I Was a Teenage Expat

I Loved America, Until I Had to Live There

England: the land of teatime, Harry Potter, and an archaic politeness more suited to novels than everyday life, all topped off with charming accents. My American family moved from the U.S. to the suburbs of London when I was 4, and my childhood fit that stereotype perfectly.

Bishopsgate School, my “primary” (read: elementary) school in Virginia Water, England required us to wear uniforms that included bowler hats and pinafores. While Bishopsgate was a private school and exceptionally posh, almost all schools in England require a uniform consisting of a blazer, white …