight.  They want us to hang around Amsterdam airport for about 10 hours before our connecting flight.  Might be okay if we wanted to be tourists in Amsterdam for the day, but after flying all night we'll be too tired.  So, after a long time on the phone it's back to the original flights.  Why do I get the feeling this isn't the last change?!  Idiots!

Which culture?

It's been brought to my attention that I refer to myself in terms of British or more specifically, Scottish people.  I often refer to Americans as 'you' not 'us/we' and the British as 'us/we' not 'them'.

Due to my residing in the UK for nearly 12 years I feel well-adapted to the culture of this nation, and the country from which I originate seems almost foreign to me.  This is not a judgement on one culture being superior to the other.  Where I currently live feels like 'home' and I feel like a visitor in the US.  This has nothing to do with patriotism as I am American, but I'm also a citizen of the UK and this is where I've made my permanent home. Yes, I was born and raised in the US and lived there for 48 years, but I haven't lived there in what seems like a very long time.  I drove there for 30 years before moving abroad but I'm used to driving in the UK and driving on the left side in a right hand drive car feels natural to me, not the other way around.  I am so accustomed to different spellings that I often find that a spelling such as 'color' looks incorrect to me.

I regret not doing a  blog or journal when I first arrived here.  A summary at the end of each year would be interesting to look back on.

It amazes me that a few expats (and others) think they are being traitors or betraying their American identity by using non-American terms or identifying with a culture other than the American one.  Some expats enjoy the attention they get by using American terms even when they are confusing.  Seems to me this is done by only relatively new expats as this just gets tiresome after living in a new country for a few years.  It's been implied, and sometimes outright accusatory, that I must be a traitor or unpatriotic by becoming totally acclimated to the culture in which I live.  This is my home for the rest of my life so my question is - why wouldn't I?  Is there some point that needs to be proven by clinging to a culture that is no longer part of my everyday life?

As for adapting to the language my question is if you move to France are you going to learn to speak French, or are you going to make your life very difficult, if not impossible, by clinging to your own language and culture?  How is this different from moving to an English-speaking country?

My blog on vocabulary changes I have made

Comments and questions are welcome.