F is for Fego

Continuing along today with the April A-Z Blog Challenge and my travel adventures. Our family moved to England when I was just shy of 13 and spent the next 6 years across the pond. This month, as part of an A-Z blogging challenge. I am reflecting on the time I spent overseas during my teens.

F is for Fego

I'm hitting pause on the travel button today and we're hanging out around home for today's post. If you read letter A, you know my family moved to England when I was just about to turn 13. And while we had many adventures traveling outside of England, I had plenty of memories from just living my life in my new hometown. The summer before my Senior year ,4 years after I had settled into this town, I got my first job at a restaurant on the local high street. Sure I had babysat plenty but I consider waitressing at Fegos my first real job, which is pretty significant. 

I loved that restaurant. It sat right in the middle of the high street (main town road) and was a sweet little breakfast and lunch spot with the tastiest menu and best customers. I became quick friends with the other waiters and waitresses and while I  had friends that were from all over the world, these were some of my first local friends. 

I served full English breakfasts on plates so hot they left marks on my forearms. I served paninis with bacon that to my American eyes looked an awful lot like country ham. I entertained customers with my American accent or some days tried out my British accent to see if I could pass as a local. I knocked over a jar full of salt and a regular couple clapped and then reminded me of it every time they saw me working from that day forward. I beamed when my parents would come to visit me for brunch and bring my dad his usual order of a cappuccino, milk shake and fresh squeezed orange juice with whatever he ordered. I ate lunch on my break, testing out all the things on the menu. (It's a good sign when you still eat the food at the restaurant you serve at). I bussed tables and rolled silverware. I honed my shorthand skills on my notepad while taking orders. 

I loved my tiny cafe in my tiny town and still think about the days I spent growing up inside those 4 walls.