Culture Shock

No pictures yet, the camera is lost amongst our 6 bags of luggage.

Stole the pic from my friend Pam, she took it on the way to Mildenhall. It's so cute and different here. Check out the car.

We made it to RAF Mildenhall, UK. Wow. What a trip. Our first plane was original scheduled to depart at 2:20 Pm from VPS (Fort Walton), then we would have a 50 minute layover in Atlanta, then straight flight to Gatwick Airport, London. The only problem was our first flight was delayed. When our planned finally arrived and landed it was 5:10, our next flight was scheduled to depart at 5:30. Of course we were in the A terminal and had to go to the E terminal. With our carryons in tow, we ran as fast as we could to our gate. We arrived at the check in counter to plane, winded but before the doors were closed. Thank God we made our flight.
I foolishly took full advantage of the complementary in flight movies. I watched 2-3 movies and an episode of House. It would not have been an issue, except I did not sleep and arrived to England at 7 am, 2 am my old time, needing a nap and feeling the effects of jet lag.
We deplaned and made it through the border without any major hassle. Airports don't vary too much from country to country. I was still in my bubble of everything being almost the same and experiencing no culture shock.
When we went outside, I started noticing the small differences. The bus drivers were on the other side-they looked so close. Had to make sure I checked the the correct side of the street where traffic is actually flowing. This, I hear, has been the downfall of many a tourist.
Once we were in our taxi and on our way to Mildenhall, I finally realized I was moving to England. This was real. It is different. I have been in denial. The driver was a delightful older man who was sitting in what I am accustomed to being the passenger's seat. Trying not to ask too many stupid questions or sounding like a complete idiot, I managed to have a nice conversation about the way things work over here and how it does not rain EVERY day, contrary to popular belief.
The cabdriver was driving in the far right lane. Not that I was in a hurry to arrive, I was just surprised that he was able to drive so fast in the slow lane. Then it hit me, we were in the fast lane. I went into culture shock. Not to be over dramatic or anything, but I experienced a little bit of it. Really, I thought I was impervious to culture shock since it is not my first time out of the country or on a plane. It would not have been an issue if I was visiting, but knowing this is home for the next three years seems more permanent than a visit. All that being said, I am still excited about our tour.
Going on and off base does not seem like an everyday occurrence here. It seems as if only card holders are the only ones who are really allowed the privilege. We had to take an on base taxi once we made it to the entrance. Our original taxi driver said they built a parking lot with stands for people to watch planes take off after giving up on trying to keep traffic moving due to gazers.
We checked in to our hotel and were dropped off at our dorm. We were doubtful if there were any elevators placed at convenient places, so we lugged up all six monstrosities up a flight of stairs and into our room. The room is the size of an average family den. This would be no problem; but it houses a kitchen, den, bathroom, and a bedroom that is too small for a standard queen. So L and I have a full-sized bed in our room that sags in the middle. It's like the missionary days of sleeping in a hammock, again. Cuddle time. I love it because we are actually close for once, unlike our king sized.
In my mind the RAF hotel would be larger, like its American counterpart. The live ins in the states are massive. Ours is a far cry from large and the shower is so small one can hit their elbows repeatedly against the walls with little effort while showering. This will be a blessing because we will not be downsizing when we move into our rental. This is a motivator to move out to green pasture, and fast.

Our to do list is find a rental and buy a car. So exciting to be starting over again.