One Year in England!

I can't believe that today one year ago we arrived here in England. The year has gone by amazingly fast!

A year ago we left this country:

Switzerland

For this one:

England

Interesting, the flags,  isn't it!

It was a sunny 17C day a year ago and we thought it was so cold and were wearing our winter snow jackets! It took us months to get used to the different cold here in England and we now laugh at how we have changed and adapted to the weather here. We now think 10C is nice and warm!

I always thought the weather here would be a problem for me. I never used to like winter and so many South Africans don't enjoy England. But we don't actually have a problem with it at all. It's a little colder in winter, but when it snows it makes winter so much more fun which we didn't have in SA. It rains more, but with a house that stays comfortably warm throughout the day and night it makes it all bearable. That was the worst for me in SA, the cold inside the house. Always being cold and having to wear so many layers inside because of no central heating and windows not being double glazed. 

We also appreciate sunshine a thousand times more now!!

It does get hot here in summer too. Too hot some days even! But I won't complain because at the moment I am so ready to soak up some really hot sunshine! No south easter blowing sand everywhere in summer. The only thing I miss is water. Either the ocean in South African or the rivers and lakes in Switzerland.

I love being able to speak the national language of the country I'm in and appreciate being able to understand and make myself understood. I don't miss the Swiss German we struggled with every day in Switzerland.

I do miss being close to the city. Being able to take a 15 min train ride into Zürich, walking around the lake, the beautiful old parts of the city, the little shops (the English bookstore!) and going for the best cocktails and dinners I have ever had!

I do not enjoy the UK trains, especially the tubes in London. I would much rather walk all over London than take the tube. I do not enjoy London much and am more than happy avoiding it and staying out in the countryside. London is fun when taking visitors for a day out to see the sights and being a tourist, but otherwise it's only used for renewing passports and thankfully that now won't have to be done for another 10 years!

Things I miss about South Africa:

Andre's Family

My aunts, uncles and cousins still in SA

Summer when there's no wind

Cool sea breezes on hot days

Walks along the beach when there's no wind

Seafood

Friends

Speaking Afrikaans to the ladies behind the tills at P'nP in Melkbos!

Things I don't miss: 

The wind

A cold house in winter

Burglar bars and alarm systems

Always being scared and wondering when it's going to be our turn to be attacked, burgled or worse.

Things I miss about Switzerland:

The friends we left behind

My job at the play school

Swiss CHOCOLATE!!!

The public transport - easy to use and punctual trains, busses and trams, always everywhere.

Cycling along the Limmat River

The mountains and clear lakes

Being able to drive to Germany over weekends to visit Mom and Jürgen.

Things I don't miss:

Not understanding Swiss German.

Thats' all.

Things I am thankful for in England:

Having a house with a garden

Lots of trees where we live

Seeing the horses walk past our house every day

Having a country park right up our road for when we feel like going for a walk

Grocery deliveries. (I know you can have that in SA and CH, but I didn't use it there.)

Friends

Here's a little video I made. I review of our first year here in England.

Our first year in the UK from Anneliese Mostert on Vimeo.