Making the change

     There are so many things that are the same here and so many things that are different.  We love watching all that goes on around us. 
     We have moved into a small home in the Kirkstall area of Leeds.  We live near a 12th century abbey called Kirkstall Abbey.  There are marvelous ruins that are surrounded by a lovely park along the River Aire.  Our house is on a hill that has a view of the river valley.  Our upstairs bedroom window faces east and on clear days we get a spectacular sunrise.  Our house is attached to another house,  (we would call it a duplex), which is very common here.  The interior is small and neat.  We do have to dance around each other a little in the small areas like the kitchen and ...well, everywhere else.
     One thing that has been challenging is driving.  Largely because the driver is on the right side of the car instead of the left and we all drive on the opposite side of the road.  We have a Vauxhall Meriva.  It is a small deisel vehicle that seems sip fuel in an acceptable manner for around 8 bucks a gallon.  We, however, buy it in liters which confuses us enough to help us forget how much we are paying.  At any rate, we still enjoy driving around seeing this beautiful country. 
     We work pretty hard every day from 9 to 5.  Lorraine is the secretary to the mission president and the spark plug for the mission.  I am the financial secretary and see that the missionaries get there living allowances and that rent and utilities get paid.  It has been exciting working with the utility companies to keep things going for 54 flats.  It is fun to try to talk things through with our different accents.  I am trying to learn to use phrases and terms that make it easier for them to understand me.