New video: (the original) Jersey

In case you missed the last post, this guiri has lived the typical Hollywood movie plot (but no Eat, Pray, Love references, please).  She graduated from college, moved to Spain, fell in love with a Brit, and now they plan to get married and move to the States (what the movies don't include is all the paperwork to go with it, but that's another blog entry).  And as if the story wasn't Hollywood enough, the closing scenes are set in a small island of Jersey where she'll be spending her summers with her future husband and his family.

It may sound like a script to another Gary Marshall movie, but I love it. I'm certainly happy with the setting.  To do it justice, I've created a video of my first visit. But if you're like the two years ago and don't know any other Jersey aside from Snooki's homeland, I'll give you a brief introduction.

Jersey is a nine by five mile island located between England and France, but actually closer to France.  It used to be ruled by the Normans.  In 1204 the English took control since then Jersey has been part of the British Crown Dependency, meaning that's governed independently, it's not part of the United Kingdom nor European Union, yet it's a possession of the Crown.  (I don't really understand it either, but to put into relative terms for my American compatriots, the culture is similar to that of England.  But don't get me wrong, it has a unique culture of its own.)  It was the Jersey explorers who later settled between the Hudson River and Delaware and named the area New Jersey.

Jersey is one of the warmest places in the UK (but not really the UK?), and it's a popular vacation destination.  It has about 97,000 inhabitants, and English is the prominent language.  However, you see a lot of French on signs and buildings, and there are a few people who still speak Jérriais, a dialect of the Norman language.  It's known for its Jersey Royal Potatoes and Superman (check out where the new Clark Kent is from).

In April I visited Jersey and absolutely loved it.  So for your viewing pleasure...




My advice to a guiri: Hold tight.  I'll get back to Spain in a bit.