Six??
Months?!
As of Feb. 11th we have been London residents for exactly (you guessed it!) six months. Which means we've theoretically completed ten percent of our Big London Adventure. Which means we have less time, but still a long time, before it's on to the next adventure.
The last few weeks I've sensed a shift in how I view our little life here. I'm shifting from feeling like a tourist — or like an imposter, or like a kid wearing her mother's heels — to feeling like I'm a resident. Like I live here.
OMG we live here!
The shift makes me ponder a couple things. First, that it's okay to spend several nights in on the couch watching movies: A) because it's cheeeeeeap, and B) because I like it. Second, I can't be jaded already. At least, not yet. When we first arrived I thought everything was magic! (Take a photo of that bus! That building! OOooooh, a pub! Take a photo of the pub!) Now I think, I don't have to sustain that level of excitement all the time. But I still want to appreciate every day as an opportunity. But I reeeeally want to sit on the couch. But what if I get a job soon and then I don't have all this free time anymore? Won't I feel like I've wasted all that time? But what if I get hit by a bus and regret not spending more time just hanging out? What if God is a TV repairman and I didn't do enough? WHAT IF IT'S ALL WRONG.
Um, okay. Moving on...
As a trained anthropologist (I have a degree, darn it!) I'm tickled by the minutia of daily life and how it's different here. So, here are ten things that still make me go, "Hmmmmmm" about London:
1. Everyone carries bags around. More than just a purse/backpack. I chalk this up to not having a car -- and therefore no trunk, backseat or floorboard on which you can "store" your random stuff during the day. You need it? You haul it. Plus, every day you need to carry an umbrella, different shoes for your commute, gloves, a book for the bus ride, maybe your laptop...
2. Dogs wear sweaters from October through... well, at least through February.
3. Everyone — or perhaps just tourists, it's hard to say — ducking LOVES the squirrels in the Royal Parks. If you see a squirrel, you will see someone going well out of their way to take a photo.
4. Chances of rain are always high, but they increase to 100% if I am riding a bike share bike. Yesterday it was sunshine and blue skies until I hopped on. Then the wind picked up and the sky patched with clouds. It's like the weather didn't expect me to ride that day. "Oh blimey! Ellen's on the bike! Quick, kick up some wind and rain and -- phooey, we missed it. Call it off..."
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| Nice try, weather! |
6. OHEMGEE the politeness. I am (often) a very polite person. I hold doors and say thank you and offer you my seat on the bus if you're old. But you can't out-polite a Brit. They always pour your glass first if there's a water carafe. You don't drink a sip of your pint without a "Cheers!" to your drinking companion. This video is hilarious because it is ridiculously, ridiculously true.
7. Everyone talks about the weather because everyone thinks the weather sucks. Unless it's sunny and then we talk about that.
8. WhatsApp wins. Don't resist it.
9. Queueing is a favored British pastime, but if you approach a crosswalk all bets are off. It's every man, woman, and child for his or herself and there are no rules. Pedestrian signals mean nothing and chaos is nigh. Run. Just run. Or wait for the green man, ya goody-goody.
10. Cheese and sparkling wines are very specific. It's not just brie. It's [regional] brie. My
And the list goes on.
I'm sure by August I'll have even more to report. But right now I'm just happy to report that, over all, we're happy! We have a trip coming up soon to Copenhagen, and plans forming for Scotland and Wales trips, too.
And very soon... a new website...!
(And pssst! Don't forget to vote for me in LATAM's blogger search! Voting closes Feb. 22, and you only have to do it once.)
BONUS! Pronunciations. Before you get all sassy, I'm not talking about the accent. I'm talking about when I try to read words that I've not yet heard pronounced, or words that I really thought were universal. For example:
- Bermondsey. I see, "Bihr-MUND-zee." They say, "BURR-mund-zee."
- Islington. I see, "EYE-ling-ton." LIKE ISLAND. OR AISLE. BUT NO. They say, "IZZ-ling-ton."
- Southwark. I see, "South-Wwark." They say, "SUH-thark."
- Oregano. I see, "urr-EGG-uh-no." They say, "or-eh-GAH-no."
- Innovative? Nope. In-NOH-vuh-tiv.
In fact, I'm relatively sure that someone on one side of the Atlantic or the other (I'm not naming names) gazed — probably drunkenly — across the ocean and said, "Right, now let's really mess with those blokes. When they sail back we should just say EVERYTHING differently." And now, everything is spelled the same but no one understands a damn thing.
This is SOOOOOO funny! I laughed a lot. Actually, I snorted.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lucy! :D
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