Meet Father Christmas!

Well, here are some other people in our lives - Sussex MA students Willem and Hilary seen here visiting Father Christmas at the Western Road Community Primary School Christmas Bazaar! Hilary is a fellow Fulbrighter and babysat with the kids the night before. Willem came up to meet Hilary for the day. It had been a long time since they got their picture with Santa. Can you guess how Santa got his beard to look that way? The answer may surprise you....

Thessaloniki, Greece

In the last week of November, we made a short trip to Greece where Robin gave a talk on the US elections at the University of Macedonia. Thessaloniki is Greece's second largest city, in the northern part of the country. It is the main commercial port for many of the Balkan nations -- Bulgaria, Romania, FYROM (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) -- as well as Russia. Here we are on the roof of the White Tower where you can see the main port.

But the real charm of this town is shown in this photo. You stroll along among nondescript 1950s era architecture and suddenly there's a Roman or Ottoman ruin! This one is the Roman Agora or marketplace dating from about 250 AD. It was discovered in the early 1980s when townspeople were digging for the foundation for a new law court building. And the weather, food and people were all amazing. Imagine spanikopita for breakfast.

Eleanor's First Slumber Party

Well, after surviving the Bonfires, we survived six ten year old girls staying up all night. Hey,
she only has one birthday a year, and perhaps only one in England. The friends she's made here are quite lovely, though one laughs VERY LOUDLY in the middle of the night!!! Here she is with her chocolate Dinosaur cake. Yes, she's in her PJs -- they all got into them as soon as they hit the door.

Lewes Bonfire Night!!!!

Here are two pictures that I hope captures the thrill and warmth of Bonfire Night. In the UK, Halloween is not a big deal at all, but in some areas Guy Fawkes night, November 5th is as big or bigger!!. Guy plotted to blow up the King and parliament in 1605. The "gunpowder plot" was to turn protestants out of power. So there's a 'little' religious tinge to this. The plotters were unsuccessful. They were arrested and put to death. Our little Lewes, a town of 16,000, has the biggest celebration of Guy Fawkes' downfall in the entire United Kingdom. Six main "Bonfire Societies" plan the entire year to celebrate by first parading around the town (with fire) and then having huge bonfires where they make large amounts of smoke and burn the pope in effigy, and this year Gordon Brown, John McCain, and Barack Obama. Something like 1/3 of the adult population of Lewes belongs to one of these societies. Our town of 16,000 had 18,000 guests for the evening, including five MA-seeking Fulbrighters who stayed at our house! If you ever come here, and ask about Bonfire night, they will ask you if you are Catholic before they say anything.

The US Elections

I've not actually said anything about what my mission really is this fall - explaining the US elections to Europeans! First, no one over here can believe any American would actually support John McCain. It is an interesting view -- and the Europeans were so hopeful that "we" would make the correct choice. Second, after the election, people congratulated me everywhere. I thought that was rather odd. A British colleague at Sussex said non-Brits offered him condolences when Princess Diana died, so that is a similar sentiment. But of course, no one over here understands the independent power of our Congress, so perhaps the most surprising thing is that they can't imagine that Obama will not get everything he wants as president. I've been having fun trying to educate them, but as you can imagine, it's not really sinking in. I've done a lot of post election forums, mostly in the UK -- and one at the American Embassy in London -- and it is amazing how much they know about our system, except this Congress bit. Now if only Americans knew about the politics of ONE other country....

First School Break Destination: Belgium

I would highly recommend Belgium for anyone who likes food and fabulous architecture. In addition to the chocolate, there are the Belgian waffles, mussels, friejtes, beer, and liquers and the rest just doesn't much matter. We spent most of our time in Antwerp and Bruges. Bruges, the 'Venice' of the north, was certainly picturesque, but far more oriented toward tourists than Antwerp. But Antwerp, the home of Robin's long lost relatives, won my heart. It has history, economic importance, a big port, fantastic artwork, an important fashion school, and not everyone has perfect English. It was also amazingly uncrowded (as was Bruges) and very pleasant most days. The Antwerp Zoo was a highlight! Coming up next....that darn American election, intriguing to all Europeans because how could anyone vote for McCain, they want to know....,.

Beachy Head

How about this for some scenery? We went to Beachy Head, part of the southern coast that is made of the same chalk as the famous white cliffs of Dover. It's closer to us, and somewhat more dramatic as there are ALMOST NO BARRIERS BETWEEN YOU AND THE EDGE. Glen loved it as I grabbed onto the kids until they had no flesh left on their limbs. Of course, it's the #3 spot in the world to end things yourself (Golden Gate bridge is #2) so it's at once breathtakingly beautiful and macabre. The winds were amazing and we had a great day. We also visited a colleague from U Sussex in Eastbourne in a neighborhood very much like Charles Village. We are off to explore the continent a lot in the next month. We leave for Belgium on Saturday, and I've just been invited to give a paper in Copenhagen the week after that. Then, Greece!

Did you celebrate October 14th?

If you didn't you are obviously not tuned into the anniversary of the Norman Conquest, October 14, 1066. Thanks to a tip from a colleague, we went to Battle to see where the actual battle took place (sort of -- after 950 years things do shift). Better yet -- reenactors! They were awesome and the kids were mesmerized, especially Robert. These people are like Civil War reenactors, but with rabbit roasted on an open fire (no kidding) and lots of mead! They camp out there the entire weekend in primitive tents and sleep on animal skins. They practice all year round to do the simulated hand to hand combat with knives, swords, spears, bow & arrow, and sometimes they even shoot this stuff on horses. We had great weather too!

