CHAPTER ONE:
Over the Country And Across The Sea, To The United Kingdom I Go
"When you said just a few seconds ago that we were moving to England, that was a joke, right?" I asked incredulously. I couldn't understand why my parents were doing this. They never were actually serious about moving, although they had dreams about moving to the Midwest once in a while. But England? In my whole thirteen years, I had only moved once, from Milpitas to Pleasanton, California. That was like, 30 miles. Not 6,000!
"We're serious about this, Conrad. I know it seems really crazy to move to a whole different country, but this is just an opportunity that we can't miss," my mom tried to explain.
"That's not fair! What about all my friends?" Tina shrieked. Tina was fifteen years old and was close friends with just about everybody in her grade.
"No! We can't move to the UK. (A) It would cost like, ten million dollars to transport everything. (2) The food there is disgusting. They have something called like, "Steak and Liver Pie. Gross!" I continued counting off reasons why England was not a good place to move.
A few minutes later, "(X) England has totally crappy weather. They don't have a sky, only clouds. Summer would feel like late fall and winter fills the whole country with snow." At this, Tina squealed. She loved the snow. "(25) How will I even understand the language?"
My mom sighed. "The English speak English Conrad." Tina looked at me like I was insane.
"Well, duh, but I speak American. And they have severe accents, so it would be difficult for me to communicate with anyone else."
I knew there was no way whatsoever that my mom and dad would follow through with this supposed move to England. After all, they were always fantasizing about selling the house and moving to Iowa. Why should this be any different?
Four months later...
I had trouble breathing when I heard the overhead speakers of SFO airport call "Final boarding call for flight 211 to London." How could I be moving to England? Things were just moving way too fast. Five months ago if I asked my mother how she would like to move to England she would have been horrified at the thought of leaving the great United States. I handed my ticket to the young Asian looking lady at the booth in front of the "doorway to doom." In other words, the doorway that led to the jumbo jet that was to leave me stranded in a foreign country for who knows how long. The ticket lady ripped the ticked in half and returned the remaining half to me, which had my seat number on it.
"Have a nice flight-" she looked at the ticked, "Conrad Pott." She mispronounced 'Conrad' as 'ConeRED.'
"Yeah right," I mumbled back.
I saw Tina look glumly at her ticket and give it to the lady who was now right behind him.
"Cheer up, kids," my dad said. "It's not everyday you get to see a whole new country."
I realized my dad was right. This would be my first time ever leaving the country! I decided to look at the move to England in a new light. But I was still scared of the though of leaving the country.
Over the Country And Across The Sea, To The United Kingdom I Go
"When you said just a few seconds ago that we were moving to England, that was a joke, right?" I asked incredulously. I couldn't understand why my parents were doing this. They never were actually serious about moving, although they had dreams about moving to the Midwest once in a while. But England? In my whole thirteen years, I had only moved once, from Milpitas to Pleasanton, California. That was like, 30 miles. Not 6,000!
"We're serious about this, Conrad. I know it seems really crazy to move to a whole different country, but this is just an opportunity that we can't miss," my mom tried to explain.
"That's not fair! What about all my friends?" Tina shrieked. Tina was fifteen years old and was close friends with just about everybody in her grade.
"No! We can't move to the UK. (A) It would cost like, ten million dollars to transport everything. (2) The food there is disgusting. They have something called like, "Steak and Liver Pie. Gross!" I continued counting off reasons why England was not a good place to move.
A few minutes later, "(X) England has totally crappy weather. They don't have a sky, only clouds. Summer would feel like late fall and winter fills the whole country with snow." At this, Tina squealed. She loved the snow. "(25) How will I even understand the language?"
My mom sighed. "The English speak English Conrad." Tina looked at me like I was insane.
"Well, duh, but I speak American. And they have severe accents, so it would be difficult for me to communicate with anyone else."
I knew there was no way whatsoever that my mom and dad would follow through with this supposed move to England. After all, they were always fantasizing about selling the house and moving to Iowa. Why should this be any different?
Four months later...
I had trouble breathing when I heard the overhead speakers of SFO airport call "Final boarding call for flight 211 to London." How could I be moving to England? Things were just moving way too fast. Five months ago if I asked my mother how she would like to move to England she would have been horrified at the thought of leaving the great United States. I handed my ticket to the young Asian looking lady at the booth in front of the "doorway to doom." In other words, the doorway that led to the jumbo jet that was to leave me stranded in a foreign country for who knows how long. The ticket lady ripped the ticked in half and returned the remaining half to me, which had my seat number on it.
"Have a nice flight-" she looked at the ticked, "Conrad Pott." She mispronounced 'Conrad' as 'ConeRED.'
"Yeah right," I mumbled back.
I saw Tina look glumly at her ticket and give it to the lady who was now right behind him.
"Cheer up, kids," my dad said. "It's not everyday you get to see a whole new country."
I realized my dad was right. This would be my first time ever leaving the country! I decided to look at the move to England in a new light. But I was still scared of the though of leaving the country.