People are people, but norms and expectations sometimes vary

It's strange to hear names of people that everyone in a room except for you recognizes. I've noticed a few times where a name is used in conversation, everyone recognizes the name, but I've never heard of them and I feel a little embarassed. Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson are two names that I've had to learn quickly. I wonder what names we use in America that aren't known outside of America.

Work comment - its been a fairly heavy debate at every company I've worked for, "should we track informal learning"? My personal opinion is that informal learning should not be tracked, but that said, if it helps "put informal learning on the map", then I'm for it. I'd rather see broad awareness of the business value of informal learning. Given that awareness/acceptance/value, then informal learning strategies, projects and progress can get started...

I realized today that there's quite a bit of talk about the British school system. I need to research it. It's something like 'junior level', then 'senior level', then 'a level', then 'uni' (aka university). I think they somewhat align to elementary school, middle school, high school and college, but not quite the same. I do see a lot of children in school uniforms as I travel around and I hear the British schools tend to follow a pretty strict/traditional teaching approach. Wonder if thats true.

Interesting that England seems to really know popular tv from America, there's talk of Game of Thrones, 24, etc. They're also very into American music. We listened to MC Hammer, Ke$ha, Black Eyed Peas and several other groups today. I suppose we've been seeing/hearing more and more British tv/music in America too?

Word of the day is "stroke", which means slash. We might type something like "this/that", which means "this or that", and we would typically say out loud "this or that". I'm hearing "this stroke that" in conversation quite a bit here. Took me a minute to realize what it was.

I watched my first live English 'football' game today. It was a semi-final at a fairly low level, but I stood right on the sideline and enjoyed it. Pretty talented group of guys and the fans were certainly into it. I heard that the winner would be promoted up a division after winning, which is pretty cool.

English Comfort

Nice strong focus on work this week. I'm at a different work location, little further north. The word 'loo' was used a lot today (i.e. bathroom). Today felt a bit more classic English, when I shared my story about being near the Pentagon on 9/11, it received a bit of a "theres some classic American drama" look from the audience, so that was a learning experience. Don't be dramatic (or what can be perceived as dramatic).

I ordered an 'English breakfast' this morning. It came with baked beans, diced tomatoes, 1 sausage, 1 egg sunny side up, and bacon - and white toast. It was pretty good and more food than I expected. The bacon is more like what we'd call Canadian bacon, more like ham.

Word of the day, schedule is pronouced shed-you-uhl as opposed to sked-juhl.

At the pub tonight, I felt a more classic touch of English conversation, it seemed a little more 'roundabout' than direct. Its interesting that everyone knows that direct questions are being asked, but they seem to be asked in a very professional and tactful way. The answers sometimes come pretty direct, but the conversation stays tactful overall.

I'm finding it quite hard to NOT constantly compare to America, even in conversation. Its of course a learning experience that helps me understand when there's one person in any conversation that feels different, they tend to point out those differences. I'm worried that in the past I may have viewed that as 'not open to other perspectives' whereas I think it probably tends to come from a genuine desire to learn and share.

The learning continues...

Downton Abbey, Arundel Castle and Guildford

Downton Abbey, Highclere Castle

Today was special. I'm a fan of the show Downton Abbey so I've been excited to visit Highclere Castle, which is the castle used in the show. I've been watching Highclere's website and while tickets are soldout, there's a small note that says they give out daily tickets at 10am. So, I made sure I was early, got in line and was lucky enough to get a ticket!

Its such a beautiful castle. They don't allow photos inside so you'll have to trust me that it looks just like the show. Of course the rooms seem a little smaller in real life. I especially enjoyed the main stairs and strangely

I thought the upstairs hallway was very recognizable and fun. I heard they were filming season 5 as recently as this past weekend. I didnt realize that a family still lives in the castle and they stay in a nearby cottage while these kinds of events go on. I didn't see a kitchen or maids quarters, but everything else was there. Its such a nice 'small' castle, it feels manageable to walk around and know where things are.

