Kate’s absorbed the British culture the most; mum, rubbish, holiday, where’s the toilet? love, dear, brilliant, presume, reception, wellies, bazooka, fizzy, happy snack.
Wine served at school and the library, Car park, Diesel is common, majority of cars, it’s used for mine, Old school way of pumping gas, pay after you pump, and pumps have the number dials that move at a slow pace, Smart casual is fancy, Net ball-no backboard and no dribbling, Futball (soccer), no football, no Lions 😦
Many locals (everyone I’ve inquired with) have not heard of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. They serve tea sandwiches; which Caroline and I have both grown to love. Soft butter, slice of thin turkey and cucumbers. My great grandmother made me butter and ham sandwiches as a child. I was not very fond. But, when Grandma Arunski asked if I was hungry, that’s exactly what I was plated. Every time. I ate it, with absolutely no complaints. My complaints whispered silently in my head. The butter- thick and cold. It would have to be pre-made, the British sandwich, even though my grandmother was Polish, and stored over night in the fridge. Absolutely impossible to spread thick, hard butter on soft bread. It pierced down my throat. Taste buds choked. And yet, at the same time, every day my great grandma asked if I wanted an ice cream cone. YES! Soft serve, on the corner. She always gave me $20 and I always got to keep the change. A pot of gold!
Bingo is different. Here: small ticket with three rows, about five numbers in each row. When you fill a line, you say line. And sometimes you play for the house covering the whole ticket. We were so confused playing at school last night. And I might still be a little confused. We had 15 tickets scattered. Caroline, I’m out of tickets. Just grab another and play. Two numbers were already ticked off that card. She ticked off three more, she yelled, or I yelled line. Went to stage and not quite. I explained our BINGO to an unsolicited group, ghost face.
Everybody, everybody walks! To work, everywhere. And majority of walkers I see are smoking. Bikers. Every person you can imagine. There is no stereo type for a smoker (or anything, right?). The other day, stressed perhaps, encircling smoke rings as we walked, I had to flick that cigarette out of Kate’s hand;) Forgot? Look up top.
Did you know there is another American mum here (Y1)? No. She’s been here about 18 years. Oh wow, does she have an accent? Yes, but not nearly as strong as yours (oh you meant American, I was thinking….). Many comment how strong our accents are here.
Asked the same mum who told me about the USA (Y1) mum if she wanted a ride home. No, no. I’m really becoming an okay driver. I get more walking miles than car. And I would have never had offered a ride with kids involved;) I’m hoping to take driver’s ed in November in hopes that life is slowing down.
Halloween is not big here. Christmas is! They start celebrating in November with parties, and I heard City Centre is beautifully decorated. It was meant to be. I love Christmas. Magic! A newborn baby! We were invited to a family’s house for dinner. They shared this family Christmas camp found all over the area. It sounds amazing. Sign us up! I’m determined to have a Christmas party. I love to entertain. It might be a “Winn-Dixie” gathering. I’ll serve tea sandwiches, sweet biscuits, fig pizza and wine. I might even hang the bottles from a tree. Okay, I will host the library staff party, with my family. Okay, we’ll go to the library in our Holiday threads. We will order off their Christmas menu. I’m still bringing fig pizza, and the shoe repair crew are welcome too.
When we were furnishing our house with necessities. I could not find in the department store a box of drinking glasses. They were all sold separately. Finally, I found a box of six glasses. Later to find out, they were tall whiskey tumblers. But they’re crystal! The girls drink out of them daily. Wine glasses to tumblers.
School is different. I like the uniforms. Our joke, that is running out, hey you wore that yesterday. It’s even used on me. I do not wear a uniform, except my mom form. In writing “s” is used for “z,” “our” is used for “or.” Proper spelling is important, even for Kate. Proper spelling is expected and scored in every subject. Socks. Still mismatched. Many mornings, big girls, Mom I have one of Kate’s socks! Yes, you do! Mom, I have dad’s socks on (black)! Yes, you do! Or, another scenario, one of dad’s socks and one of the girls. Working on it. Hoping if I mess up laundry enough I’ll be fired. Ticks mean you got the answer correct. Its a check mark and you want to see them cover your page.
