Without fail, when you arrive in a new country, there is a lot of excitement and confusion. Luckily, I think I've moved back and forth from the USA to the UK enough times that the confusion is all cleared up. I know just where to go for shopping trips, I am familiar with the way things work, and rarely ever do I get tripped up over the differences in language anymore (I did learn the word "cobbed" the other day where I would have said "hocked a loogie", though!).
I do still feel excited, though not the same overactive tummy butterflies that I had the first time around. Now, it's excitement born out of returning, seeing British treats at the grocery store that I missed in America, taking trains and having good public transport available instead of needing a car, and seeing places and people that haven't been a part of my life for the past year, except over the internet.
But, ah, yes, there is one more thing that comes with a big move: administration. So far today, I've spent the morning tidying my suitcases (just one more day before my Cambridge holiday ends and I head to Chichester to set up house). The afternoon has been one long mess of registration. I registered my Oyster card, my railcard, my Nectar card, and even a Costa coffee club card. I looked up where to register for a GP (or doctor, if I was still in the USA). I ordered a SIM card that I will need to register as soon as it arrives. The only things I haven't registered for are two academic conferences that I plan on attending, one of which I am giving a paper at, and that is only because my federal student loan has been held up (not by the shutdown... yet... but rather by some updates the financial department at my university had to do).
I do feel productive, anyway. I'm sure the next week will feel like more of the same, until finally I get started on my course on the 8th and can get down to why I came back in the first place!
I do still feel excited, though not the same overactive tummy butterflies that I had the first time around. Now, it's excitement born out of returning, seeing British treats at the grocery store that I missed in America, taking trains and having good public transport available instead of needing a car, and seeing places and people that haven't been a part of my life for the past year, except over the internet.
But, ah, yes, there is one more thing that comes with a big move: administration. So far today, I've spent the morning tidying my suitcases (just one more day before my Cambridge holiday ends and I head to Chichester to set up house). The afternoon has been one long mess of registration. I registered my Oyster card, my railcard, my Nectar card, and even a Costa coffee club card. I looked up where to register for a GP (or doctor, if I was still in the USA). I ordered a SIM card that I will need to register as soon as it arrives. The only things I haven't registered for are two academic conferences that I plan on attending, one of which I am giving a paper at, and that is only because my federal student loan has been held up (not by the shutdown... yet... but rather by some updates the financial department at my university had to do).
I do feel productive, anyway. I'm sure the next week will feel like more of the same, until finally I get started on my course on the 8th and can get down to why I came back in the first place!
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Administrative stuff has been driving me nuts. I have to reapply for my NIN, because the first time I got the application they didn't tell me that I needed to send them copies of my passport and visa. Everything takes so much paperwork!
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