Arundel Cathedral

After that fun and excitement, I drove about an hour to Arundel Castle. First I stopped in a pub, made some friends and watched some football. Then I walked into what I thought was the castle, but it was actually the cathedral, which was beautiful of course.

Downtown Arundel

Downtown Arundel is great! Lots of bookstores and antiques. The antiques were like nothing I had seen before in antique stores, lots of beautiful furniture ad paintings that just beckon to be owned.

Late afternoon, I drove about an hour to Guildford, found a public parking area and then walked around town. So many great shops in Guildford. I popped into a restaurant and met a guy from Dublin with his family. He told me all these hidden places that I've added to my list to visit.

Apparently I walked around town a little too much because I literally had no idea where I left my car. You can't really fake the emotion of panic, and I began to feel it when I realized my phone was at 18% battery and I had only a few clues to remember where I parked.

I literally ran to where I thought I had parked, but the car wasn't there. So then I tried to re-trace my steps, but they were just too far away and I was on foot as opposed to in the car. I tried one last effort and it didnt work, so I was just about to try plan b and just take a train home when a random guy was right in front of me. I asked if he could help and we had some fun trying to remember my clues and sure enough, he knew where I was parked! Amazing. I made it to the car with 11% battery and made it home quite safely.

added later: Looking back on this post, you better believe I'll be taking more time to help people find cars or keys or anything else they can't find. Its so comforting when people not only help, but truly stop what they're doing and happily take time to help. I have a feeling thats the 'culture' we're all dreaming of.

We might have a house!

Great day today. First, we enjoyed teasing each other at work about pronunciation of words. Garage still stands as my favorite, but aluminum is now a close second. Its pronounced "al-uh-meen-ee-um" or something to that effect, love it. Brits get quite a laugh when I say "premiere" ie prah-meer, I think its supposed to be prem-ee-ur.

I've been working with someone who has a deep Irish accent. As much as I love the British accent, there's something pretty amazing about the Irish accent.

At night, I was really lucky to get some great time with Euan Semple. He's another KM pro that I look up to. We had a coffee and then walked around London. We chatted about our work, the potential future of organizations and good ol London history. Such a great time.

Picked up my first dry cleaning today, £13 for one suit, ouch! Gas hasn't been as expensive as people thought. Food has been tremendously better than expected, but dry cleaning comes at a steep price!

Another little surprise that I don't think I've mentioned is that water is scalding hot here. Everywhere I go its easy to burn a finger or a tongue on hot water... guess I'll build up a tolerance because I had the best hot chocolate I've ever had today (Royal Festival Hall), even better than a freezing Friday night high school football game.

And yes, the big news of the day is that we might have a house! Its in negotiations now, but we selected one and let's hope it works out. It's been quite a process to get to this point, so its really exciting.

A resilient bunch

I'll have to be honest and say that today was a relatively difficult day. From the overall picture, all is well, but I think maybe we underestimated how hard it is to be away from family. And I found out that a friend is losing his job. And the "easy" challenge is that it's really difficult to find a place to live. 

I have no doubt we'll make it through all of these challenges, but today was a day to reflect upon them. Here's to the good days, and practicing resilience to stay closer and closer to good days - and of course just taking the positive perspective of how wonderful every day is.

On that note, it was a good day at work, got a chance to indirectly meet several senior leaders and I was impressed by their leadership styles.

Here Comes The Sun

I'm pretty sure my brain is full and I'm old, but somehow I make room. I learnt (yes, let's spell it the English way) about even more packages/passes today. I had already heard about English Heritage and National Trust, which apparently are joined by people as passionately as they follow sports teams. Today I was told about the "Merlin Pass" which is a great option for kids. So, not only are there about a billion things to do here, there are just under a billion package deals to help you save money. Don't forget the 'london pass', which no one has, and the odd deal at the London Eye where you can get a package for 4 things to visit. Oh, then throw in oystercard vs travelcard vs discount cards for trains/tubes, amazing.

