Playing tourist: Day trip

Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and Bath...in one day.

Windsor Castle is the Queen's residence. It's gigantic, old, and lovely. And it has some of the most crazy beautiful interior decorating I've ever seen. Unfortunately, it also has a strict no photo policy inside the castle, so you don't get to see any of that. But the exterior is nice too.

As our tour guide said, "When we get to Stonehenge, some of you will be having deep and profound thoughts, while others of you shiver and drink coffee. It means different things to different people."

Bath is such a pretty little town. And we were lucky enough to see it in the sunshine. It's famous for its hot springs (and the Roman baths that made use of them), but I was probably most enamored with the impressive stone architecture.

"Sorry."

I think the most commonly used word in the UK is the word "sorry." (Okay, so this might not necessarily be the case for London crowds, especially when you're using the Tube during peak hours, but whenever you get a British person one-on-one, it pretty much holds true.)

People say it all the time. Someone bumps into you? Sorry. You bump into them? They still say sorry. The culture is just terribly apologetic. People are generally very concerned with being polite. But you also occasionally get the feeling it's all very passive aggressive, and perhaps just for keeping up appearances -- and that because they're all trying so very hard to be polite, they are going to get particularly bothered if you're not. It's like the British have perfected this mentality of worrying about doing the right thing not because it's right, but because you're worried you'll be judged if you don't. So when I stumbled upon British Problems, I couldn't help but laugh.

Here are a few of my favorites:

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(image c/o buzzfeed)

I absent-mindedly walked into the kebab shop instead of the cafe next door. I couldn't very well admit my mistake and just walk out again, so I ended up having a kebab for lunch.

I feel that in the interests of british neighbourly spirit I should get to know my neighbours. But now that we've been living in our house 4 years it would be too weird if I was to suddenly pop round and introduce myself.

My Chilean friends actually take food when I offer it to them.

I thanked a woman for letting me use the self-checkout ahead of her but I was already ahead of her in the queue.

After spending 3 hours waiting in A&E yesterday to have my hand X-rayed over a suspected fracture, I apologised for wasting the nurse's time when it was only a major soft tissue tear. She said it was ok but I could tell she despised me.

I couldn't order the pastry that I wanted this morning as there was only one left and I didn't want to create any awkwardness with the customers behind me in case they wanted it.

I'm simultaneously relieved and offended when no one sits next to me on the bus.

At work, I'm constantly offered cups of tea or coffee or biscuits; I feel guilty for turning the offers down, but I don't want to seem greedy by taking the offers up.

I said 'thank you' as a warden handed me a parking ticket.

A man in the supermarket was browsing the food I wanted to browse, so I had to pretend to look at things I didn't even want until he left.

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And it's here that I should probably admit that this is one area where I feel at home. At least I'm not the only one standing awkwardly behind the old lady in the middle of the aisle who didn't hear me when I said 'sorry.' We'll all just wait patiently (and only slightly passive aggressively) together until she shuffles out of the way. 

Thanks for making me feel like I belong, England.

  

Success.

Thanksgiving was wonderful. So much food and such wonderful friends. And the turkey was great, which was a total relief! Though I needn't have worried. Laurent and I are a pretty stellar team when it comes to kitchen-related endeavors.

Undisputed turkey champions of the world.

After we had eaten, we put some football on (American, of course) and just kind of laid around our living room. At one point, someone suggested games, but that got vetoed because we were all too full to move...which is how you know your Thanksgiving is a success: food-induced lethargy.

It was a lovely evening. I went to bed feeling very blessed.
 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today was Thanksgiving, even though it didn't really feel like it.

I spent the day at work, because apparently England doesn't have anything to be thankful for. I would have much preferred to have spent it surrounded by family members while I ate myself into a food coma, like a true American. But alas.

I settled for this.

Did anyone else spend their Turkey Day at an Irish pub?

Not your traditional Thanksgiving meal, but at least it was tasty and shared with friends. Plus, I still have Saturday to look forward to, when we'll celebrate properly.

Happiest of Thanksgivings to you and yours.

Thanksgiving abroad (round two).

There is a turkey in my refrigerator -- my teeny tiny, shoebox of a refrigerator. I'm not sure how we fit it in there, what with the 5 individuals already sharing the cramped space, but it's there nonetheless.

   

It's there because it's Thanksgiving -- well, almost. Tomorrow is the actual holiday, but as the UK doesn't recognize it and therefore does not give you the day off, we're postponing our celebrations till the weekend. Because as anyone who's ever hosted Thanksgiving dinner can tell you, it's impossible to prepare the kind of feast warranted by this occasion unless you have an entire day to do it.

