Parallel Universe...

It is. Moving to America is like moving into a parallel universe. What I mean by that, is that everything is essentially the same, but just a little bit different. There are obvious things that anyone can pick out such as driving on the other side of the car on the other side of the road. There is the English language that isn't quite the English language (don't even get me started on trying to order a glass of water). But there are other subtle differences too.

A big difference out here is that you have to drive practically EVERYWHERE. It was a step too far for me, so one of the reasons that I chose Laguna Beach was that I could walk to shops, restaurants and supermarkets without having to take my car. I could have chosen to live on some grand complex with gyms and swimming pools but I chose a small one-bed condo instead. No frills. In-fact, I had moved to the other side of the world and found a place that felt the most like home (by home I mean my life in England). Instead of a downstairs flat I have an upstairs one. Instead of a shared garden I have my own deck area (I would call it a balcony but apparently it's not), and instead of the Thames I have the Pacific Ocean.

And everything is BIGGER out here. A narrow freeway (motorway) has 5 lanes. In each direction. I think the most I have experienced where two were joining was 8 lanes of traffic all going in the same direction. Craziness! The landscape is bigger. There are no sweeping hills in the distance, they are mountains. Everything is so spread out you can see for miles and the difference in climate means that the clouds in the sky are always high which makes it seem huge.

The biggest parallel universe thing for me though is the supermarkets. I experienced this in South Africa also. Sure, there are some regional and cultural specialities, but essentially they all sell the same things - fruit, vegetables, meats, dairy, bread, pasta etc etc, but it is all different. It is packaged differently, it is displayed differently, there is a water spray for fresh fruit & veg and the order of the aisles are all mixed up to what I am used to which can be very disconcerting - but still it is the place you go to to buy your groceries so essentially it is the same but just that little bit different.

Even when you think you have found something the same, it isn't quite right. Don't be fooled by names like 'English Breakfast Tea'. The stuff you get out here is just not proper. Nutella also. They sell it here and I was excited, until I tasted it that was. I tried explaining (or complaining) to natives who didn't believe me until I had the Bestie over to visit and brought the proper stuff with her for a taste test (I only shared precisely what was necessary for the comparison and ate the rest myself with a spoon). And chocolate. It's still chocolate out here but it is different.

But different is not always a bad thing. In the UK, you talk about Asian cuisine and you are going for a good Indian curry - I love it and the UK does it best (India excluded). Out here Asian cuisine is Vietnamese, Japanese, Chinese, Korean and Thai - and it rocks also! If I ate nothing else for the rest of my life I would be happy. So in both my parallel realities I love Asian food - that is the same, it is just that little bit different.