We have not yet been here a full week, but an awful lot has happened since our flight here...firstly and most importantly, Lego is doing very well; he is happy and settling into British life nicely--thanks for asking.
We checked into our new duty sections on Friday morning after sleeping a solid 10 hours at the end of our travel day.
Carrie says: "I'm super excited about working in the Emergecy Room here--it's a 4 bed unit (very small by AF standards) but people seem nice and all were polite and very welcoming. Travis' unit seems great, too; they invited us to a game night Saturday and we've been able to get to know a lot of nice folks who will be working with him."
Travis says: "Hi." [Travis is a little cranky because he is still a little jetlagged, even as I write this. He requires a regular nap in the afternoon in order to make it through the evening.]
We are both very excited and happy to be here, and we've seen a lot of cool things, not only in the local area (more on that later), but also in this Wing of the AF. Perhaps San Antonio was wearing on us more heavily than we'd realized, because everything here seems more fun, more cool, and generally a better experience than Texas. The base is lovely--very green and in the middle of farm country, the weather is everything we could ask for and more--cool and drizzly with occasional sunny warm periods, though the air is fresh and clean and very British.
We've explored some of the local area--Saturday we went south about 20 minutes to Bury St. Edmunds--our best friend, Bob the taxi driver from the airport was kind enough to take us--and we visited the charming town centre and Abbey Gardens...and saw some British ducks quacking and splashing in a very English manner. Then a new friend generously donated her Sunday to take us to Newmarket (a town Southwest of the base) the birthplace of horseracing (the horse belonging to the King of Saudi Arabia is rumored to be stabled there). We had a lovely lunch in the local pub and looked at some very British houses; the best part of the day was certainly when we walked by an open gate, through which 50 elderly, all-white-wearing Brits were playing Bocci!
We rented a car--yep, a righty. Travis and I have both learned the basics of navigating on very narrow, curvy roads, and on the wrong damn side of the street. (As a point of interest, we were told several times that there are two reasons Brits drive on the left: 1) Old school folks kept their swords in their right hands, so driving on the left meant they could keep their weapons between themselves and any passing foes. 2) Europeans in general all drove in sort of the middle of the road (avoiding the side of the road muck and refuse) until Napoleon Bonaparte decided that enough was enough. He arbitrarily decided that the French would drive on the right--in order to avoid collisions--and the Brits, naturally, could not follow suit with the French in any way, so they drive on the left as a matter of principle.)
A few things we've noticed:
*"Unlimited" does not ever mean unlimited as it is known in the States. Here, they mean "unlimited" up to a certain limit. You must ask what that limit is. This refers to internet usage, cell phone minutes/texts etc. (This is because of the Fair Usage Policy which is part of the generally more socialist nature of this country.)
*We were surprised how the "same language" doesn't necessarily translate into the same road signs. Yield is posted here as "Give Way," and Detour as "Diversion." Yes, we can understand these messages, but it does cause one to give a second look.
*Our taxi driver Bob told us that there are only two 4-way stops in the UK: one on Mildenhall Airbase, and one on Lakenheath Airbase (both American bases, of course). The Brits use roundabouts instead, and some of them drive around said roundabouts at alarming speeds and with less focus on the other drivers than you'd prefer they use.
Most of the Air Force people here say things like, "yeah, the base isn't that bad" or "this isn't a bad assignment," and though we may lose our naive, childlike wonder at everything around us, we are convinced that they are all a bunch of idiots who don't appreciate how great this place is...This is such a lovely change from the politics of Lackland and the heat of San Antonio that we have nothing but breathless anticipation for the future!
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