So...what exactly is going on here?

My financial support is raised in Pounds Sterling (GBP).
Sterling is currently the third-largest reserve currency, after the US dollar and the euro. The pound sterling is the fourth-most-traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the US dollar, the euro, and the Japanese yen.

However currently...This is not good. When I arrived in California a year ago 1GBP = 2USD. It's like getting a sudden pay cut for no reason whatsoever!

So...my new best friend

As I have mentioned before, my host family are incredible. Not just "ok" or simply "nice" but incredible. They are some of my favoUrite people in the world. Amongst other things, they gave me a new best friend for Christmas...
Imagine all the caffeinated memories we will share - Starbucks you have my heart (not least because of the Barista who was more than happy to transfer the balance from my 6 other gifts cards onto my new Gold Card - so many of you know me so well)

So...to clarify

In England we spell things a little differently.

We enjoy using the vowel "U" - especially when we wish to honoUr our favoUrite coloUr
We enjoy moving letters around - especially when requesting a seat in the centRe of the theatRe
We enjoy spelling words in nonsensical ways - especially when buying new tYres for our cars.
We distrust the letter "Z" and much prefer "S" - especially when we wish to criticiSe or analySe

While looking up other fun language facts i discovered this one:

carburettor

carburetor

British pronunciation IPA: /ˌkɑːbəˈɹɛtə(ɹ)/; US IPA: /ˈkɑɹbəˌɹeɪtɚ/.

So pleased to have cleared that up?!?!?!?

We no longer use the vowel "E" unnecessarily at the end of words. You can no longer buy things from an "oldE englishE shopPE" unless the shop in question is themed for this very purpose.

...and as a side note to Susan Jones - I thank you for your efforts to highlight the different spellings of our languages on your site, however, British people may pay for items with a cheQUe but they would never deposit it in a banQUe! That one remains banK - perhaps you got carried away.

So...it's official

After a week of conversations, faxes and emails to and from people in contact with the Congressman's Office we found out today that officially...(drum roll)...my visa application is...(wait for it)..."pending"! It is advisable that I do not leave the country at this time.

So basically, in a nutshell, after 7 months there has been no change. So I get to spend Christmas, and the foreseeable future, in California. Which isn't all bad - I mean, it takes a few moments but I can get used to looking at decorated palm trees and wearing sandals in December. It 's even raining today so very much like England!

So...this is Christmas

For those that don't know, I have the best host family in world. They recently asked me to write a Christmas list which is something I have never done before. I don't even know where to begin. Is there some kind of list etiquette that I don't know about? Can I put things like this on it? How specific does it need to be?

While I think on this for a while here's someone else's Christmas list that I enjoyed...My favoUrite part is "a panda bear that was just born yesterday"!!

so...roasting chesnuts on an open fire...

Is there any other Christmas tradition more underused than this!! For "The 3" (event for Junior High Students) next week we want to roast chestnuts on an open fire. Having no idea how this is done I naturally looked to the fount of all knowledge - google. It looks pretty easy, cutting a cross on each seems important to "avoid exploding chestnuts". I wonder how we'll get on?