 

This is my second Thanksgiving abroad. Last year was kind of crazy, because (1) it was my first Thanksgiving away from home, (2) it was the first time I'd ever had to plan a Thanksgiving dinner, and (3) I had never made a turkey before. This year it isn't quite so intimidating, seeing as how it's not all new. Still, I kind of get nervous whenever I open my fridge and see that turkey sitting there, large and imposing, reminding me that I don't really know what I'm doing. But we pulled it off last year, so I'm pretty confident we'll be able to do it again.

 

And, even if nothing else goes right, we'll still have pie. I'm good at pie.

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Wednesday randoms.

Well, I’m back in England, where there is significantly less sunshine. Here are a few Wednesday randoms:

 

The highs here have been around 45 (7ish degrees C), and I’ve been wearing tights and scarves for about two months now. But when I got off the plane in Dallas, there was sunshine galore, and at 85 degrees (30ish degrees C) I instantly realized I was wearing too many clothes for Texas.  

 

The UK changes their clocks back a week earlier than the US. And since I was in the US a week after the time changed, I got to fall back twice this year. Which is fine with me – I can use all the extra time/sleep I can get.

 

With the time change, the sun sets earlier these days. Pretty standard, right? Except here, because we’re so far north, that means that by 4:30pm, the sun is gone. It’s really sad having so little daylight.

I missed out on being in the States for the presidential election by one day. Not that I was particularly heartbroken by this (I’d already voted absentee). Watching even an hour of election coverage at the airport was enough to make me want to run away from all things political.

 

You know how we say “what’s-her-name” when we can’t remember a name? Well here, a lot of people just say “thingy.” As in, “I was just talking to thingy.” It’s not my favorite bit of terminology.

 

Great news! I went to Asda the other day in search of tea, and guess what I found. Cocoa. HERSHEY’S cocoa. I haven’t seen it anywhere else in this country, so that made my day.

  

Silver lining.

Mondays come much too quickly after Sundays. I think we should get at least two Sundays before Monday springs on us with its silly requirements like waking up early and actually getting dressed.

On this particular Monday, I'm hungry and sniffly and my throat is tickly and it's grey and foggy and I broke a nail this morning and my computer keeps asking me if I want to restart to install updates and I don't want to and I've still got to be at work for another 4 hours.

But. BUT.

I'm headed back to 'Merica in a week from Thursday.

Silver lining.
 

Wednesday randoms.

The other day, as I was getting ready to take my lunch break, I asked if it was raining. My coworker responded, "Well there are people going by with brollies up." What? Apparently "brollies" are umbrellas. Who knew?

 

This is kind of old news, but I still think it's wonderful. Thanks, Google.

 

I came home to this the other night. So thankful for sweet housemates who know that my love language is dessert.

 

Beautiful.

 

The problem (well one of the many problems) with cold weather is that it makes my hands shrink, which means that my rings start slipping and sliding all over the place whenever I type. I've readjusted the ring on my right hand 4 times while typing this. Weird, I know. Please tell me I'm not the only one...

 

I got my National Insurance number last week, so I'm officially official! Which means I get to...start paying taxes. Hooray.

 

The other day, one of my besties was talking about how it's weird working full time and that she was still trying to get used to this whole you only get a couple days off for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Well me, I'm still trying to get used to there is no Thanksgiving thing. And Halloween's not that big of a deal either. You pretty much just go straight into Christmas.

Seriously? But it's barely October.

 

It's terrible. I'm a huge proponent of letting each holiday have its own time, so I never do Christmassy until after Thanksgiving. But they started putting out the Christmas stuff at the beginning of October. Not cool.

 

I'm heading home for a little visit in just two weeks! Can't wait to see some of my favorite people in the world...and to eat some Mexican food.

 

Saturday in Surbiton.

Since I've submitted my dissertation, I haven't known what to do with myself. When I get home from work, I just kind of wander around the house aimlessly. In the back of my mind, I've got this feeling that I should be writing or editing or formatting, but I've got nothing to write or edit or format. 

Guess it's time to get a new book.

But I've decided that I should use my spare time to go exploring. I still don't really know this new area, even though I moved in three weeks ago. And pretty soon, it's going to start getting dark around 4pm. So I've got to get moving.

Saturday was a good day to wander around our town, as there was a little festival going on. It was sunny out, so we just strolled in and out of the little stalls lining the high street. There were crafts and food and entertainment. We stopped for several things.

The first was this puppet show. Punch and Judy. It was kind of weird. (Spoiler alert: Punch just beats up on Judy, and then the audience chastises him. What?) 

This is before Judy made her debut. Then things got violent.

The second was a stall where a little man in a funny hat was selling fudge. We bought three bags: coffee, mint chocolate, and chocolate and vanilla. Delicious. I'd post a picture, but we ate it already. Oops.

And finally, the street musicians. There was a gorgeous string quartet (with a really attractive cello player), and this cute little band of older men just jamming away.

