More Train Stories
A few weeks ago my train to Liverpool was cancelled so I was in the station for an hour waiting for the next one. While waiting, a pigeon decided to land right in front of me and stare at me while I was eating my crisps. I put my crisps away because… ✨creepy.✨ Before I left the US, my cousin’s sweet daughter told me that she has a love for fat pigeons. This one, I noticed, was particularly fat so I decided to get out my phone and take a quick video of it. I was sending it to my cousin and explained how creepy the pigeon was when suddenly a maintenance dude came out of nowhere scaring the bird. It flew right into face. I screamed in front of the maintenance man and about a dozen other people…
In the short amount of time that I have been here, the amount of awkward or embarrassing situations I have experienced by simply being an American in the UK has left me with zero to little shame. Screaming at flying pigeons, saying “Ree-bena” instead of “Ri-bee-na,” asking directions (constantly), calling trousers pants (ALL the time), asking how much the co-pay would be while making at appointment with the GP, only knowing what “GP” means because of Doc Martin. Oh man, the list could go on for ages. After a certain point I just started to accept it and own it. Laughing at myself has proved to be such a healing form of self love.
On an entirely different note- I have had an absolute blast in Liverpool with my fam during winter break. A couple days before Christmas, a group of farmers got together and organised a charity parade with their tractors, decorated in festive lights. We stood there watching 80 tractors pass by in the cold night air and cheered on the farmers who raised thousands of pounds for the local children’s hospital.
On Christmas Day we went on a walk up in Lancashire. There were ruins of a village lining the reservoir and sheep in the fields along the path. It started snowing as we were finishing our walk and it made for a very magical Christmas Day. I was also able to explore the city of Liverpool a couple of times since I’ve been here as well. I stumbled across a spot where I had taken a picture almost 5 years earlier. It was fun to recreate that picture and reminisce on the growth and change that has happened in the past 5 years.
Hope you are all having a lovely New Year and end to the holiday season. 2020 was full of growth and change. It was full of highs and it was full of a lot of lows. I am excited to see what 2021 brings. We are not out of the woods yet and there is still a lot of fighting to do. However, I still feel a glimmer of relief coming in the future.
As always, lots of love and miss you all tons. Xx
Sierra Malone 