A Year On, My Thoughts

Hello everyone,

Last month Jon and I celebrated a full year of me being in the US. Here we are in November, 13 months after my arrival, and I thought I would share some thoughts with you all.

Having been here for just over a year now, I have a lot more of a deeper perspective on what it means to live here, and indeed survive here. I'm going to just go through a bunch of things that come into my mind, in no particular order, but things I feel are relevant to me.

Healthcare has been the number one point of contention for me so far. When I first arrived here Jon had pre-bought a temporary policy for me, since I would need continuous cover, and the open enrollment for the Maryland Health Exchange not open yet and I would only be able to get full coverage from January. Dealing with the exchange presented its own challenges. Not only were they difficult to get through to, but the policies aren't the best in the world either. I made several posts about that earlier in the year. A lot of people asked why I couldn't go in Jon's insurance, especially with marriage being law on a federal level now. Well, that still wasn't possible, because the SCOTUS decision only dealt with the federal government. Jon's company is based in Georgia, and the insurance they use is Georgia based, too. Georgia was not a full equality state. Of course, back in the summer this year, the SCOTUS heard the case, and subsequently made it legal, for equal marriage to go ahead in all 50 states. With that, it meant full benefits were now offered across the board, not just federally. Jon was finally able to add me to his insurance, but it took several months. Not only that, I had hassle cancelling my existing policy, and at one point my old and new ones were over lapping, when they shouldn't have been. On top of all that, I do have several medical issues, and with the way things work here, even with the best policy you can still pay through the nose for the care you receive - and you have to deal with insurance companies who never seem to get anything right. With all that said, healthcare here, when you can afford it, is exceptionally good. I genuinely feel like the doctors and specialists here have tried to help me, and I really appreciate that. Regular GP appointments here can easily take an hour, which is astounding, especially from my perspective when at home you would be in and out in under ten minutes. Overall, neither system is perfect - I wish the US had more of a balance between both.

This might sound like an odd thing, but my accent also causes me problems here. I refuse to change how I speak for anyone. It's not like I am speaking with a thick Russian accent or some weird dialect nobody has ever heard of. It is part of who I am. I think that I generally speak clearly and concisely (ok, if not a little quietly sometimes though), but nobody can understand what the heck I am talking about! It's gotten to the point of ridiculous, where now I refuse to speak on the phone because no one can ever get my name right, even when I spell it out!

Doors. Just don't even get me started on the doors! I don't know why this one thing still plagues me after 13 months here, but I'll never understand why a store can't just have doors that go both ways. The amount of times on weekly basis I find myself walking into an exit that won't open is astounding. Mind boggling.

Although I obviously have Jon, and we do have some friends, I have found the move across the ocean quite hard on my ability to meet people and integrate. I will fully admit that I have never been the most outgoing person. In fact when I was younger I was deathly shy, but I feel I have overcome that a lot, and as I have gotten older I have become a lot more open about my life and who I am. I am still a very private person, but I have definitely made progress. Leaving virtually everything and everyone I have ever known behind on another continent has been a huge blow to my confidence in the social area. While I don't want to sound like I have no life, or try to gain any sympathy, I do feel somewhat isolated here at times. Maryland isn't the most exciting place in the world, and the few friends we do have in this country aren't in Maryland - some aren't even on the same coast. So that is difficult for me. I have tried to think of ways to get myself out more, but I lack a lot of motivation and I don't really know where to begin, if I'm honest. I'll find something, I am going to work on that, but I have definitely found the friendship aspect hard so far.

I wanted to make this post more about me than my observations of the political situation here, but ultimately that affects me too, and I am a highly political person. Religion in this country is out of control. Or, at least, the right wing Christians are out of control. On an almost daily basis I see and hear things that makes me wonder what is wrong with the world we live in. Why are people getting themselves in fierce rages over coffee cups? Soup commercials? Magazine covers? People in this country need to take a step back, look at their own lives and realise that they don't have it bad at all. Nobody is forcing them to believe something else. No one is coming for their Bible or their guns. They need to chill out and just stop. It drives me crazy, and it worries me on a personal level because you just never know if your neighbor or someone around you will turn out to be some right wing religious crazy person who will start condemning you to hell.