Peppa Pig is a popular show here for young kids (on the tele, as they say). You'll have to check it out on YouTube. Its a family of pigs and I'm pretty sure the snorting they do is to keep the adults laughing.

Work stuff - there's a cool tool called 'harmon.ie', google it. I haven't even tried it yet, but the concept seems great, somewhat similar to xobni, I think.

I traveled to another work location today to learn about them and offer a touch of km expertise. I think it went well and I enjoyed it. Maybe I'll type up the framework/processes I've been sharing, although its in most of my recent articles anyway.

I was ready to purchase chelsea football tickets last week and I didnt do it, now I'm regretting it because there are only 3 games left and the only good game seems impossible to get into. I'd like to checkout professional rugby, cricket and even croquet too. Maybe I should buy tickets now.

Today was my first day driving to and from work without using google maps at all, I think thats a corner that has been turned. I can't stop thinking about what a fortunate opportunity this is, I'm anxious to pay it forward in every way possible.

The American's Tale (Canterbury)

I thought and I thought for where shall I visit
Twas the night of Easter, falling to sleep just a bit.
Tomorrow is a holiday! I will be brave and drive,
many places I enjoy, maybe 3 four or five...

Look at this, Canterbury, Leeds and Dover are all together,
surely one of the three must live in memory forever.
I drove and I drove, feeling better and better
the sun was so hot, my face was redder and redder.

I noticed the quiet as the morning shine bright
my tank cost only 39 pounds, not a fright.
A trick about weather I did learn overnight
15 is 60, 20 is 70, 25 is 80 and 30 is 90,
and you can probably skip St Augustine's abbey.

Leeds castle is not to be missed,
it was the first on my overnight list.
Such beauty, and classic castle with moat,
you can even paddle a boat.

Then over to Canterbury I trekked,
the town is all out decked,
you can eat, and shop, and see up high
their cathedral is the best you'll try!

For third on the journey was Dover quite fair,
growing up I thought white cliffs were in Delaware.
Ah, the majesty of the castle, so high and so steep
going up the steps is leap upon leap.

It is there that I tried my first English curry
which I'll be back to have in a hurry.
Delicious it was, much as the day was lovely,
such a country this is, peaceful and dove-ly.

Its all about the journey

It's hard to be away from the family on Easter. It's also hard to take a risk and move to another continent. I think today was a reminder for me that life is all about the journey. Take risks, move outside your comfort zone, realize that you have everything you need right where you are because you've been somewhere else, and smile as you learn. That smile is the exact piece that opens doors to help others. I think that might be what its all about, enjoying the journey and helping others do the same.

It was so unbelievably kind for a colleague to invite me into her home to spend Easter with her family. I drove over, which was my first time driving on the "motorway" (highway) in the UK. There were about a dozen folks and every one of them was so welcoming and kind. I sure hope I'm that welcoming and kind, I wonder what I can do to be even more like that.

We shared a great meal and great conversation. We played games and the children painted Easter Eggs (yup, paint vs dye).  They hid tiny little chocolate eggs all over the house and we each had 2 eggs to find in each room - good stuff.

Here's to enjoying the journey with great people!

Week 1 in review- top 9 highlights

Survived a week! I'm missing the family a lot, but it's amazing how much can be learned in one week. Off the top of my head, here are the highlights of the week:

- work! The people are great, culture is great, there's even a chance that we'll get to do some km. walking to the office the first time was surreal because I had heard about it for so many years, then I experienced it. And who knew I'd be drinking 3 cups of tea per day and making it for others 

- the whole area, London and suburbs, just love it all. Diversity downtown, high eq everywhere

- driving on the other side of the road. Still a thrill and still learning 

- been working with the UK for almost 3 years, but I'm much more comfortable with the accent now, I'm almost willing to give it a go myself. Dead giveaways are saying "while" vs "whilst" and "prOcess" vs "prahcess"

- the apartment itself and the nearby area are great. I actually helped someone else find something today. There's something interesting about knowing names of stores and what's in them. I thought "Santander" was a suntanning place when I first saw the name. It's a bank. There are a ton of banks, everywhere. 

