England –  where cell phones are called mobiles, sweaters are termed jumpers, and cricket and netball replace baseball and basketball. The metropolitan city of Manchester, the hometown of bands like The Smiths and the ‘football’ team Manchester United, is located on the northwestern side of the island. The city is also the former home of CCHS student Laura Bolton.

During the summer of 2008, Senior Laura Bolton and her family left Manchester for the U.S. when her father’s job at Websense, a web security software company, was transferred to the company’s headquarters in San Diego.

Speaking of her experiences,  Laura says, “I wouldn’t say there is a huge difference between the UK and the U.S., just lots of little things, like the different words used or interests that people have.”

After living two years in America, Laura admits, “I miss my family and friends the most – especially my brother Jon, who’s a sophomore in college there.” Britain’s proximity to the rest of Europe, the amount of work required for school, public transportation, free health care and soccer games are some of the other aspects of Laura’s home that she misses.

In comparison to Cathedral Catholic, Laura said that her schooling in Manchester demanded less work, the classes were more varied, and students had to go to them less often. According to Laura, along with taking regular core classes like math and English, she could also enroll in courses like Product Design and Communication Studies.

Though she watches American football and basketball games now, Bolton says she misses England’s soccer games, especially the Manchester United games she would watch in Old Trafford’s 75,000 seat stadium. Remembering when she was once among the crowd that sat in Old Trafford’s thousands of red seats, Laura said, “The tickets would always sell out so the stadium was packed, but there would always be a good atmosphere. The “Man United” fans were like family. I loved going to the games.”

Manchester is an infamously rainy city, so Laura enjoys San Diego’s lack of rain. She also loves San Diego’s “abundance and variety” of fast food, especially In-N- Out.

With regards to the United States as a whole, Laura says she likes our country’s optimism. “In the U.S., I like how people are very optimistic and friendly. There are also a lot more national holidays that are always over the top, which is more fun.”