Speaking of guns, that is the one other thing that bothers me a huge amount. Again, on an almost daily basis I hear stories of yet another shooting. A lot of them are accidental too, and for the simple reason that people are morons. Leaving your two year old alone with a loaded weapon on the dashboard of your car is a disgusting thing to do, no matter which way you look at it. It's nothing short of child abuse on so many levels, but for some reason, the right wing crazies seem to think that more guns and less gun control is the answer. How many more innocent people have to die under that policy?

Some other minor things. Mail here is ridiculously slow. Cable and phone bills are extortionate. People who say "could care less" drive me crazy because that is not what they are trying to say at all! The lack of public transport - and the surprising resistance towards it - is detrimental to the environment and to people's lives.

On a more positive side, I will fully admit that generally speaking (though, like anywhere, there can be exceptions), customer service here is excellent. I always feel welcomed into stores and restaurants, and that the people working there want to help. It's nice to be able to have a good rapport with the people in the supermarket that you visit often, or be able to banter with the guy at the comic book store. And like I said above, healthcare, when you can afford it, is exceptionally good (though insurance companies need to get their acts together!).

Finally, despite the fact we went through a grueling immigration process, which took over a year to complete, we are still not done with that. We were married less than three years upon my date of entry into the US (as I imagine many couples are when they go through this too, actually), and therefore I was made a conditional resident. In June next year we have to file a petition that can take up to 8 months, to remove the conditions of my residence. Yes, another 8 months of our lives stressing and worrying, and not being able to travel overseas again (at least I'm already in the US this time, as opposed to the situation when immigrating). At this point I am not sure exactly what will take them 8 months. There is nothing they could possibly need to know about me that they don't already know. It's just another infuriating event in our immigration story timeline that we have to deal with. Of course, by the time that is all said and done and I have full permanent residence, just a couple of months later I'll be allowed to file for citizenship! Perhaps in about 3 years' time we will finally be done with all of this, but for now we have to persevere.

We are now hurtling towards my second Christmas here, and I feel lucky and privileged to be able to share these thoughts with you all. Despite the stresses and worries of insurance and medical care, religious crazies and gun nuts, and further immigration proceedings, Jon and I are still here, still together, and always ready to stand up for who we are, no matter what.

One of my favourite quotes, and one which I had a friend read at our wedding, feels relevant today, for me at least. I'll leave you with it.

“If you hear the dogs, keep going. If you see the torches in the woods, keep going. If there's shouting after you, keep going. Don't ever stop. Keep going. If you want a taste of freedom, keep going.”

 ~ Harriet Tubman

Dan.

September Updates

Hello everyone!

I wanted to share with you today some of my political observations that I have made recently on my Facebook page. I keep forgetting that I created this blog for this very reason! Today I thought about the blog and so I thought I'd share some of my recent commentary here. For simplicity's sake I am going to omit any links or photos that I may mention in these posts, so that they don't cause me any editing issues. I'll just copy the text here.