- the train and the tube. I'm a pro already, even when half a train splits off or anything

- "city mapper" is the greatest app ever. Seriously wouldn't have survived without it

- small button for pee. Big button for poop. Very important

-if all else fails, just say "luv lay" or "brihl yunt", which I'm loving

Just fun

I walked around Kensington again today in the hopes of finally getting there when things are open. Sure enough, everything was open and I especially enjoyed the flower gardens. 

I stopped into a random place for lunch/dinner (zizzi). I started w a glass of red wine and thought it was great, it was montepulciano, abruzzo. Their tiramisu was probably second only to Italy itself, really good!

Few more English words today, lift=elevator, alight=walk/exit, nicked=stolen.

Repitition is Key

Its easy to forget that learning is done through repitition. I've been surprised by how scared I am to drive on the other side of the road. And of course, the more I dive in and do it, the more comfortable I get. I notice smaller and smaller details each time I drive and it gets easier to predict what might happen. Comparing this to work, I suppose I need to do a better job of helping people practice and repeat the km I'm trying to embed in orgs. 

London really has endless opportunities. I think it's usually pretty difficult to overwhelm me, but I'm definitely overwhelmed right now. There are so many things to do, you can even get overwhelmed by the number of discount cards and membership groups that are supposed to make it easy! Yesterday I heard about  "English heritage" and "national trust", which are discount packages for getting into many many churches/parks/castles/ etc. I think I might go w National Trust. 

Had a great lunch with a group of employees today. One poor chap had his garage broken into. In good British humuor he explained how they only took power tools and one black sleeve from his garage. The black sleeve had his sons kite in it. He thinks the "robber community" won't stop teasing that robber about how he stole a kite and it'll probably become his nickname - kite kid.

 The next story started really unfortunate, saying their neighbors dog died while that neighbor was on vacation. So they called them and said sorry your dog died, what can I do. The family asked to have it cremated but the person didn't have a car, so they put the dog in a suitcase and took it on the tube. A man on the tube could tell she was struggling w the heavy suitcase so he offered to help. After he realized how heavy it was he said "what's in the heavy suitcase". It was too embarrassing to admit, so she said "electronics". The man turned and ran away with the suitcase! Wow. Imagine how he'll feel when he looks inside.

English words of the day, the letter h is pronounced 'heych'. Z is zed. Diary = calendar. "Smart" is a very common word, it means something similar to "nice" and "kind" or even "professional", or of course it's also used sarcastically. Highway=motorway. I need to google this one, but apparently "a and e" or something like that is the hospital or ER. My fav English word is still garage, pronounced something like gare ihhj. "Cheers mate" is one I like a lot too. Hearing "please mind the gap" will never get old on the train too.

I enjoyed a great night at a Comedy club tonight. Too good to even remember the jokes. Great way to learn local culture.

Apparently you stand outside the bar when you drink in downtown London. I thought maybe it was too crowded inside  or the lines were long, but no, you just stand outside in groups.

This really is a city where the stars have aligned and it's almost magical. Cheers!

Hello chap

"chap" was the word of the day today, i also noticed the word "little", "bit" and "sorry" quite a bit. There was another moment of teasing America, again, pretty lighthearted, but it makes me wonder if America teases Britain this much? I had the opportunity to fly up to Warton, which is another work site. We had a one day workshop and it was a great learning opportunity. Outside the workshop, I was able to share a relatively long term KM vision and it received really nice kudos, so that was great. When we got back to the apartment, I couldn't decide between running over to London or driving practice. I ended up driving around, which still feels very strange, but I suppose I'm getting better and better. The central word that the book 'watching the english' uses to describe English culture is 'dis-ease'. I'm not sure I agree, but I can't come up with a better word yet. For now, I think its best described as high EQ. or maybe mature, or subtle or humble. I'll keep watching and thinking.

