I think if anyone is going to move to a foreign country from the United States, England is a pretty easy option. They speak English--generally a much more interesting version of English. I think for the most part things went quite smoothly. I feel pretty well sorted and feel like I now comfortably live in England.
That said, there are a number of things that have caused me to retool my MO. One of those things that I've had to adjust to is my refrigerator.
I rented a flat without a fridge--obviously I liked the flat much more than its lack of fridge. This was surprising in and of itself, but I bought a used one that seems to work quite well. (I only kick it every once in a while when I think it is humming a bit too robustly.)
The only issue is size. It fits under the counter. With a freezer the size of a shoebox.
Transitioning from having a full size American refrigerator all to myself to this miniature fridge has been a bit of an adjustment. The bigger transition has been to this freezer. No more Costco trips (let's be honest I don't have a car anyway) and I suppose frequent walks to the store do get me out of my house when I'm in writing mode.
I like diet coke. That hasn't changed--much to my mom's chagrin. And I like it cold.
Ice is a difficult thing in this country, rather an almost impossible thing. When I order a drink and they ask me if I want ice, I say, "Yes, please....five times more ice than you think anyone might ever want." And I end up with 5 ice cubes at the bottom of my glass. Not worth it. And there is not a whole lot of room in the fridge.
Despite this, I like COLD diet coke. It is kind of chilly in my cupboard and it's not too bad straight from the cupboard, but i like it COLD. Not enough room in my freezer for ice cube trays and though they do have handy ice cube bags, I have yet to figure out how to get a proper amount of ice cubes out of any ice cube bag without frostbite. So I stick a can of diet coke in the freezer from time to time.
And if you are someone who sticks cans in freezers on a regular basis, inevitably at some point you will forget and leave the house. And invariably that can will explode.
Well this time it was canS--plural. Two, to be exact.
I mistakenly thought for a moment that it might be less of a mess since my freezer is so tiny. Alas, no such luck. The freezer door was frozen shut. I had to pry it open. With a knife. Meanwhile a variety of odd questions skip through my head: What happens if you stab freon? Does anything really still have freon? What happens when I stab my hand and blood spurts everywhere and I pass out? Do I even know the emergency number if I don't pass out? Thankfully, none of these option came to fruition and the finally door opened.
The frozen diet coke made its way into every possible crevice. Every possible crevice. And every single item that was in that freezer was now solidly frozen together.
&...so the cleaning began.
Have I learned my lesson?
