dancingthroughchaos

‘The world is big and I want to have a good look at it before it gets dark.’ – John Muir (author and environmentalist)

I’m writing this from a coffee shop in Terminal 3 at Heathrow having literally just got back from my trip across the pond.  The luggage all came back too, which is always cause for celebration.

The next task is to grapple with the befuddlement of jet lag and hope my head and body realign with the rest of the UK, and each other fairly swiftly.  Meanwhile, Im already reflecting on the past few weeks: impressions, experiences, encounters as well as the privilege and opportunity to be part of a different culture for a while.

One of the first relates to the prominence of the stars and stripes, frequently displayed on flagpoles, outside shops, businesses, residential houses, and on an array of vehicles.  The contrast with the UK was stark.  Although the celebrations around the 80th anniversary of D-Day seemed fairly well saturated with Union Jacks on my news feed – down the mall, decorating various street parties etc – there’s little doubt that we’ve been pushed towards a collective embarrassment around the Union Jack in recent years in a way the Stars and Stripes has seldom known within their own border.

The same contrast is evident between how the US and UK military are viewed by the general public.  There, my son is regularly told, ‘Thank you for your service,’ whereas here he and his friends were regularly seen as a prime target for mocking, taunting and baiting in town on a Friday night.  

Then there’s pronunciation of words, including my husband’s very English name (a challenge in coffee shops where they like to write your name cheerily on your cup), and that old favourite, ‘water’ or, ‘waaaderrr’.  Whatever.

The highlight of course, was being present (though not visible) when my son proposed to his girlfriend. We were able to welcome her into the family as his fiancée, cementing again the family relationship between the UK and South Africa.

California – or the bit of it where we were – is a place of mountains, lakes, trees and beauty as well as sapphire skies and burning heat.  Some very English rain fell just to remind us who we really are; we even had to change a plan when the road we were on was blocked by an unexpected snow fall.

We finished off by coming back through San Fransisco via the iconic Golden Gate Bridge which demanded the usual tourist photos of both it and Alcatraz.  I wonder whether Mr Trump really will turn it back into a prison as reported a couple of weeks ago.

Viewing it was impressive and a similar experience to visiting New York – as though I’d just dropped into any of the many movies or TV series I’ve watched over the years.

Just for fun, here’s a few more photos to enjoy while I attempt to readjust to British Summer Time:

As the unpacking and sorting awaits, it was a treat to touchdown in London and find that the sun has been shining for a number of consecutive days. Perhaps I won’t bury the shorts just yet.