So, this is in addition to my weekly update that will happen on Sunday as usual, but I have been thinking about home (all of my US homes) a lot lately and decided to share.

At dinner our host family loves to talk about the differences between the US and England. They get a kick out of asking us questions and hearing our strange and so very American answers. We particularly like to compare our two vastly different, but yet similar Englishes. I am constantly making little blunders with my American English- especially when it comes to clothing. We don't have a dryer here, so we hang our clothes to dry and with the lack of heat, all of our jeans are bagged out. So I sometimes complain that "my pants keep falling down!" Nothing too strange about that to your American eyes right? Well, they call underwear 'pants' here. So my family just about died when I mentioned that they were falling down. And though I am fully aware of this vital difference, 20 years of calling my jeans "pants" will just NOT go away! It's fine around my family, but a little more embarrassing in public.

Living with Sandra (who is from Boston) last year made me see that even though we both live in the same country, we come from two very different worlds. Almost everyday we would have something to compare about my Pacific Northwest vs her New England upbringing. She would make me giggle with her awe when people actually stopped to let her cross the street or when cashiers in grocery stores were helpful and friendly. These are things I simply take for granted, for I have lived in Washington State all my life (with short stints in Portland, OR) and don't know any different. There was a short time when I thought I would like to go to New York for university (in particular Ithaca), but I am happy that I chose to stay on the west coast. Many people wonder at how I can know that I want to live in the Seattle/Portland area for the rest of my life without seeing the rest of the US. The answer is easy; this is my home. I would love nothing more to visit the rest of my country, but I belong in the PNW, pure and simple. I was looking over some (very insightful) Pemco ads at www.werealotlikeyou.com and they just made me miss WA even more. As much as I adore being here in London, I will be more than happy to return to Tacoma.