My apologies once again for the lack of posts. Not only have we been moving around a lot until just recently, we still don’t have proper WiFi in our new flat. So, I’m once again going to take a big jump ahead in our timeline and will start with our Highs and Lows of 2023 and then pick up our story in January 2024...
Hard to believe that we’ve lived in Europe for 18 years as of November 22, 2023. Once again, the four of us weren’t together then, but were reunited for Christmas, this time in Glasgow, and have decided to change the timescale of our annual highs/lows to the calendar year instead. Usually we make our list while enjoying a meal at a restaurant, but we reflected on 2023 after our Christmas dinner at Ashlynn’s flat before heading to a family gathering with her Scottish boyfriend. As usual, here are our lows first:
- Saying goodbye to Kati and the Netherlands
- Climate change
- Train strikes
- UK visa stress and cost for all four of us
- Israel/Palestine Conflict
- T*%@p running for dictator
- COVID disrupting Melissa’s 60th birthday celebration
- Broken down ferry transporting us to Scotland from Ireland
- Missing Jimmy and Chloe’s wedding in Jacksonville
- Attacked by millions of flying ants on hike in Ireland
- Jimmy: disappointment in Port XL Program; disastrous DJ set at Imperial College starting too early for dancing; winge-y City H3 hashers whining about how he lays trail
- Melissa: tough adjusting from a Dutch village of 25,000 to the insanity of London; living in a dollhouse for 1.5 months; everything’s just a little bit harder in London; deafening noise in the Tube; having to step down as Religious Advisor for the FILTH; missing BMPH3 Christmas Party Weekend
- Veronica: having to leave Penryn; unfulfilling master’s degree and emotional rollercoaster of doing a second master’s dissertation; long distance relationship with Brett and the realization that being apart could last for years; flat tire and difficulty finding vegan food in California; constant sewage alerts in the sea; stress house hunting in Exeter; difficult conversations about the future; experiencing US Black Friday
- Ashlynn: Missing Iris, the dog; dream hospitality job shut down; academic strike causing long delay in getting grades; breaking up with James; missing Sophie; not exercising good work/life balance; marine biology imposter syndrome; no chance to scuba dive
- Jimmy/Melissa; moving chaos; living out of suitcases; Victorian plumbing; saying farewell to the FILTH Hash
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