Beautiful Beginnings

Today was a day of beautiful beginnings. I took the 25 minute beautiful walk to work and was welcomed with open arms at the office. Almost everything was setup and ready at the office today, quite impressive! Sure, there are a few lingering items, but overall, today had a long list of successes. Funny, the joke is always, 'success is finding the bathroom on the first day', which actually is one thing that i didnt do. So many English things happened for one day too... I'm not a big fan of tea at home, but I drank 3 cups today, and loved every sip. It really does taste a lot different here. In fact, I learned how to make tea for others (the way they each prefer it) and I'm pretty sure they even liked it. I was jokingly fussed at for saying "parking lot" and told that will be the first of many words we'll need to "fix". its a "car park". ok, no problem. I thought I had studied the list of English words, but apparently not enough. They say 'lovely' and 'brilliant', a lot. More than we say awesome or cool.

Let me take a moment here, I'm not intending to pit countries or cultures against each other, hopefully its not coming across that way. I'm merely trying to share my personal learning moments in a bit of a vulnerable way in the hopes of helping others. I believe there's some value in 'thinking out loud', or what I like to practice at work in a similar fashion called 'working out loud' (as opposed to inadvertently creating silos and keeping comms flowing in small circles of people). i find the subtle differences in perspective to be fascinating and i'm trying to not think about 'how we're different', but more 'what have i learned/experienced'.

Ok, right, so, another somewhat common English thing seems to be that conversation goes on for a bit, THEN introductions are made. It feels slightly strange at first, but it actually kind of makes sense. Go with the flow of the conversation, then a quick introduction actually makes for a nice 'ah, so you're jane doe and i'll look forward to talking to you again later, jane'

I find most people say 'morning' as opposed to 'good morning', I think that was mentioned in 'watching the english' just like introductions. Something about the subtle nature of the culture...

Did you know that British keyboards are different? shift+3 is the pound sign, but shift+4 is still the dollar sign. the double quote is shift+2, the @ symbol is on the same key as the comma. fun.

Then I picked up my car, oh boy! My palms were sweating as I got in the right side of the car and into the driver seat. I pulled out on to a main road and just went for it - on the left side of the road. I made it to my first left turn where I gently bumped the curb, because really, who knows how far a car extends to the left side. Then I came to a pretty serious roundabout and I needed the most simple first left and of course I learned quickly that you yield to anyone on the right... well it was a bit of a sudden stop, but we survived. I made it to the house and the parking spot was tiny and its harder than you think to park when sitting on the right side of the car. Again though, success, nice!!

Finally, to top it all off, I had the honor to drink a pint with David Gurteen. In my humble opinion, he's in the 'top tier' of global km experts, I've been a fan for many many years. He went out of his way to pick me up, drive me around several small towns, explain history, even walk around a town called Farnham! If you know him and think he's good online, you should meet him in person! We had a great meal and shared stories half the night, then we even did some real time km where he was showing me some apps and i couldnt find them on the app store. he remembered something about each country having their own app store, so we looked it up and sure enough you have to change countries, which isnt easy, and still doesnt quite work for me. but we learned together and we'll get it.

The learning has begun and its such a privilege. Hope I'm helping you too...

Getting Started at Work

Tomorrow is the first day of work. I'm looking forward to it. I picked up a few gifts for the folks that worked so hard to make this possible. I feel nervous but prepared, I'd like to learn and deliver as much as possible in a short 6 month time period. I keep thinking of the old saying "treat others the way they want to be treated" (along with the other "treat others the way you want to be treated")

I'm working on two articles today and its beautiful outside. So I'm making lunch real quick so that I can get work done and get outside while its beautiful.

