The Jetlag still sucks...but England doesnt.

Wow. So I haven't even been here a week and I'm already obsessed! I'm out in the countryside staying with my Dad's cousins, Richard and Marion, who are absolutely adorable! They've been so hospitable and have taken me around much of the countryside thus far and their house is gorgeous! The shower has jets blasting you from all directions and I kinda wish I was a guy because a lot of the bathrooms here have urinals on the ground, they look like mini toilets. Kinda weird. Richard and Marion used to live in Houston, TX for three years and it certainly rubbed off on Richard, he's absolutely HILARIOUS. He wears a button up plaid shirt, jeans with a big belt buckle and cowboy boots...I wish I would have brought my boots because that would have made for a great picture! To top it off, I was sitting in my room reading the other afternoon and next thing you know I hear Toby Keith being blasted from the next room over. He reminds me a lot of my dad with the way he talks and acts, it's pretty funny. They took me down to this beautiful seaside town 10 minutes away a couple days ago which was fun to walk around. All of the villages look the same and they're so adorable it literally makes me sick to my stomach, I seriously can't handle it.
Yesterday we went over to Salsbury to visit my dad's other cousin, Martin and his wife Maggie who are a hoot. Maybe I think everyone is hilarious over here because of their accents, I don't know, but they have such a great sense of humor. Plus, they all laugh at my jokes, which is a good thing. Although, I have to say i'm holding back a bit...I'm not sure they'd understand my "that's what she said" jokes, which is killing me because the opportunities are endless, especially with all of their funny words. Salsbury is gorgeous (I need to start finding some more adjectives for that because obviously i'm finding everything to be beautiful here...) and we walked around for a bit. It's a nice place to shop but unfortunately the only store I went into was the pharmacy to get some plasters (bandaids) for my blisters :-( We visited the cathedral, which is located in the heart of the city and is surrounded by a large circular gated area of historic "houses" (I think they're mansions) that closes at night. After walking around a bit more we returned home for a spot of tea (as usual), wii and then dinner. The drive through the countryside still scares the crap out of me. In the last post I mentioned how narrow the roads were...well that was in the city. The countryside is a whole other story. I'm not even kidding you one lane in the states is TWO lanes in the country. Down all the roads they have very tall shrubbery lining the streets so you can't see around the corner or over the side and its not like they go slow!! They zoom around the bends as if theyre the only car for miles, yet, they manage to not get into car accidents. We "survived" the drive back to the house and ended up playing some wii after tea. If you ever need a good laugh, try playing wii with a room full of Brits. SO FUNNY! I had gone upstairs to take a quick nap and I suddenly hear, [read in British accent] "Go on, take a good whack at it!" coming from downstairs...wii tennis, of course. I'm ashamed to say that Maggie was actually better than me but I guess she gets a lot of practice. After dinner, they showed me a lot of old pictures that they've kept from when my dad was young...its so funny to see him without gray hair (sorry dad, its true!). Richard and Marion had whole scrapbooks of them and I got to see my grandad and GREATgrandad from when he was he was back in the war. It's crazy to hear stories and see pictures of family that date back that far.
It's finally raining today so we may go tour this historic house (more like a mansion, once again....they call them houses but they look more like castles to me)...I think it used to be occupied by royalty at one point? Not sure... anyway, tomorrow i'm playing in some badminton tournament, which I used to play with my dad all the time so i'm hoping to dominate :-) we'll see. And then friday is some holiday so I think we're going into town to partake in whatever festivities they have. It's been a nice, relaxing week thus far...nothing too ridiculous but i'm saving all that for when my chappy mates arrive later this week...that's when the real mayhem starts! I may or may not come back with a British accent (if I come back!!) it's just too fun. Anyway, i've got to finish up my tea here and get ready to go out for a drive. 'Till next time!

-V