Isn't that the best? The little kids near us were dancing up a storm, and we found we couldn't help but walk to the beat once we turned to leave. That tuba was just so catchy.

All in all, it was a lovely way to spend the afternoon.

Squiggly red lines.

As what some may call an overly grammar-conscious individual, I pride myself on my proofreading skills. I'm the kind of person who uses punctuation in text messages, and I never send an email without rereading it. So imagine my horror when I realiz(s)ed that, upon arriving in Britain, pretty much everything I'd ever written instantly became littered with spelling errors.

And it's all because British people spell things wrong weird. 

It really does make a difference.

 Consider, for example, the following words I had to change in a document, simply because it was drafted in our DC office, and we needed a UK version. The American spelling is listed first:

program v. programme

center v. centre

analyze v. analyse

color v. colour

revitalizing v. revitalising

pediatric v. paediatric

counseling v. counselling

mobilized v. mobilised

dispatched v. despatched

maximizes v. maximises

organizational v. organisational

You may have noticed that Brits don't really care for the letter 'z', but they are quite happy to add extra letters and move others around, often in blatant disregard of phonetics.

After a year here, most of which has been spent writing academic papers, I've grown accustomed to these silly spellings. Perhaps too accustomed, as I'll occasionally accidentally use a British spelling when writing to an American friend. (Incidentally, this always makes me feel like a bit of a traitor.) But I typically try to adjust my spelling based on who will be reading it. Kind of like how I talk football with my housemates, but soccer with my friends from home.

Anyway, many of these American spellings are widely accepted, even if they're not preferred. As I'm writing this with a UK spellcheck, the words center,  analyze, color, pediatric, and counseling all have squiggly red lines below them. However, the others aren't flagged as incorrect. 

This can be problematic, because sometimes when I'm editing things for work, I won't catch them -- either out of habit or ignorance (my untrained American eyes refuse to believe that 'program' is missing some letters.) -- and neither will spell check. 

And then I get made fun of.

But not anywhere near as much as the first time my coworkers heard me say the word, "y'all." That was a whole nother level of hilarity, my friends.

Happy Monday, and may your computer's spell check be ever more zealous than mine.

 

Footballs.

Thanks to a friend's brother visiting for the Olympics, my building has recently become the home of what I'm convinced is the only American football in London.

You may remember me mentioning that we recently went on a mission to find one, but despite the four floors of sports equipment, Sports Direct let us down. (Everyone kept telling us to just use a rugby ball, but there's no way that would work, as not only are there substantial differences in their shapes, but also let's be honest...I need the laces to know how I'm supposed to hold it.) So I was really excited when I found out one had been brought from home.

We rallied a group of people to go play, bringing with us both kinds of footballs. After a quick warmup with the European version, we busted out the pigskin, and held a mini-tutorial on how to throw it. At first, my sloppy spiral (more of a wobble, really) was looking pretty good compared to the other guys' attempts. Sure, they'd never so much as held an American football, but is that really relevant?

Anyway, they caught on really quickly, and soon we were playing with both footballs simultaneously. The best moments were when someone received a pass from one person at the same time that another person started another pass. You didn't have enough time to think about it, so the frantic attempts to catch/stop/duck all at once were pretty hilarious.

And one of the guys made an interesting observation. Whenever an American football came flying at a European who wasn't feeling confident about catching it, he'd try to stop it with his foot instead of his hands. On the flip side, when a European football hurtled toward an American, we typically stuck out our hands to knock it away. It was pretty interesting. Plus, it was a lot of fun.

Oh football(s). How I love you.

I haven't been sick, I've been ill. (And why that distinction matters.)

I've got a cold.

This is pretty unusual, as my immune system is typically pretty rockin. (Thanks for sending me to preschool and exposing me to germs at a young age, mom!) But alas, it's failed me this week.

"I'm sniffling and I’m not really awake…and I'm taking Echinacea and vitamin C, and sleeping practically twenty-four hours a day.

And I have a temperature. And I think I’m contagious..."

Which brings me to an important point: Here in the UK, there's a difference between "sick" and "ill."

Back home, they're pretty much interchangeable. Actually, I'd say we use the term "sick" more often than "ill." It doesn't matter if you had the flu, bronchitis, or a sinus infection. When someone asks why you missed work or practice or that birthday party, you respond with, "I was sick."

But you don't want to to do that here. Because here, to be sick means to throw up. So if you say you were sick yesterday, people will interpret that as something a little more dramatic than just a case of the sniffles. What you want to say is "ill." 

So don't worry, the past few days I haven't been sick. I've just been ill.

But I'm making the most of it. Since I don't exactly feel like going anywhere at the moment, I've gotten some writing done, watched a couple of feel good movies, and have busted out my crayons and gotten my craft on (one of the perks of working with kids).