Apparently the London Marathon was today, I watched the last few minutes on tv (it was on as I turned on the tv for the first time). I'll be sure to keep up with local events much better now that I'm here. I hear Britain's Got Talent starts today at 2:40pm, so I'd like to catch that on tv.

Tomorrow will be my first day driving on the other side of the road, wish me luck, I think there will be a lot of perspective to share after that!

Downtown whirlwind

I jumped on the train and headed downtown for the first time ever today! I thought I had researched all the train ticket options, so I felt prepared, but it was a little different when I got there. I wanted a "one month travelcard" which is supposed to be unlimited travel on trains, tube, buses, etc. Well it turns out you need a passport photo to get one of those. So I bought a one day travelcard which doesnt require a passport photo (was around 23 pounds because I chose all zones). I think I only needed zone 1, maybe zone 1 and 2.

On the train ride, and during the walk over (and throughout the day), I've noticed the f word is quite a common term. Interesting. I overheard a conversation where one line was "this isn't effing America, this isn't the set of Friends". hmm. It was said fairly lighthearted so I guess all is well and certainly the rest of the day/people were fantastic.

I started at Buckingham Palace, then walked down Victoria St. to Westminster Cathedral and Westminster Abbey. Then I went to Big Ben and Houses of Parliament. They were shooting a movie at Big Ben, so I got to watch a fight scene, that was cool.

I made my way up to Trafalgar Square and the London Eye. There were lots of great street performers around there that I enjoyed (dancing, magic, music, etc.) The fourth plinth is a blue rooster right now, if you're interested.

Then I went to Piccadilly, which is basically where all the top end shops are located. I walked in to a few, especially Hamley's for my daughters (toy store similar to FAO Schwartz). Then I went to Moshi Monsters headquarters for my daughter, but it was closed, not sure its even a place to visit.

I stopped for lunch and had a steak and ale pie - nice! but very very very hot, my tongue still hurts :) Oh, their apple crumb dessert was phenomenal (Garfinkels)

I walked over to the Tower Bridge and enjoyed the walk down the River Thames. At one point I overheard someone say "my phone is about to die, I might have to use my camera", which I found funny. I needed to re-charge my phone so I stopped in a Marriott to ask where any re-charging stations are, and it seemed like they had never heard of them? Maybe thats a small business to start in downtown London?

It was 8 or 9 hours of walking, so I'll rest up and see if I can do it again...

First day

I arrived safely in London, quite excited. After getting my bags, I had a driver there ready to pick me up. It was the first time I had the experience of someone holding a sign with my name on it to pick me up. The driver was hilarious, I do enjoy the British sense of humour. At one point we came to a barrier in the road with a phone next to it, he picked up the phone and talk to the person on the other end via speaker phone. We were simply trying to go 100 yards in front of us, but the person on the phone literally gave 10 steps of directions to get there. My driver pointed and said "lovely, but I can see the building ol chap, might I drive 10 paces forward". I've heard the word "lovely" a lot, and I've only heard "cheerio" once, it wasn't even "cheers".

So then the fun began. That awkward feeling of being in a completely different place and seeing everything from a new perspective. It took me close to 10 minutes to figure out how to lock a door. It may have been longer than 10 minutes. It's a combination of turning keys and pulling up and down on the handle. The real secret is when to pull up.

The sights and sounds are different than DC. The birds look a little different and they sound different too. At one point I could swear it was a young child moaning outside, but I'm pretty sure it was a bird. I sure hope it was.

Oh, the washing machine.First, I must admit that my wife is lovely and I rarely do the laundry. That said, I've done it plenty of times and have a pretty good idea of how those machines work. Well this particular machine has 3 slots in the top and a box of half used 'tablets'. I plan to toss in a tablet to one of the lucky slots and we'll see what happens. Maybe I'll buy a mop today.