1. On Capital Punishment, Healthcare and that Boy with the Clock...

"There are so many things I want to rage about today, I just don't even know where to begin.I could begin with how Richard Glossip, a man in Oklahoma, is being executed this afternoon for a crime he didn't commit. Apparently there is NO physical evidence linking him to the scene, only the word of the other suspect! What the hell?! Anyone could say, "It wasn't me! He did it!" And of course, the way to show the world that murder is wrong, is of course apparently allowing the state to murder a citizen in return. Go figure.
Then I saw something else about Kentucky, but not about the bigoted clerk this time. This time to do with insurance and how a man who wants to be the next governor wants to backtrack on the (proven) ACA success there, and make Kentuckians pay extortionate fees to robbing insurance companies again. And of course everyone is like, "Well if they are responsible adults they should get their own insurance". Yes, because everyone has the money for extortionate health care costs in this country, and if you can't afford it, TOO BAD. Yes, let's all be a bunch of heartless morons and not care if someone needs medical attention. If they don't have the money, clearly it's their own fault and they deserve to suffer.
And then do not even get me STARTED on the 14 year old boy from Texas who got arrested at school because his teacher claimed the kid had brought a bomb into school, when in fact it was an ALARM CLOCK he had made, and was proud of. This is a young man who loves engineering and wants to be an inventor. But guess what? He has a dark skin tone and an "Islamic" sounding name, Ahmed Mohamed, so of course it was a bomb. If it had been a white kid named Josh, nobody would have batted an eye."Then I saw something else about Kentucky, but not about the bigoted clerk this time. This time to do with insurance and how a man who wants to be the next governor wants to backtrack on the (proven) ACA success there, and make Kentuckians pay extortionate fees to robbing insurance companies again. And of course everyone is like, "Well if they are responsible adults they should get their own insurance". Yes, because everyone has the money for extortionate health care costs in this country, and if you can't afford it, TOO BAD. Yes, let's all be a bunch of heartless morons and not care if someone needs medical attention. If they don't have the money, clearly it's their own fault and they deserve to suffer.And then do not even get me STARTED on the 14 year old boy from Texas who got arrested at school because his teacher claimed the kid had brought a bomb into school, when in fact it was an ALARM CLOCK he had made, and was proud of. This is a young man who loves engineering and wants to be an inventor. But guess what? He has a dark skin tone and an "Islamic" sounding name, Ahmed Mohamed, so of course it was a bomb. If it had been a white kid named Josh, nobody would have batted an eye."Then I saw something else about Kentucky, but not about the bigoted clerk this time. This time to do with insurance and how a man who wants to be the next governor wants to backtrack on the (proven) ACA success there, and make Kentuckians pay extortionate fees to robbing insurance companies again. And of course everyone is like, "Well if they are responsible adults they should get their own insurance". Yes, because everyone has the money for extortionate health care costs in this country, and if you can't afford it, TOO BAD. Yes, let's all be a bunch of heartless morons and not care if someone needs medical attention. If they don't have the money, clearly it's their own fault and they deserve to suffer.And then do not even get me STARTED on the 14 year old boy from Texas who got arrested at school because his teacher claimed the kid had brought a bomb into school, when in fact it was an ALARM CLOCK he had made, and was proud of. This is a young man who loves engineering and wants to be an inventor. But guess what? He has a dark skin tone and an "Islamic" sounding name, Ahmed Mohamed, so of course it was a bomb. If it had been a white kid named Josh, nobody would have batted an eye."Then I saw something else about Kentucky, but not about the bigoted clerk this time. This time to do with insurance and how a man who wants to be the next governor wants to backtrack on the (proven) ACA success there, and make Kentuckians pay extortionate fees to robbing insurance companies again. And of course everyone is like, "Well if they are responsible adults they should get their own insurance". Yes, because everyone has the money for extortionate health care costs in this country, and if you can't afford it, TOO BAD. Yes, let's all be a bunch of heartless morons and not care if someone needs medical attention. If they don't have the money, clearly it's their own fault and they deserve to suffer.And then do not even get me STARTED on the 14 year old boy from Texas who got arrested at school because his teacher claimed the kid had brought a bomb into school, when in fact it was an ALARM CLOCK he had made, and was proud of. This is a young man who loves engineering and wants to be an inventor. But guess what? He has a dark skin tone and an "Islamic" sounding name, Ahmed Mohamed, so of course it was a bomb. If it had been a white kid named Josh, nobody would have batted an eye."

