One year in England!

Exactly one year ago today we were arriving in England. It's interesting to look back and think of all the things we've learned, all the things we've accomplished. And since I was too busy at that time to post pictures and write about the initial experiences, I thought it would be fun to do it now. The kids have changed so much... especially Andrei.
As most of you know, we left America in July of 2008. We went to Romania and spent 10 months in my beloved Cluj. I am very grateful for that time, particularly now when my dad is very ill - I am glad that the kids got to know him and spend some time with him. He is a wonderful grandfather and absolutely adores them!
We left Cluj on Monday, the 11th of May 2009, very early in the morning. Alexandra got very excited at the sight of the Wizzair airplane and said "Mama, uite, avionul e roz!" - ("Look mom, the plane is pink" - Wizzair's colors are pink and purple :-); it makes me a bit sad to think that she was 100% fluent in Romanian a year ago and now she only speaks one word here and there, even though I speak only Romanian to both of them... Anyway, after the initial excitement of being on a plane, both kids fell asleep - slight relief for Ben who was dealing with both of them as I got a bit nauseous.



As they say "third time's a charm", we were able to land in Luton on the 3rd try! How do I remember all this? I had sent a quite detailed email to my parents on our first day here. :-) I just realized I had forgotten all about the difficult landing and other little details, so it's a good thing I saved that email. From Luton airport we got on a bus to somewhere in central London. Got off the bus and walked about 5 minutes to the London-Marylebone train station where Alexandra enjoyed a giant chocolate muffin. :-)



We then got on a train to Warwick and both kids enjoyed the ride and looking out the window at the sheep, cows, horses... The scenery here reminds me so much of Romania.



We spent the first couple of days at a Bed&Breakfast, until we got the keys to the house and until our stuff that had been shipped over from America got delivered. We became friends with Ata, the owner of the B&B - he is a Turkish-Cypriot, used to own a restaurant in London, is a very good cook and gives us food almost every week. :-) He's taken us out to dinner a few times and used to take me grocery shopping every Saturday until we got a car. He calls me his "Romanian daughter". :-) Ben sees him quite often and solves his computer problems. In fact he was over there today, helped Ata solve some email issues and got some yummy "koftas" in return ("Kofta is a Middle Eastern and South Asian meatball or meatloaf. In the simplest form, koftas consist of balls of minced or ground meat — usually beef or lamb — mixed with spices and/or onions." - Wikipedia). The B&B is only a 5 min walk from our house, that was one of the reasons Ben chose it in the first place, so it would be easy to get from the hotel to the house with all the stuff we had. It turned out to be an excellent choice, it's fun to have Ata in our lives. Ata's son, Hussein Chalayan, is a fashion designer, who won "British Designer of the year" in 1999 and 2000; he lives in London though, and travels a lot - Milan, Moscow, Paris, so we haven't met him yet... But just wanted to brag a bit about having some famous friends ;-). Anyway, here are the kids on the first night at Ata's B&B. Just like I said, things have changed a lot, especially for Andrei - we got rid of the pacifier about two months after moving here; and his short hair was so cute; it's grown way too long now because he has a major panic attack every time we try to cut it.




Enjoying our first "meal" in our new home :-)





The kids playing in the empty cupboards :-)



In the playroom, where too much playing eventually wore Andrei out :-)




Alexandra reading "Brown bear, brown bear" to Andrei



Playing among boxes and unpacked stuff...




After a bath



Enjoying a bedtime story in Alexandra's bed



Alexandra on the stairs...



...and talking with my mom on Skype :)




Andrei enjoying some broccoli; well, mostly licking the dip off the broccoli... :) - it's a very cute video, so I couldn't resist posting it



In front of our house



I can't believe it's been a year! We've had some ups and downs, but mostly we have enjoyed our time here. We've made some friends and have learned some fun stuff like: dummy = pacifier, pushchair = stroller, loo = restroom, chips = french fries, crisps = potato chips, aeroplane = airplane, wellies = rubber boots, pants = underwear!!! (so do not come here and say you wear pants to work :-))) - you should be wearing those all the time, everywhere; to work, you wear trousers! ;-)

Happy one year!