Triggers

Hello,

I haven't written on UK Yankee for awhile...but hope you won't mind I just add to this list. I just moved to the UK in April 2003 and now am feeling kind of blue.

What triggers my homesickness?

Anything by Billy Joel or Garth Brooks...or smells like coppertone suntan lotion that reminds me of my childhood (at the beach)

Crickets in the evening and Locusts in the morning.

Smells of a BBQ, charcol grills, sandy beaches...(a week ago my mom sent me a bottle of Kraft BBQ sauce...)

And sometimes I find myself missing the sound of an american voice...  
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Carol

I haven't been on UK Yankee for awhile. I just recently moved to the UK in April and have been finding it hard to adjust...but I do find myself homesick...

when I hear any song on the radio...

the 90 degee weather...how I miss beaches on Long Island and the smell of coppertone suntan lotion.

I miss the hustle and bustle of the city (and I thought I would never miss that!)

and when I hear an american voice is when I am homesick the most...

Carol

the one thing i really miss the most and would set me crying is hearing good old american rock and roll and none of this dance stuff....another thing is seeing pics of my mini shcnauzer (who is still in america with my aunt till we get a place of our own).........major tear jerker that is knowing my puppy (4 years old) has missed seeing my daughter grow so much.

I think music always does it.  For years I've said that 'Build me up Buttercup' was my favorite song to hear, but you know, I heard it the other day shopping, and started feeling really low-I realized that it always makes me feel really low.  
Another thing for me is time of year.  The end of August is particularly difficult.  It makes me think of our County fair and seeing all my friends and hearing gossip and eating great food-perogies and meatball hoagies and funnel cake.  Every year I get this and I think it lasts right through til Halloween.  

Perogies are soooooo yummy!        At least that is something we can make here and enjoy.  Forgotten about them though, so thanks!    How long have you been here and which part of the states are you from?  

Sorry that your worst time of year is now. I have always liked this time of year since I moved from AZ, wasn't used to the seaons changing like it does here or the other states I have lived in. I guess it is what makes you feel comfortable...like cinnamon/apple candles and the smell of a campfire in the woods.  

I do hope your time goes really fast between now and Halloween and that it gets easier with each passing year. Big hugs to you  

I have a hard time this year too, Mindy.  Our county fair was last week back home and I get really down hearing about everyone back home going to the little parade and my little niece being in the pagent.  Funnel cakes and polish sausages are big parts of happy memories of this time of year for me!  (And I love and miss peirogies too!) Just the heat and the feeling of fun right before all the kids get back to school.  Oh how I miss it all!!!  :-/

Personally, all of Autumn is tough for me.  Maybe it's the anticipation of Thanksgiving or the Holidays that makes me feel especially homesick.  And I know that it'll be dark in the evenings when I get home which really bums me out.  I keep trying to get people to come visit me this time of year, but no luck yet!

Hang in there Mindy...can't last forever, right!?  

Perogies are soooooo yummy!           At least that is something we can make here and enjoy.  Forgotten about them though, so thanks!     How long have you been here and which part of the states are you

Wow, Miss Maggie!  Do you have a recipe for perogies?  Are they hard to make?  Can you post it in the food section?  I'm really hungry for them now. lol
I'm from Pennsylvania, I've been here 14 years but I still miss the fall colors.  I don't know why but I have the most difficulty with this time of year-more than holidays, and I love spring here because it comes about two months earlier than  at home.  It has gotten easier, especially wiht the internet-I always use fall foliage pictures as my wallpaper and get my fix on web-cams.  

I have a hard time this year too, Mindy.  Our county fair was last week back home and I get really down hearing about everyone back home going to the little parade and my little niece being in the pagent.  Funnel cakes and polish sausages are big parts of happy memories of this time of year for me!  (And I love and miss peirogies too!) Just the heat and the feeling of fun right before all the kids get back to school.  Oh how I miss it all!!!  

Thanks Wishstar!  It's not often that someone understands about missing the fair.    All that good food, all my old friends.  My mom and my sisters still go, and then tell me about it which just makes me miss it more.  

Thunder reminds me of home - i miss *real* weather!!!

and these cool autumn days which strike fear in my MN heart until i realize all i'm in for is a neverending slew of dark, dull, and chilly rainy days...  and probably being locked out of the house would *not* spell death by deep freeze.  i miss *real* weather!!!

that and pictures of my nieces that i get in the mail sometimes.  

Hi there--I thought I'd add my two cents (or pence!)to the topic of triggers for missing home. Going to the cinema and watching American films definitely makes me feel a little homesick but also quite warm and fuzzy to have the familiarity of the actors, locations, etc.

Reading the Metro on the Tube every morning can also trigger homesickness when I read about events in the States. For example, I was in the UK during Sept. 11, and that was probably one of the worst times in my UK experience, as it really hit home that I was away from my family and had to read about everything that was going on "at home" but not be able to get there because airports were shut down, etc. I bought the papers  everyday and went through a lot of emotional stress of wanting to be home with family but thankfully my partner was very nurturing and sensitive, as were his family.

I have to be honest though--I have taken to watching American sitcoms that I would never have watched at home, but that remind me of home. For example,  Paramount Comedy plays American sitcoms all the time, and of course, Sex and the City is a must-see for me because it reminds me of home, seeing NY, etc. *blush*

Anyway, a lot of the  triggers for missing home are also things that have made me appreciate things in the States that maybe I didn't realise were such a big deal in my life until I left. On the other hand though, when I am in the USA there are things that trigger missing England as well.

Whew, well I've ranted long enough.   Thanks for listening!

Hi AmeriBrit!  (Welcome to the site!)  

I can really relate to a lot of what you said.  I was here for Sept. 11, too, and it was so hard not being able to hear Peter Jennings and news people I knew.  For some reason, I was desperate to have an American voice telling me about what was happening.  (We got Fox news shortly after and it really helped....now I've gone the other way and can't stand to watch it most of the time, but that's a rant for another thread!)  

Anyway, I tend to watch a lot of American shows here too...just because they are American and they remind me of home.  And every now and then, I see an obviously American  commercial (there's a Diet Coke one on currently) and those really get me for some reason.

Other advertisements that make me homesick are in my copy of O magazine every month.  I can manage putting American products out of my mind for the most part but then I open that magazine and ads for Nature Valley Granola Bars and Crystal Lite just get me missing home so much sometimes!  Guess that's the point tho....

Funny how a lot of things we miss are food related!!

I miss Twizzlers- those strawberry flavored licorice treats and I could kill for  Buttermilk Ranch Dressing!! My mom has sent me these things in surprise packages and they just made my day.

I missed (American Style)pancakes for awhile until I found Bisquick here.  Then I started missing Mrs Butterworths Maple syrup!!

Like a few have mentioned I love watching american tv shows-- just to hear the accent!  I watch things I probably wouldn't watch if I were home just because they are american.

I miss family mostly- when I see two or three women who favor each other and are obviously moms and daughters out for a shopping trip or lunching casually- like its NO BIG DEAL- I almost can't stand it- I'd just love to phone my mom up and plan to meet for lunch- that one kills me  :'(

sorry to end on a sad note!!  hey I dont miss mosquitoes the size of Chevy suburbans- so that's a good thing!!

mary

Mary, I will gladly send over the mosquitoes!!  Are you sure you don't want them?