2. On that Bigoted Woman from Kentucky

"So the Kim Davis saga goes on and on, and while I'm tired of hearing about it when there are many other huge issues happening in the world, I had to share this quote from George Takei."The First Amendment has two clauses that are relevant here. One is the Establishment Clause, and the other is the Prohibition Clause. Congress may not prohibit free worship, and that is what so many claim, wrongly, is being violated. But it is also not empowered to establish any religion, nor to enact any laws favoring one religion over the other. Permitting a state employee to foist her religion upon others, denying them a fundamental right as articulated by the U.S. Supreme Court in Obergefell, would be to give government, through this agent, the power to impose religious doctrine and viewpoint. That it cannot do. Ms. Davis is in effect establishing religion by using her governmental powers to impose her religious views."And for those who don't understand still, let's throw in a quote from one of the authors of the Declaration of Independence, Founding Father and 3rd President, Thomas Jefferson:"[T]heir legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church and State."

3. On the Refugee Crisis in Europe, and Around the World

"We have been all so caught up with the petty minds of the right wing who think their religious freedoms are being trampled upon for having to follow federal law, that we forget that outside of this bubble filled with money, fast cars, apartments, organic groceries and fashionable clothes, there is a dark and horrific world that others are trying to escape, only to be turned away, and treated like criminals. The images below are just what I found on Google of Syria recently, but if you were living like this, wouldn't you also be trying to escape, not just for a better life, but FOR your life? That human beings in this world are being forced to live in these tragic conditions is heartbreaking, and as a race, as a community, we need to do something to help them all. I don't care if you're worried that your taxes might go up by a measly couple of dollars for government aid, we have a responsibility to treat these people with compassion and respect. So while civil rights at home are important, let's not forget that while we're sitting here worried about one bigot's religious piety, there are people in this world who are desperate for real help."

4. On the Importance of Planned Parenthood

"I'm posting on FB, so it must be rant time! I have seen a lot of people posting about the apparent horrors of Planned Parenthood and abortion. Let's be clear on a few things here.First of all, all of these videos in question are heavily edited, and sometimes the owners of the voices of the people in them are not seen.Second, people are apparently outraged at the selling of baby body parts. I keep seeing posts about "genocide" and murder". These fetuses have not been born yet. Most states in this country have an abortion term limit that is less (in some cases much less) than 25 weeks. At 25 weeks, for example, an unborn baby does not yet have lungs and taste buds are still developing. Nobody is murdering anyone. This unborn baby cannot yet sustain its own life. These body parts that are being sold, are sent to research companies. People aren't walking into a store and picking up two baby legs for lunch. Get a grip.
Third, to be saying that these women are whores and need to keep their legs closed, or use birth control, is outrageous and simply not acceptable. Rape happens. Mistakes happen. Yet I constantly - and I MEAN constantly - see idiots saying women should keep their legs closed. Perhaps men need to stop forcing themselves on women. And perhaps we should have some compassion for unplanned events in someone's life.
Fourth, everyone who is outraged at the government funding of Planned Parenthood needs to get a reality check and look at the facts. I will provide links to factual sources in the comments below, but PP was granted approximately $528.4 million by the Federal government in 2014. According to the IRS, there were 144,928,472 Federal Tax returns filed in 2012. Simple calculations tell me that is a single tax payer cost of $3.65 for a year, to help other human beings in need. If you are freaking out because your $4 is going to help someone in desperate need of help, then you have serious issues and I cannot be friends with you.
Finally, it goes without saying that I should not even have to mention all of this. Ultimately, a woman should have the right to choose what happens with her own body. End of story. So everyone please shut the hell up, and if you don't like it, get off my page. Thanks.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Dan.

June Updates

Hello everyone,

I realise it’s been awhile since I updated this blog, for which I apologise. It actually has not gone unthought of in recent weeks though. I have wanted to post things here, but of course, as always, life gets in the way. Jon and I travel a lot which doesn’t do much for having time to blog, and then of course I don’t always feel in the mood when I do have time. Anyway, here we are.

It is now June and I have been in the United States for just over eight months now. I feel more settled than I did when I wrote about my feelings a awhile back, but there are still things that bug me sometimes.

