Safe and Sound

[moro_san]

Day 3 in England and I'm already missing home. England has been beautiful. The days get up to about 65-70 degrees with light breezes. Nights don't get much cooler. I've already made some great new friends here, but it still hurts having left so many of you. The biggest annoyance of all though is getting myself set up here. Back when I was home and we were talking about how expensive it was to live here. We didn't even know the half of it. You know all those old stories about Robin Hood and how the kingdom was taxing the poor so badly that he had to steal just to help the people survive. Well, it hasn't stopped yet. I can see now why we revolted. Imagine that you go into any store and all the prices are the same, but when you go to the register, it's actually twice the cost, and that's before the 17% sales tax. Every service is basically, grab as much of your money as we can, then who gives a crap what happens to you. I just picked up a cell phone today (on base where prices are still in dollars and reasonable) and every local call is equal to 60 cents a minute during the weekday and 20 cents on the weekends. International calls are on the order of 10 pounds a minute, so I think I need to find a calling card around here. I'm still trying to figure out internet prices around here, though from what some guys were telling me, the fastest connection I can get will be something a little slower than DSL. The only real saving grace here is that the base sells everything at American prices, from gas to food. 
Right now I think the worst thing is that my room is still so empty. I think I share my kitchen/bathroom with someone, but I haven't met him yet. I guess until I get my stuff here, I'll just have to bear with it. I'll try calling you all soon and letting you know what my number here is. Also, never take American prices for granted again. Trust me.
Later!