So far, Britain has not been a hugely foreign experience.  I mean, obviously I am in a foreign country, but it hasn’t been what I expected.  I had expected there to be more barriers, making it a much more difficult experience.  But it hasn’t been nearly as hard as I had imagined which is, I suppose, a good thing.  It has been almost easy.  Culturally, there are obvious differences, but also many similarities.  It is obviously different because it is an entirely different country, but similar in that most of the differences don’t really require much more than a second glance to figure out. . .if that makes any sense.  Or maybe I just have a different way of seeing things.  I think I’m just soaking everything in and gawking around in a tourist-y fashion.  (I try not to be too obvious about it, but there are some things you just can’t help staring at with that signature tourist stare – eyes wide open, mouth slightly agape, general expression of awe.)

I really couldn’t help doing the tourist look when I saw this. It’s a castle! With a moat! And I got to go inside it!

I just absorb all the wonderfulness that is London or whatever other place I happen to be in, and I don’t question it.  I just experience it.  That’s not to say that I don’t inquire (I am doing a horrible job of trying to explain this), but I feel as if my method of experience is much more observation-based than investigation-based.

That being said, I have been keeping a running list of things that I found to be interesting or different or that I deemed to be somewhat important.

1)      “Are you ok?” – The first time someone asked me this, I was shopping.  I was looking at a shirt, and this employee asked me if I was ok.  I stuttered something to the effect of “yes, I’m fine, thanks.”   She gave me a slightly weird look and walked away.  As she was leaving, I was frantically wondering if I didn’t look ok, if I looked ill or exceptionally confused.  After being posed the same question several times in the same day in different stores, I finally figured out that asking if someone is ok is roughly the equivalent of asking how they’re doing and provides a wonderful opening if you need help finding something.

2)      “Cheers” – This word is probably the most commonly used word in the UK.  I have heard it so much in the last few weeks.  The great thing about it is that it can be used in almost any situation.  If you’re in a situation and you don’t know what to say, just say cheers because it’s probably an acceptable response.  But on a more serious note, I really had no idea how much it was used until I got here, and it took me a while to get used to because I had no idea what the proper response was.  It’s cheers. . .one possible appropriate response to cheers is cheers.

3)      Solar panels – This was one of those things that struck me as a bit strange in an ironic way.  It appealed to my strange sense of humor.  I noticed as we were driving along (well, I was riding, but the bus driver was driving) that several houses we drove past had solar panels on the roofs.  This just seemed a bit strange to me because putting solar panels on a house in London seems like putting solar panels on a house in Monmouth or Forks. . .kind of pointless for most of the year.

Moving on to something I find very interesting:

4)       Food! – The food here is very interesting.  I believe I have mentioned scones with clotted cream and jam in one of my previous posts.  They are still my favorite food that I have discovered here; I don’t know what I’m going to do without them when I get back home.  Do you think there’s a store in Monmouth that sells clotted cream?  Probably not. . .maybe Independence?  I doubt it.  I’m thinking of buying a British cookbook that has recipes for scones and clotted cream (I’m pretty sure I could make do with jam from the US).  But I have again gotten stuck ranting on about the many virtues of scones with clotted cream and jam.  The other food here is also worth mentioning.  Jaffa Cakes and Jammie Dodgers are a must-try, as they are the “stereotypical British foods” – that is to say, they are fairly well-known British foods.  (Also, Jammie Dodgers are worth trying just because of the description on the package:  “stretchy raspberry flavour jam splodged at the heart of two yummy shortcake biscuits.”)  I had a lovely cereal bar that was “Belgian Chocolate Flapjack.”  It was amazing.  The description:  “soft chewy all butter flapjack packed with Belgian chocolate chunks.”  The description does not do it justice.  The main ingredients are oat flakes, unsalted butter, golden syrup, and Belgian dark chocolate.  Oh, it was delicious.  I am not really a fan of trying new foods, but just over the last week I’ve started trying more.  I saw a package of hot cross buns at the store, and I plan on getting some before I leave.

5)      “Mind the gap” – a commonly used phrase which means “watch out for that gaping hole between the train and the platform.”  I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone say “watch out for” or “be careful of” whatever needs extra caution.  It’s always “mind” this and “mind” that.  It’s quite a useful little phrase and it’s very concise.

6)      Royal Mail – I also saw this while riding a bus through the city.  The bus pulled up to this lovely red truck with an insignia and the words “Royal Mail” on its side.  I got really excited at the possibility that I was less than ten feet away from the Queen’s correspondence.  There was also a url on the back, so I looked it up when I got back to the campus.  Sadly, it was just a normal mail service and not the Queen’s personal mailman.

7)      Showers – This may seem like a weird topic, but it was very important to me.  Before my arrival, I was very concerned that the showers would be difficult and confusing, but I needn’t have worried.  There’s just a start/stop button and a knob to adjust temperature.  (Also, I felt really weird going into the bathroom to get a picture of the shower.)

The shower – very unconfusing and easy to use.

I have still been extremely busy running around doing stuff.  I went on a field trip to the Town of Bath and visited the Roman Baths there, as well as the Jane Austen Centre and the Fashion Museum.  The Fashion Museum had a special exhibit on “Dressing Royalty” and I was able to see many of the costumes that have been used in various historical movies, plays, and tv show, including some that were used in the show “Tudors.”

Costumes from “Tudors”

I went on a day trip to Stonehenge and the nearby town of Salisbury, in which there was a lovely cathedral.  I went to Cardiff and the Doctor Who Experience, and I went to Caerffilli Castle.  I went shopping at Portobello Road, although I did not get to the travel bookstore that was featured in Notting Hill.  I also went to Topshop, which was an amazing shopping experience.  I went on another field trip to Glastonbury, where I toured the Abbey, listened to Geoffrey Ashe (an eminent historian), and climbed Glastonbury Tor (a very steep, although not very high, hill with an excellent view from the top).

The Tor (and I should mention that I really don’t like hiking, but I made myself climb it).

I took a day trip to Liverpool to visit The Beatle’s Museum and The Cavern.  I went on a weekend trip to Edinburgh.  I went to see Les Miserables last night.  I have been going and going, but I haven’t crashed yet.  Hopefully I can make it for one more week.

Cheers!

Emily