One of the biggest problems for me right now is feeling a little disconnected from everything. I still don’t really feel as though the town where we live is my “forever home”. Last night I was having a conversation with Jon about where we really want to be living, and honestly, there was no real definite answer from either of us. I’m thirty now, and Jon is forty-one, and while we aren’t old, we are getting to the point in our lives where I personally think we should be considering where we want to be and where we want to settle permanently. I don’t mean moving out of the US again; heck it took enough to get me here. But do we really belong here, in Maryland? The United States is so vast, and so diverse, it’s pretty daunting to ponder.

Some of our thoughts were the West Coast, in particular California. With that comes innumerable problems, including drought, earthquakes and it being significantly further away from family and friends. On the plus side, they have the good weather and Disneyland - one of our favourite places - is right there. Oregon and Washington are pretty and offer a more laid back lifestyle, and Jon said he loves Seattle, but they are even further away from anywhere else, and the weather in those northern regions is colder than my ideal climate. We don’t really want to live anywhere in the Midwest. I’d be bored senseless without the coastline attractions and the ease of access to other places (ok, I know there are roads and airports, but living in the middle of no where Nebraska or Wyoming doesn’t really appeal as much as northern California, for example). Then we come to the East Coast. Boston and New England are very pretty and are well connected to the other major East Coast cities, but the winters can be harsh. The Carolinas and Georgia don’t really appeal to us, but then we come to Florida. The Sunshine State. Walt Disney World and many other attractions close by, the weather. Sounds perfect for us, right? Well, when the weather is close to 40C in July and August and the humidity is over 80 or 90%, it doesn’t sound so appealing. Mix into that hurricane season and the potential for flooding due to global warming, and we are back at square one.

So, with few natural disasters, and the not-quite-so extremes in weather, and being close to many places on the East Coast (including DC, Philly, Hershey, New York and Baltimore, to name but a few), Maryland seems to be the logical place to stay. We wouldn’t need to move far; we’re already here. But does that mean we want to live here? That’s the million dollar question. And we go around in circles looking at the options all over again.

Moving to another country was hard, but only because bureaucracy made it hard. Finding somewhere to live forever, where we’ll be happy, that’s much harder.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Dan.

A New Year, A New Dawn

Hello everyone,

I know I haven’t posted here in a long time, and I apologise for that. I have finally began to feel like I am part of the “life” here, and I am more settled now than I was when I first arrived.

It’s so hard to describe to people what it is like to go through what we did. Arriving here after all the setbacks we faced made it feel like this huge temporary honeymoon period, almost like I was in some bubble that was going to burst

For a while I would have dreams at night that I had to leave again, or that Jon and I once again had to live apart from one another. I used to wake up in the night panicking, only to realise that I am here to stay. Coming to the realisation that this new situation you’re in is a permanent one takes some getting used to. Sometimes I take a step back and think, “Wow, I’m actually here to stay. I have a green card!” It can hit you at the most random times, like walking up the steps to the apartment complex with groceries, because “this is what you do now”.

Through everything I have faced, leaving my family and friends behind has been the hardest. Some days it’s easy just to pretend that that part of me doesn’t exist any more, just to cover the emotion that I feel. Other times I feel like a horrible person for not being more communicative. You wonder if your friendships will drift apart. What will it be like when you see one-another again? I worry about my mum and my nan. I worry about what will happen as they get older and I’m not there. I do try to keep in contact with people, but sometimes I don’t always have a lot to say. Life is just “life”. Sometimes I feel like my family expect me to constantly message them, keeping them up to date with my every waking moment, when in fact I have nothing to say. I then feel bad that I am being rude, but what more can I do?

I also worry about actually living here, and how that will affect my life. Health care here is still a massive headache, and we had to jump through all sorts of wacky hoops to get me adequate health insurance, not once, but three times! It’s a long story, but it really is more than I wanted to deal with.

I haven’t yet got my Maryland driving license. This again is a huge headache, and I have been putting it off, wanting to not have to deal with it, but Jon’s car insurance is up for renewal, and I now find myself in a situation where I have to go through the endless bureaucracy to get a Maryland license. I’m not looking forward to that one.

