PART THE FOURTH!!!! Of my England diary, or, a Texan in Old Blighty

First topic message reminder :

So I'm back in England already, in what Maddog observed was barely enough time for me to change underwear! (Not only did I change my underwear each of the 16 days I was in Texas, MD, I even began a new job and worked nearly four full-time shifts before quitting -- so there.)

The why is the interesting part of this story, so I'll start there:

It all began on Tuesday of this week, when eddie got a text from our solicitor asking if we both could visit his office later the same day. She explained that I was out of the country until next month, but could we schedule a meeting then?

He rang her straight away, saying basically that I needed to get my ass on a plane as quickly as possible so that we could try an entirely different strategy of getting me legal residency in the UK.

Because of a convergence of factors including the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit, there now seems to be a unique opportunity to argue before a court that as I've spent most of the past 18 months in the UK, I'm an integral part of my family in the UK and that it's my human right to remain with them.

This argument wouldn't work, obviously, if I hadn't been living this weird back-and-forth life since the last week of 2018. And it wouldn't work without my 8-year-old stepdaughter needing me around to make sure she's fed and safe going to and from school.

So that's what we're going to try now! Our lawyer is a very measured, careful man, and I'm very excited because he's not the type to try to shoot the moon.

Eddie's mother came through with the airfare, and I was back on a now-familiar journey that I found goes much more smoothly when you start by going to the right airport. The entire trip was hitch-free, and I learned I really should stop worrying about the UK authorities letting me back into the country.

I saw eddie again and it was like we'd been separated for a year. I'll leave it at that, actually ...

But from the moment I could see out the windows of Heathrow, I felt calm, like I'd finally come back home.

Maddog wrote:

Syl wrote:

Well if I am ever in town and spot a tall, bearded, Stetson wearing, cocky yank strutting my way....I will guess you have used your air miles up.

You forgot loud.  

So I will probably hear you before I see you then.

Syl wrote:

Maddog wrote:

You forgot loud.  

So I will probably hear you before I see you then.

Yup.

I will remember to bring ear plugs.

Sometimes I get so wrapped up in the thousands of little daily jobs that must be done, I forget to reflect on what's happening to me, but tonight, eddie started writing a brilliant ... thingy ... don't really know what to call it, but it made me a bit introspective and inspired me to add an entry to this.

Recently, I've realised that I've reached a new phase in my immigration story without really seeing it clearly.

Before, my memories from years ago were all set in Texas. Now, I have memories from years ago set here in England.

When I first got here, people talked about things, places, people, etc. that I hadn't heard of before, and a lot of things had to be explained to me. Now, I'm largely past that phase -- I can talk to people who've lived their whole lives in England about English things that I've done, English places I've been to, and facets of English culture that simply couldn't have been part of my life three years ago.

Little things like talking to people about who does the best curry in town, or when this shop used to be a different shop, or what's a good deal and what's a rip off, or anything that people who've lived in a place for a while talk about.

Now I'm finding it hard to express, but I guess it's the realisation that I'm no longer truly a newcomer to England. Sure, I still sometimes have to say things like "I don't think we got that show in America" or "I've never heard of (this or that)," but it doesn't happen nearly as much as it used to.

It's really just INTERESTING to move to a different country and watch what happens to yourself. It never really struck me, for example, how people in Texas practically run from the rain, as though it's going to hurt them, until I moved here and saw how people here barely react when it starts to sprinkle.

And when I speak to someone I don't know over here for the first time, I'm still ready for the "Oh, where's your accent from?" or "You're American, right?" or whatever, but it doesn't make me feel the way it used to, because I have in the back of my mind the thought that while I'll always have my different accent, I'm not so new here anymore -- and not so different. I pretty much know what's what. I can give directions, advice, tips.

And ultimately, this means that as I've been tackling so many full-on issues -- being a husband, being a parent, getting legal status, getting work, being a true friend to my friends -- I have, without being fully aware of it, made this place my home. I'll always be from Texas, but now I'm also from England.

You just got used to us, it takes a while to fit into a new place.
Even moving to a new area, or starting a new job, no one feels like they 'belong' straight away.