Caroline lost her gym bag. The school dismissed. We went back into the empty building. A teacher opened the door for us because the code expires after a certain time. Do you have a lost and found? I lost my PE bag? You mean lost properties? Yes! Boasted Caroline. Do you know where it is? No! Defeated Caroline. You must be a Year 7. And she quickly wrapped that statement around with, yes and I’m an American! I told Steve. I wonder who she heard that from?
There are many delicious restaurants walking distance from our house. Steve witnessed while at a work dinner, the Opera House, and it has calamari, like, The Rock in Birmingham. Slurp! We still need to try some more pubs. Last visit or first visit was in August.
Ice cream nights. I do not know what it is, but I despise scooping ice cream. I am so worn out from doing a lot, everything in my head. Ice cream is hard and takes such muscle. If I must do, I always microwave for 15 seconds. Girls ask. I respond, Steve can you scoop ice cream? I hate it. It’s my least favorite thing to do. Doubtful, really more than IKEA? I’ll scoop ice cream this weekend. I am still dealing with IKEA (19.10.17)
In the UK they write their date dd/mm/yyyy, it makes sense to me.
You pay and pack your own bags at the grocer. It makes sense to me. Need a shopping cart? Put in a 1 lb coin (which was a mountain initially). You get your coin back upon return. If you are smart you’ll return that cart. Makes sense!
I love the way Helen’s year does math. The Queens had a workshop for parents so they could help their kids. New methods mixed with how I was taught. And the “new” methods are not necessarily, but they teach it in such a visual and understandable method. Along with strong computation, they still do a lot with critical thinking, explanations.
Washer and dryers are considerably smaller here. It takes me all day, every day to do laundry. I am lucky to have a separate washer and dryer, most are combos. I am lucky to have a laundry room. Most laundry machines are in kitchens. We looked at many houses with this set-up. My talent—I can turn the washer dial to the correct setting without looking. And according to Kate, I shrink clothes. But according to Helen, it’s the dryer’s fault, thank you dear! My talent-I can also turn the dryer dial to the correct setting with eyes closed. I must drain water from the dryer after two loads, and once after a towel load.
I see why England has shoe repair shops. I bought a pair that I love. They’re “Fly.” Honestly, that’s the company’s name and I see why.
I know when to speed or walk on my jogs. The course becomes bumpy. I could twist an ankle (again). When it’s raining on a jog, I know where I’ll slip. I know when to walk. I know when I can speed up. The terrain mixes; cobble stone, bricks (one row up, one down), slabs of stone, stones and asphalt.
Is giving the birdie universal? Not that I was the giver or recipient, but my strong guess is yes.
Motorcycles drive in the middle, between two cars, on two lane traffic. I’ve only experienced this on one-ways. But sure does make me uneasy.
I know how to fix a British toilet. The plumbing is different than the USA. I’ve done it more than 3x’s, once with my eyes closed. 3x’s in one day. I’ve quite honestly learned how to do it and can teach others-specifically, my family. I might be the only one in the house that knows where extra toilet paper is stored. Three rolls are stored on the toilet stand. I think I’m also the only one that knows what to do when the roll runs out. What do you do? I’ve told you more than 3x’s. You should know and be able to teach others.
Everyone, everyone greets you with, are you alright? I’ve heard it several times. Not noticing, I answer respectfully and superficially, until one time when I was not alright. Ghost face when I told them what happened, my feelings. I needed to be three places at once, and a whole lot more. No support from my typical village. You asked, now you know. I think it’s the same in the states, how are you? There really isn’t time to tell it to you straight and honestly.
I have met some very, very nice moms! They have extended a warm hand and heart to our family. I think this is a wonderfully polite country. I also think the drivers and walkers are aggressive.
I already wrote a new blog post for tomorrow….
Abbey Row 