England Endearments

 Winston Churchill once said of America and England that they are two great countries separated by one common language. And its not just the accent, though accents here are very distinct and, though we have our regional accents in the US, they seem to be more defining  of who you are and where you're from.

Several have asked me, "so what's different out there from America?" The answer: a lot. It's a whole lot of little things. Just about everything imaginable has its own English way about it. I thought I'd write up a few and give you a peek of the world across the Atlantic.There's the obvious of course. People drive on the left instead of the right. The driver sits in the car on the right instead of the left. Most of the cars are manual with the stick in the left hand rather than the right. (This is why after three driving lessons, I don't drive here).  The plugs are different and a different wattage. The little switches that turn the power socket on and off remind me of light switches and I still don't know why they have them.

In the kitchen, the electric kettles are AMAZING!! No longer need I wait for 15 minutes for water to boil. The first time I saw my roommate boil water in the electric kettle and THEN place it over her pasta in the pan on the stove I was sold.I still haven"t figured out oven temperatures.


 Walking down the street one morning I passed a stranger.  Shattering the silence of the moment was a cheery "Good morning Darling!", spoken as if by Mary Poppin's Bert himself. What delight!! I remember the first time I heard "thanks love" on the train from the ticket man. I was taken aback but at the same time quite tickled inside with the warm salutation.  So many new phrases have enhanced my communication options. Instead of "have a turn," its "have a go." A common one is "get yourself sorted" which is so much more than a phrase but an actual attitude here of making sure you take the time to get everything situated before proceeding ahead. (A concept a fast paced American can greatly appreciate). "I can't be bothered" is another favorite. Its said anytime something isn't seen as a priority to be done. "I'm not bothered" is a great way of saying "no problem." When at the pool, the ladies in my lane talk losing two or three "stone" instead how many pounds. A stone is 13-14 pounds. Make sure and DO NOT jump the queue (or line) here because, in England, the lines on the highway, bus stop, grocery store, are something you don't mess with. Brits love to queue up. Common phrases come up in conversations regularly such as "to be fair..." Then there's 'cheers' which came from the army where they would bang glasses and the person with a coin in his cup would have to go fight the next day. It means a lot of things including thanks, and 'bye." You've never had vegetables until you try the English "Veg" (pronounced 'vedge'). Not only are they lacking in a lot of that spray stuff Americans use, here they know how to cook them to perfection. Very tasty. Perhaps its the proximity to France? Britain takes English to a whole new level on the love language scale. Terms like 'ducky' and 'lish' (placed after someone's name), in addition to the loves and darlings make the place liveable despite the awful weather. In addition to new sounds, words, and phrases, social interaction is different here. You may have heard that the Brits are reserved and don't show much emotion. They make up for it in the words they use to express that emotion. They are expressing geniuses! No wonder so much great literature came from here. The amount that they say for what I might say with a few peeps of intense passion (a few squeals and such)  is intriguing. I actually found it exhausting to stay mentally engaged with all of the chatter when I first arrived. 

Education is different. Gone are the days of insanity, always being given way more work than you can muster in the time you have. Here, I had three two-hour classes a week, a library, and the assignment to write a long essay for each at the end of the semester. It doesn't mean that we don't work hard. I read a 400 page textbook in the first week this semester. We have to hunt down the materials.  Its all about pacing yourself in a self directed search for the answer to an essay question you picked from a list. Though I did have some assigned reading assignments the first semester, mostly it was up to me with a bit of help from a very long suggested reading list.

The pub is a new concept. Its not so much a tavern nor a bar as it is what its name means "the public house." Its a place to go and be with the community, eat a meal, and share a story. They are family friendly, though, some more than others. I've gotten many a meal, drink of water, and use of the restroom from the local pubs. The pub owners used to be the most knowledgeable men in town because  all day they would  listen to everyone's gossip, (and I told you about the chatter).

The people are friendly and real, the countryside is gorgeous, the castles, estates, and abbeys are fun,  and the small villages, what we would call post card perfect, look, as they say,  'chocolate box perfect.' By the way, they do have good chocolate, though I don't often buy it.  I do like England.