My power converters are working perfectly. My laptop is a little fussy about less power, but its fine. Interesting to watch some websites send you alerts about "strange logins". Yahoo doesnt believe its me over here. I've put in a few confirmations now, so hopefully we're good. Google, linkedin and a few others challenged it too.

My bank gave me a cashiers check saying it would be the easiest and most cost effective way to get cash. Not true. I went to 3 banks and none of them want to deal with it. They all recommended a cash exchange, so I tried that and it didnt work either. I ended up using an ATM with a $5 charge and it worked perfectly. One of the banks said "this cash would be ready right about when you leave". I think that was humour, not sure.

In the news, I noticed France banned work-related email after 6pm. Did you see that there or is it because I'm in Europe?

Overall, its such a nice place, it feels great to walk around and the people have been very nice. I'm sure I sound funny and I have to admit that I'm beginning to practice/mumble a British accent to myself. I doubt I'll get brave enough to use it out loud, but its fun to practice.

Karma

A friend and I were talking about the UK trip and he mentioned his growing interest in photography. I offered for him to borrow my studio equipment while I'm on rotation and he was very excited. So I pulled all the equipment together, and while I was doing that, I found a long lost battery for my laptop! That battery is going to help a lot on the trip, so I thought that karma of sharing, and then finding something, was quite awesome. 

Here!

As we all stood around waiting to board our flight, a lady walked up to me somewhat flustered and said "is this a queue or have I line jumped"? I looked around and realized Americans tend to just stand wherever, it probably looks quite chaotic if you're used to seeing neat lines/queues. I told the lady she was fine and it seemed to work out.

It's called "Baggage reclaim" as opposed to vs "baggage claim" at the airport. Reclaim is probably more accurate.

My cell phone seems to work perfectly, nice!

Now I'm on an escalator, I wonder if you're supposed to stand on the right side or the left side? :) (and walk/move on the other side?) no one else seems to know either, people are doing both

Travel options

I'm studying the public transportation options around London. There's a tube, which I think is mostly underground. Then there's a national rail, and a bus system. It looks like you can pay per ride, which seems to be the most expensive way. Then there's an "Oyster" card, which seems to be like our MetroCard in DC. The Oyster card gives you a small discount and you fill it up with more money as necessary. Then, it gets tricky, there's a "travel card" that allows for unlimited rides in a certain time period. Apparently it goes on the Oyster card. I think I'll try a week or a month travel card and make sure I make enough trips to make it worth it, I think the cost in on the range of $300-400 per month.

Apps

I've downloaded 19 apps that look like they'll help while I'm in London. I'll let you know which ones actually get used...

1-Skype - for talking to people I know

2- aroundMe- for finding stuff physically near me like pubs, stores, etc

3-national rail - for rail info

4- xe currency - for currency translations

5- yell - for searching for things around me

6- TV guide - see what's on tv

7- what's app - for texting ppl I know

8- Instagram - for posting photos

9- kayak - for searching for flights

10- Facebook messenger- to Facebook message people

11- Barclays bikes - in case I rent bikes?

12- inclusive London - for learning about London

13- hailo- to get a taxi right away

14- tube map - shows live tube data

15- city mapper - really cool way to know how to get one exactly one place to exactly another place 

16- tube- just a map I think

17- tube map - this is just the map

18- sky mapper - like kayak

19- voucher spree - find local coupons and deals

Be there soon!

I was looking at my visa and I had a moment of panic, the "start date" looked ok as 1/4/14, but the "end date" looked very odd as 1/12/14, I thought "oh no did they mess up the date and the visa is no good? Then I remembered that they use day then month as opposed to month then day, phew. Nice gentle reminder of small differences that make a big difference.

One of our visas really did have a problem though, the biometric data wasn't accepted, so we had to do it again. 

I've been listening to the BBC and reading it online too. I heard about the sand from the Sahara Desert being in the air in London and actually covering the cars a little. Wow, that will be different too.

The rotation starts in less than 2 weeks, be there soon!