The weather here is significantly different compared to living in the south east UK. The temperatures in the winter so far have been ridiculously low, and we have had a lot more snow than I am accustomed to (which where I’m from was quite rare). Snow doesn’t hold very good memories for me, and I have no desire to ever see another snowflake ever again. Not to mention the up and down temperatures and air pressure here drives my sinuses crazy.

There are many occasions where I still feel like an outsider too. You wouldn’t believe it would be so difficult to get used to the dates here, but my brain still can’t decipher it most days. If I’m filling out a form, you can bet I’ll write it wrong and confuse the person I’m dealing with. Talking on the phone is a nightmare. Nobody can ever understand what I’m saying. You’d think I was speaking with a thick, rare dialect. I might have a British accent, but I don’t speak that differently, right?! Fahrenheit still baffles me. I don’t think I’ll ever be convert to that one. How freezing can be anything but zero is not even worth trying to understand. Gallons versus litres, same thing.

I know all these things may seem trivial, but when you’re having a bad day, and you’re not feeling your best, and you have to talk to someone on the phone at an insurance company who requires your birth date for the millionth time, you feel like you just want to strangle them. Having to repeat loudly several times your birthday, making sure you get it the “correct” way around and that they can hear you… Give me strength.

Then we come to today, when you find out one of your closest friends has a life threatening illness, and you can do nothing because you are so far away. I don’t think any amount of words in a text message can be of any comfort. I wish I could be there in person, even just to sit there and be there.

Weather, health, bureaucracy and family emotions aside, nearly every day I have moments where I realise that this is where I wanted to be. This is where Jon and I wanted to be. This is everything we fought hard for. Nothing can break our determination to be together, because no matter what, love always wins, and I absolutely believe that. When you’re sitting in your pyjamas watching some silly program on the TV together, you realise that this is your everything. This is what it was meant to be about.

Nearly nine years ago I made a decision to change my life after having a horrific year. I went to Canada to find myself, and in the process, I found Jon too. Nine year later we are married, living together and looking forward to our future together. Never give up hope that your dreams can come true too. As James Dean once said;

“Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today.”

Dan.

Congratulations to Scotland on Passing Marriage Equality!

Hello everyone,

Although it was inevitable, this evening the Scottish parliament passed equal marriage in Scotland, 105 to 18!

Although the United Kingdom has Civil Partnerships which afford practically the same rights as marriage (and has done for many years now), full marriage equality is a devolved issue, meaning that it is up to the UK constituent countries to pass its own laws on. England and Wales passed their own equal marriage legislation earlier this year, which is due to come into effect in March. This means the only region of the UK that will not have full marriage equality will be Northern Ireland, although they continue to have Civil Partnerships though, as that is UK law.

All in all, very good news!

Dan.

Disney's 'Good Luck Charlie' Lesbian Couple

EDIT 30/1//14: After I had posted this blog, I had realised that perhaps I wasn't entirely accurate with my assumption that no gay character had ever featured in Disney media, so I took it down. After a few days of debating this issue with myself, I decided I should just go ahead and repost this anyway, as it's still relevant, even if not 100% accurate. The point of the gay characters featuring on the Disney Channel is still significant. One last thing, the edit in the entry below was an edit made right after I posted the article, and therefore is part of the "original" article, before I took it down.

Hello everyone,

Last night the Disney Channel in the US aired the latest episode of their popular show, 'Good Luck Charlie'.

The episode broke new ground for the network, which is primarily aimed at children, as the show featured the first openly gay couple ever to feature in a Disney Channel production.

Being the big Disney fan that I am, I was trying to think about whether this actually extended past the Disney Channel, to all Disney media. I can't think of another openly gay character to ever appear in a Disney animated feature, live action feature or otherwise. I am mainly talking about Disney branded productions here, so we can exclude their more adult orientated brands such as Miramax or Touchstone.

