Jun 20, 2008

The Last Time

I'm home now, and while I'm happy to be home, it makes me sad to have left the United Kingdom. For my last post I wanted to make a list of things that are different over there than here; some of them were things that were hard to get used to, or that I just thought were fun or interesting.

*Marshmallows are a big deal over there; they are advertised big deal if they are in something.
*In houses you need to go into a different room to wash your hands after using the bathroom
*Some public toilets cost money (if you can find one!)
*Instead of exit, it's the way out
*People don't talk on their mobiles as much in public
*They are called mobiles
*Everyone smokes
*Prices aren't consistent, you have to shop around a lot
*TJ Maxx is called TK Maxx (never found out why)
*No one talks on the Tube
*There are no drinking fountains, which is really annoying
*Street musicians are called buskers and they are really good! They were my favorite part of riding the Tube. Plus they play the coolest things: harps, plastic buckets, the xylophone, and I even saw a guy pushing his piano down the street
*"At weekends"
*They aren't purses, but handbags. "You're in the mother country now!"
*Everything is under construction!
*Baby nappy changer units
*Surname instead of last name
*Coaches instead of buses
*The cars; I don't think I saw one that was boxy, but all had smooth curves
*Need to turn the outlets on "which is actually a really good idea"
*Rubbish/litter bins
*Social propriety, there is more nudity, sex, and swearing that is acceptable
*No programs at concerts and plays unless you want to pay for them
*Plasters instead of band-aids
*American food is ethnic
*Free newspapers, more than just fluff
*Free museums
*Hen part instead of bachelorette
*To let or For Hire instead of for rent (to let is used for buildings, for hire is objects)
*Ice Cream sold at interval of every play
*Spellings of words; ie, programme, colour
*Toy boy instead of boy toy
*Crisps are chips, chips are french fries
*Pants are underwear, trousers are pants
*Jumper instead of sweater
*Sweets instead of candy
*Poems and scriptures on the Tube
*Interval instead of Intermission
*Pubs instead of bars
*Lollies instead of suckers
*Tanktops are called vests
*Toilet not bathroom (though they do call it a lot of different things; lavatory, loo, toilet)
*Out door markets!
*Car park instead of parking lots, not that there were very many of them
*Boot/bonnet=trunk/hood
*Magdelan is pronounced "maudlin" at Cambridge and Oxford
*Smoothies are not smoothies, just blended juice

There are more, but I can't remember too many right now. I love you all, and I'm happy to be able to see you all soon.



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