Exploring Thursdays

Don't worry, this is not a blog post about the historical significance of Thursdays but more about how Beth and I are trying to get out and discover new things once a week.

In my first four months in America I lived based on the NFL schedule. Sunday, Monday and Thursday if there was a game on then I would be in front of a TV either in the Blomberg basement or a local bar. Now, with the NFL season all but over other things have to take up my time. 

Remember 2012

Great weekend

Last weekend was pretty special, with lots of fun things and two additions to the family.

As the penultimate Grand Prix of 2012 was in Texas I was able to watch both morning practice and qualifying on Saturday morning while talking to my parents who are in New Zealand. Then after lunch Beth and I drove north-west to Dinosaur Ridge which is located in the foot hills outside Denver.

Denver Film Festival

Before I arrived in Denver, one of my Mother-in-law’s church friends suggested that I get involved in the Denver film festival during my stay in the States. When I got out here this friend put me in touch with the volunteer manager for the festival Charles Powell and between the two of us we narrowed down my options.

I was excited to be a part of a film festival, even if its scope was not that major, it has now been around for thirty five years. It gave me a rare chance to put my degree to some vague use and also to get out of my basement for an extended period of time.

A holiday in a holiday

The title for this post makes me think of inception. When I arrived in America Beth wanted to book a little get away for the two of us. For me this trip to America feels a little like an extended vacation mixed with learning so this trip seemed like taking a vacation within a vacation.

Anyway with a lack of sporting events last weekend due to the NHL lockout we decided to go to a ski town in north Colorado called Steamboat Springs. The downside of this decision was that it was about three hours drive away but it was heading through the mountains so it was to be an attractive drive.

Choosing our church

So we arrived in Denver with no church to go to. This needed rectifying. Fortunately Beth waited until I arrived so that we could make the decision together. So over five Sundays we tried four different churches. Two of these were Methodist, one was Presbyterian and one was Anglican. So, all were my non-happy-clappy style of worship.

The first five weeks

It has been over a month since I arrived in Denver. I’ve really enjoyed myself so far. I also haven’t had time to get home sick yet and have slipped into a routine. I get to spend Saturday through Monday with Beth doing fun things (granted most of Sunday is dedicated to sports and church) and then work on various websites and learn new things in the mornings for the rest of the week. Tuesday’s I go to the gym around midday for three hours. I cycle there and back (the cycle back, almost all up hill is rather hard going). Wednesday and Thursday I take a break to watch a movie or play games and then get back to websites late afternoon, then Friday I aim to go on a hike or cycle ride with someone local where possible.

Arriving in America, customs

After months of preparation I was ready to get going. On Saturday 8^th September my parents drove me to Heathrow airport’s wonderful terminal 5. We checked in, which didn’t take long and then had lunch. It later took me just two minutes to get through airport security. This is what an airport terminal should be like. I got through security 80 minutes before my flight. Eventually I was on the flight after watching some wheelchair rugby on TV.

Going to America, final preparations

August saw us enter our final month in England for the time being. I celebrated my birthday early by watching Dark Knight Rises on the Science Museum iMax in July and therefore didn’t do a lot to celebrate the day. The following weekend, however, we had most of our friends and English family to our bungalow for karting and a barbeque, both of these were fantastic and I think served well to send us off.

Eight months in America, how it came about

After four years in Canterbury we saw summer 2012 as a potential time to make a change. We had loved being in Canterbury, it is a fantastic city, but we weren’t sure it was the place for us to settle. We decided to look around in February 2012. I started looking into moving to Sussex, a place we had identified to settle and Beth looked into finishing her masters at Denver Seminary.