It's a huge step for children's entertainment, and I'm sure the more conservative parents, and organisations such as American Family Association and One Million Moms, will be attempting some sort of boycott of Disney now, but you know what? Who cares?! It's a very welcomed move from Disney, and I really hope that more and more family programming sees gay characters appear in them.

I for one say bring it on! Children need to know that love is love, regardless of what form it takes. To some children watching that show last night, they would already identify with having two parents of the same sex, and I'm certain that there were some who sat there who were moved by the fact that their family group had finally been recognised. They were no longer "different", they were on a TV show on the Disney Channel.

EDIT: I realised that Modern Family on ABC has a regular gay couple, but again, maybe this doesn't count as regular Disney programming, or even family viewing, as some themes can be more adult (for Modern Family I'd say it's more a guidance/discretion thing than actually being adult, as it rarely offends). The basis of the argument for Good Luck Charlie's big news is more to do with the fact it is on a children's channel, and is considered part of the mainstream children's and family viewing.

Just my thoughts. Please, please leave your comments below. I'd love to know all your views!

Dan.

Freedom, and an American London

Hello everyone,

Despite the fact I will be moving to the US to be with Jon, and despite my love for many American things (as I've mentioned several times on this blog), I will never forget my routes and ties with Britain.
Being British is as much a part of me as being American will be.
Having said that, anyone that knows me knows that I am all for dismantling the man made borders of our world; allowing freedom of movement to enable people to live the lives they want to, with the people they want to.
It's not just about love, but about the general principle of freedom.

Sadly though, my ideal of a free and utopian world are far from being realised - but I can dream, right?
Although, thankfully the European Union does embrace this ideal to some extent, and with the freedom of movement granted to all European Citizens, we now have a 27-country zone where we can work, play and live freely. It's a step towards my ideal for sure!

Anyway, seeing as soon I will not only be British and European, but American, thus bringing me one step closer to this "world wide freedom", I thought I would share some pictures with you from my adventures in London with Jon since we have known each other.
In particular, I wanted to point out some very American influences that can be found in London, to show that even with borders and immigration regulations, interests, hobbies, tastes and latest crazes are without borders, and represent the diverse world in which we live.
Brits love American things, and Americans love British things.

So, here's a tour of some of London's most famous landmarks, along with some American influences along the way. There might even be some pictures of Jon and I thrown in, too!

In case you didn't read it already, I made a similar post about the US the other day, which includes lots of photos from my adventures across the US with some very British influences.

Let's start with... M&Ms! An American brand, but one the Brits love. Just don't ask for the peanut butter ones!
Leicester Square in the West End has a huge M&Ms Store, and it is one of my favourite places to visit when ever I'm in the city.
They really made a decent effort with the store. It incorporates some very British icons with those famous American chocolate shells!


Of course, Disney is massive in Europe, as it is world over, and no trip to London would be complete without visiting its numerous Disney Stores. Here's Jon and I at the Covent Garden one, which again (like M&Ms) has some very British influences.
  Peter Pan is Jon's favourite character, and London has many Peter Pan related gems. For those who don't know, James Barrie was Scottish, but wrote Peter Pan from his home in Kensington, just across from the famous Kensington Gardens. There is now a plaque on his former house, and a very famous statue of Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens which was a gift from Barrie himself.

 
Peter Pan has been adapted for stage and screen many times, but maybe one of its most famous incarnations is Walt Disney's Peter Pan - of course American.

Barrie was a supporter of Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, and left the rights to his works with the hospital, earning them a profit for their good work, forever more. There is a statue of Peter Pan at the hospital, too.
  The hippie movement was just as big in London as it was in San Francisco back in the day. Anyone who knows me well, knows that I am somewhat a hippie at heart. Peace and love, all.
 
Kensington Palace was the home of Diana, Princess of Wales, who was much loved world over - in particular by Americans. The statue in front of Kensington Palace is of King William III, who was also said to have provided the stylistic inspiration for Barrie's villain, Captain Hook. I'll let you decide for yourself...
  Here's Jon and I being goofy at the Westminister London Underground station!