Memo to Obama: The NHS Does Work!

Unfortunately, we had the opportunity to test the National Health Service today. Robert was up half the night complaining about his ear hurting ("put water on it" he kept imploring). Since we are veterans at this, I knew we had to have an antibiotic ASAP. I called the NHS surgery near us at 8:30, got through immediately, made an appointment for 9:50, waited about 15 minutes, saw the fantastic doctor who was impressed that given how bad the infection was that Robert hadn't complained before today, got a prescription for amoxicillin, and left the office. On the way out, well, we just walked out! No exit paperwork (well, no bills), so that's that. We walked one block down the hill to the Boots chemists, gave him the prescription (free of course since Robert is 5 or less), and by 10:45 we had medication in hand and in the boy. I honestly cannot say it has ever worked like that for me in the states. Plus the medicine tastes like bananas, so he's a happy guy.

This past weekend, we went to Arundel where my Sussex sponsor lives and toured the famous castle there. http://www.arundelcastle.org/_pages/03_visitor_info.htm shows pictures and tells the story of the Dukes of Norfolk. And Queen Victoria stayed there for two days once in the 1840s and you would think this was as important as making peace in the world. Anyway, the other nifty thing is that the family actually lives there and the Castle is only open until November 1, so we are glad to have seen it now. Here's to healthy ears and more touring!

Settling In

I cannot believe it, but we FINALLY have a home phone number, internet access, a television, and not one but TWO ATM cards that work in pounds sterling. Given the current US monetary crisis, I surely am happy about that. We have been exploring a bit. This past weekend, we went to the food and drink festival at Glynde (pronounced gl-AYE-nd). You can see this nifty manor house at www.glynde.co.uk. Then, on Sunday, we went to the races at Plumpton -- www.plumptonracecourse.co.uk. That was really something, as the kids and I had not seen steeplechase or jump racing before. In the steeplechase, half the riders were thrown, but the horses kept going! At the moment, the kids are getting used to the new school (Eleanor faster than Robert, big surprise) and involved in many activities. They have both discovered Rugby, for example, and they are checking out piano lessons now. We continue to decide about doing the laundry by the weather report, as they just don't believe in tumble dryers anywhere in this island. Now that we have regular email service, don't hesitate to contact us and know we will actually reply!

Umbrella Required for Living in Lewes

We got here and are all excited about school starting tomorrow for Eleanor and Robert. I almost know my way around town -- the other three navigate like natives already. Well, that's what happens when you take a girl from Miami with a grid laid out in the 1950s and put her in a town laid out in 1087 with no right angles. Fortunately, just about every street meets up with the "High" Street, the English name for Main Street in most towns. I was most worried about Robert's adjustment and actually he's been a trooper. Every restaurant is his favorite. He has learned to ask for chips and he will readily order fish fingers, chips and peas (with ketchup on all) everywhere. Fortunately, or unfortunately, every place will serve this dish. Eleanor played football on Saturday -- and was the only girl in her age group. Good for her! Now if we can just get it to stop raining 5-6 times a day, all would be perfect, though now that Robert has wellies, it doesn't matter that much. Next up....more about Sussex, schools and traveling across the country by train....

We're on our way!

We can hardly believe it, but we are headed to England tomorrow, August 28th. There have been huge delays in getting the visa -- mostly caused by our main visa competitors -- any college student wanting to study abroad in the UK! There has been a huge backlog at the British consulate and so many errors it's not even funny. Now, we need only figure out if we can sit together on the plane and if we'll have furniture in our rental house. It will probably take us a week or so to get phones and internet access, so do check back in a bit. We expect it to be quite chilly compared to here -- most days this month have been a high in the low 70s. School starts on 8 September for the children, so we will have a good week or so to get acclimated. Happy school year all!

Picture of the House

Though the lease is not signed yet, this is what it looks like. Three levels, sort of like the Baltimore house, except the living space is in the middle row (first floor, which is our "second floor" - the first being their "ground floor").

Watching the Mail

Still no departure date --- VISA applications are now in the hands of the British Consulate. If I get the visas, I should write a separate blog on how to get the visa. I think this is the first rite of passage in our cultural exchange, yes? Robert LOVED getting fingerprinted - said it was like a finger massage and wants to come back again. We think the house is settled and the schools are set up. In the meantime, check out these awesome pictures of the town we are bound for:
http://www.lewes.co.uk/Gallery.aspx

Visas in the post 9-11 world

Progress FINALLY on the Visa front!!!! It turns out that there is a "system glitch" that causes one to be charged over three times the proper amount for a UK Visa, and since I have a Fulbright, it is "gratis" anyway, but still we have to pay a huge fee in advance and get it credited. I am so glad everything is automated today and we've cut out so much human contact so we can be "efficient." There is an interesting possibility on a house too....perhaps more news tomorrow. We found a letting agent that is not afraid of Americans. Stay tuned...

Not There Yet, But Trying.....

So far, our efforts to start my Fulbright have been terribly frustrating! Who knew rental property would fly off the market in HOURS!!!!! And now, no live person will talk to us about a Visa to stay in the UK for more than six months. Hoping to rent a place soon.....check back soon!