Two Months Notice

I left Chicago on a very cold evening, January 11th, 2010 to the small audience of just my mother. It was a tearful goodbye, but since then I have not been back to the States (though, granted, two months is not a terribly long time; Ulysses was gone from his home for just a bit longer and he never complained).

It would be hard to say how my life is different now. Instead, what would be easier would be to tell you what I haven't done since leaving the States.

1) Been in a car. With the singular exception of riding in a taxi from the train station to here, I have not been in a car or a bus. Actually, since arriving, and taking the train here, that was the last I have been in any form of transportation. This implies, rightfully, that I have not gone very far. This is certainly true. I have walked over a good chunk Aberystwyth, but I have not left Aberystwyth (unless of course, you count the tiny villages that are on the very edge of town which I happened to go through at the edges of my journey). It would be hard to say that I have had a European experience, but it's still early. I have plenty of time to map out a trip across this island, if not the rest of the continent.
This is unusual, though, for an American. We have rightfully earned the reputation of driving everywhere, and while I lived in the Suburbs of Chicago, that is certainly true. The sidewalks are there for shoveling snow from and little else. The Dunkin' Donuts was on the corner, less than a half mile from my house, but I drove there most weekends to get donuts. Not surprisingly, my time living there, I had put on some weight. Now, back to my Monmouth College days, where I had to walk everywhere, I have dropped the weight again. It was a bit of an adjustment, realizing that I couldn't do an entire semester's worth of shopping because I couldn't carry it all home, but an adjustment I have made. Now, I am not sure what I would do if I had a car. I like walking everywhere.

2) Watched TV. This was the biggest shock to my system as I used to turn the TV on to help me sleep. I noise was distracting, and my mind could settle enough to let me sleep. I watched a lot of TV, anything that was on. I would wake up and watch a few hours of Sports Center with breakfast and work, then switch to reruns of longer running dramas and sit-coms like House, Scrubs and Bones. I would watch the Foodnetwork while cooking, the DIY Network while thinking about the back yard, and the Dog Whisperer while playing with my dog. At night, I would watch the entire four hour block of Adult Swim, and occasionally watch the repeat block.
While here in Wales, I tend to watch TV on DVD, but hardly to the extent that I used to. I miss my recliner, where I could repose and watch TV. My dog would curl up in my lap and nod off. It was sweet release from the crap that happened around me. Now, I have to deal with the crap. I read more, which is nice, but have trouble sleeping (or did, until Erika sent me some melatonin pills). What I think I miss the most is Sports Center, oddly enough. There was something soothing about loosing myself in the meaningless world of sports coverage.

3) Done all my shopping in one place. Even when I lived in the city, there was a Target or Meijer never too far from where I lived. There, I could get anything I needed: a plastic storage tub, two mangoes, a package of boxers, a dog leash and four CDs. Check. There is something simplifying about doing all your shopping in one place. If I needed almost anything, I would start first at Meijer, then Target. If those places didn't have it, there was always the mall.
Here, I have needed a belt and a backpack. I had to make three trips out to find a place that even sold belts. The same with backpacks. Both stores have a rotating stock, so I needed to make several trips just to wait for the thing I wanted to become an item they had available. It took me two weeks to find a cutting board, and I am still without kitchen cutlery (thankfully my roommates let me use theirs).
This is probably the most annoying part of living in a small town with little central commerce, and a resistance to the mega-store. I need to plan out my purchasing very carefully. When I needed sheets, a plug adapter and shampoo my first night here, I had to plan out where I was going (Matalan, Curries and Morrisons). I am adjusting to this, but it is taking longer than any of the other adjustments.

4) Seen my family. Granted, Skype makes things easier, so I still feel connected to a lot of my friends and family, but there is something different about being in the flesh. For those of you who don't know: I have a huge family. In my immediate family, I have two brothers and three sisters. My brother Kevin, and sister's Beth and Brianne are married. My brother Kiernan has been dating someone for several years now. Kevin has two little girls, and Beth has two boys and a girl. Kevin, Beth, my Mother and I all have dogs. Christmas, with everyone present, contains seventeen people and four dogs. When we have large family parties, that is compounded by my Grandmother, four Aunts, three Uncles, nine cousins, and eight in-law family members attached to my cousins bringing the grand total to 42 people. What surprises people the most about a family this large is that, outside of a few stray cousins, I would see most of these people once every six or seven weeks.
I miss that. I feel like I am missing a lot of my nephews growing up. I miss seeing my Mom, and my dog. I miss spending time with my sisters and brothers, playing board games. I miss playing the Wii against my Mom. I miss watching my brother-in-law Jason do the hula-hoop game on Wii Fit. I miss seeing how angry Brianne would get when Jason would beat her at some game on Wii Fit. I miss watching Football with Kiernan and Beth. We are a close knit family, and I miss it. But, I get to go home in June. I intend to cram those days full of time with my family members.

That's not to say I am terribly lonely, and sit around enumerating these things, but small anniversaries like this make me reflective. Here, I spend time with my new friends and housemates, I read and write like a fiend, and have plenty of places to go walking to when I am bored. Plus, in a weeks time, Erika will be here which is my first visitor (hopefully of many), which should close the gap between where I am, and where I was.