 
Coca-Cola is another massive American brand that has strong British ties. Anyone who is a Brit reading this will know exactly what I mean when I saw "it's not Christmas until you've seen the advert!"... If a company has the power to influence a different nations view of Christmas, that alone makes is free of the confines of the artificial borders we create.
  For the last American influence I'm going to post, it's a picture of a plaque that marks the London home of Benjamin Franklin - one of the United States' founding fathers, having helped draft the Declaration of Independence. His father was British.
  I'll finish up this blog with some pictures of various London landmarks and famous sights, that do not necessarily have an American story to them.

The Tower of London.
  City Hall.
  Various Royal Guards.
  Pall Mall - leading up to Buckingham Palace.
  Jon and I at the Victoria Memorial in front of the palace.

 
 Buckingham Palace and the memorial.
  Tower Bridge (not to be confused with London Bridge! A common mistake by tourists!)
  The London Eye.
  St. Paul's Cathedral.
  Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.
  Part of the Animals in War Memorial.
  The Palace of Westminster, AKA the Houses of Parliament.
  Trafalgar Square.
  Jelly Babies!
  And finally... The Union Flag, more commonly known as the Union Jack!
 
Dan.

Happy Independence Day!

Hello everyone,

Of course today is the major American patriotic holiday of the year - Independence Day (4th July).

I may not be American yet, and despite having never celebrated this holiday (I've never even been in the US visiting when it's the 4th), it is inevitable that in view of my current situation, at some time in the not too distant future I will probably be celebrating the 4th July as an American!

Jon and I have had lots of adventures across the US since we have known each other, so I thought I would share some of those with you here.
(I of course had adventures in the US prior to knowing Jon, but the point of this blog is about my immigration to the US having met Jon, so pictures of my travels with him are decidedly more appropriate!)

Oddly enough, Jon and I don't tend to get pictures together very often, so most of my pictures below are of me that Jon has taken.
If I'm not in them, then I took them.

Here goes!

The first time I ever went to Washington, D.C, it was gay pride! How convenient! I couldn't write a 4th July post on my gay immigration blog, and not have some gay pride pictures!




I also got to visit the White House, and many of the other famous monuments around the capital city.







We've been back to DC many times since. My favourite time of year is Christmas, with the National Christmas Tree, and all the smaller States trees.
Here's a selection of pictures from my various other adventures in DC over the years.








A rare one of Jon and I together, taken by our good friend Louise.
  
We have also visited New York City several times.



We have visited Philadelphia, PA a couple of times.



My all-American tour wouldn't be complete without some of the country's famous theme parks, including Hershey Chocolate World and Busch Gardens Williamsburg.


Then of course there's Disney and Universal. Jon and I visit these parks frequently, and I have literally tens of thousands of pictures. Disney is our life. So instead of re-posting all those here, visit our own Disney website, and take a look at everything Disney (and Universal) we've ever done!

We have also visited Williamsburg, VA and Jamestown, VA to visit Pocahontas's origins.



A random fact for you... I actually live just down the road from the 'sister' statue to the one below, depicting Pocahontas. The one below is of course at Jamestowne, VA.
The statue where I live sadly marks the place she is buried.

 

We have visited to Great Falls, VA.



Luray Caverns, VA is another cool place.



The National Air and Space Museum in VA is neat.


We've seen the bright lights of Hollywood!



We've been to a Renaissance Faire in Maryland.



The MD city of Baltimore, and the MD State Capital Annapolis are nice. Annapolis has old world charm.



We've been to the Civil War battlegrounds in Gettysburg, PA (admittedly not the most heart stopping thing we've ever done, and not somewhere I'd rush back to!).


San Diego is a beautiful city, and somewhere I want to go back to when I get the time.



We have been on many more adventures of course, too numerous to count really. But I thought that those depicted above, summed up our highlights of the last 5 years.
You may have noticed a running theme, that where possible, I tried to include little nods to British things.

Anyway, have a great weekend everyone! Enjoy the holiday and summer fun!

Dan.