I get by with a little help from my friends..

Good evening all my lovelies. I know I haven't written for a better part of a week, and that is not a habit I plan to get into! There have been some busy moments as well as some times of reflection. I thought I would honor the latter and come back to this.

One of the things that was on my mind as we showed up for Dan and Gemma's birthday night, was the power of friendship. 

When you move to another place, friendships are a struggle for awhile. Now, I can make friends with the wall if I really wanted to. I have always had this ability to talk to whomever I want and pretty much gauge their persona instantly, thus making sure they feel well in my company. If you are a close friend of mine, my guess is you would say the same. One of the traits about myself that I hoped would carry me through the harder times moving here is the ability to make friends easily. If I am totally honest with you, I am only just getting to a point where some people feel like friends. The best way to explain this is to talk a little bit about what each island has brought to me in this respect. 

 For all you Bristolians and beyond, here's a glimpse for ya into what makes me me.

MDI is where I have grown up. Anyone of us who has can say we easily know the majority of people on the street. We know our neighbors and probably their parents and their parents parents. You are taught very young (or at least in our household), to treat everyone like family. If someone needs a helping hand, we are there. I wouldn't think twice of doing the right thing, even if it meant that it inconvenienced me or caused me sacrifice. Once this summer, someone here who had visited Boston asked me if the kindness and politeness there was "put on" or if it was natural. I had a good giggle and told her that it was natural. It is our New England Charm! We islanders definitely aren't angels. We party hard and work harder in a community that tries its best to get most of the economy from three months out of year, four if we are lucky. Every store on our island with the exception of some of our petrol stations (petrol=gas for you Americans) and two Subways, are independently owned. A family I probably know owns it. There is a good chance I could walk into a few of those stores and if I didn't have enough cash on me, they would either set something aside for me or trust my word that I would be back to pay for it. Most of us grew up never knowing what it was like to lock a door. And did my mom leave the car running while she ran inside "real quick" to get something at the store and leave my brother and I inside? Absolutely.I have known all my friends since forever. Most people I know are real genuine. They are loud, have a thick accent and are rough around the edges with good hearts. I think its the sea salt that does it. 

I could continue to tell you a ton more about my storybook island right now, but I am now going to stop so you can soak that in for a minute.  :)

As for this fine island, let me tell you a little about it deah!

I now live in Bristol. It is full of architecture art and diversity. I am lucky  if  I happen to see the same person twice, but the people watching here is fantastic! There are street performers of every race and style. There are interesting food stalls with colorful feisty food. Pubs are the great and full of ales and beers and cider. There are festivals of many kinds and they seem to be tradition, much like some of our traditions on MDI. The music scene here is unbeatable, although that is a post entirely of its own. This city is full of life! As far as the culture is concerned, its hard to pinpoint anything specific because it depends on where you are from. There is going to also be an entirely different accent the next post code over, so if any of you are under the impression that everyone here sounds like Hugh Grant or the Queen, you are far from wrong! I am forbidden from attempting any sort of accent because just as I think I have got it, there is someone (mainly my husband), to remind me I sound in fact like Eliza Doolittle. In my work space alone I have one person pronouncing their t's with great emphasis, while another will avoid the t in a word all together. This is just the accent! As far as the mannerisms go, that is an art to master. You may think you know English humor in America, but I guarantee you do not. They are sly masterminds with masterpieces of wit rolling off their tongues effortlessly. You have to be quick. Quick with a come back. Making fun of one another, or banter as they say, is the sure way to make a friend here. But its not like we do it in Maine. There is a thread of vocabulary that seems to fall out of their mouths that I am only just getting myself into. Sarcasm rules evvvverything here, it is ingrained in their DNA. It has taken the past solid year to grow accustomed to telling the difference in intentions over here. I have never met such complex people as the English. You do your best never to let on how you truly feel about anything, that is not something that happens here. You are quite surprised to know anything personal about anyone. Most bonding here happens over general talk and knowledge as a result,so for someone such as myself, this has proven a challenge. I am such a perceptive person, that I usually will end up talking about something personal anyway. I also think that is because as Americans we do this, as well as being an Islander. Like I said, knowing everyone all their life has done this to me! 

I have a small but perfect group of people here whom I can say are becoming those kinds of friends to me. The kind of people I hope to remain friends with long into our adult life. Friends with children, friends to watch gigs with and friends to bake cupcakes with. Some of these friends supported me through the process of returning to Maine to obtain my visa. They would skype with me or send me messages and make sure I was doing ok while I waited. The few that did that only knew me about 3 months beforehand. Once you make a true connection here, you make it for life. That is the English way. A lot like the Mainer way. Hmm.