Plus, I'm pretty sure I've perfected the art of shooting crumpled tissues from my bed to the bin.

Silver lining.

 

Drinking ages and driver's licenses.

As you may know, the legal drinking age in the States is 21, but you've still got to bring your ID with you if you want to purchase alcohol...even decades later. For example:

But here in the UK, not only is the drinking age lower (18), but if you're trying to buy alcohol, they also only require you to show an ID if you look under 25.

Which is probably why my sweet flatmate (someday you'll appreciate your youthful looks, m'dear!) gets really excited when she doesn't get carded.

Now, I don't really drink. But I do cook. And I've got quite a few recipes that require wine and whatnot. So the other day, when I wanted to make some pasta, I popped over to Tesco to grab some white wine. A friend of mine was with me, so we both got carded. 

We're both 24, which is well over the legal age, so it shouldn't be a problem, right? Well...

See, both of us are from the States. So both of us used our driver's licenses as ID. I was expecting this to throw them off. Last time I had to show my ID, the lady spent a loooooong time staring at it, before pointing at the issue date with a puzzled expression. No, love. 2008 is the year I got the license, not the year I was born. That'd make me 4 years old.

Anyway, she went first, and showed the lady her Arkansas license. After taking off her glasses to look more like the picture of herself, it was deemed acceptable. Then it was my turn. I gave her my New Mexico license, and could tell right away that this was going to be a problem.

"They're different..." she said suspiciously. 

"Yes, I'm from a different state," I said. And my friend tried to help out, chiming in with, "Every state has a different license."

The woman shook her head. So I offered to show her my bank card, since it had my name on it too. She took it and looked at it. "Do you have anything else?" 

"Uhhhh...." I fumbled for my university ID, which not only had my name, but also my picture.

She sat there for a few minutes, comparing the three cards, and throwing me sideways glances, before she finally gave in. And we got our white wine.

Whew.

And just as an aside: If I were an underage drinker trying to fool someone into letting me buy alcohol, so I could party it up and get wasted (or whatever those crazy kids do these days), I don't think I'd be buying a single bottle of dry white wine.

But that's just me.

 

Omigod You Guys.

A big congratulations to my favorite newly engaged couple, Shannon and Dakota! I've been waiting for this for a few months now, and by the time this week rolled around, Kim and I were practically counting down the hours.

"They're just like that couple from Titanic! Only no one dies...

I can't even begin to tell you how many engaged and/or recently married friends I have in my life right now. It's crazy. And I'm finding that it's the exact opposite of the culture here. When I mention a friend's recent engagement, I'm typically met with the question, "How old is she?" which is quickly followed by, "How long have they been together?" No one here can believe that I have so many friends married just out of college.

At home, it's super common. We joke at Baylor about "ring by spring," and MRS degrees all the time. And since pretty much the only time relationship statuses are announced to the world is when there's a ring involved, it can be easy to think that you're the only one who's not headed down the aisle any time soon. Which is so not true. It's just that you never see someone posting, "Guys, guess what! I'm single!" on Facebook. So my friends and I have started letting each other know, "Don't worry, I'm still not engaged," every few weeks just to remind one another that we're fine, normal, etc.

But here? It seems like no one even thinks about marriage till they're like 30. Which is totally fine and completely understandable and all that. It's just a bit different where I come from.

Anywho, another shout out and big hug to my sweet sweet friends. You two make an amazing couple, and I'm so excited for you!

British summer.

This couldn't be more true. Not that I'm particularly bummed to be missing the 100+ degree weather that's currently plaguing Texas. But my goodness -- the rain we've been having.

There's just so much of it.

 

Wednesday Randoms.

So the Jubilee is over, but I wanted to share this sweet video with you. It's from Stevie Wonder's performance at the concert at Buckingham Palace Monday night. Not only did he sing "Isn't She Lovely" (which just happens to be my absolute favorite Stevie Wonder song), but he also changed the lyrics to make them fit the occasion. It was fantastic.

This made me smile. It also made me realize that the Google homepage is tailored to fit the country it's accessed in. Which, when you think about it, is kind of a no-brainer. But I hadn't really considered it till now.

Remember that church service I told you about? The one in honor of the Jubilee? Well here's a pretty good video of it.

I've been working on job applications the past week. There's one in particular that I'd really really like to get. So prayers are appreciated.

If you're a nerd like me, you might find this reading speed test interesting. Not sure how accurate it is, in terms of rankings, but it's still neat.

I had the best Skype session today when my dog heard my voice and then pranced around the room trying to find me. When my mom finally put her on the screen, she was more than a little confused. It was the cutest thing ever.

This cover makes me want to dance with somebody. Somebody named Ben Rector.

I made cobbler this week. It was interesting how many people had no idea what it was. Crazy, considering how it's pretty much a staple where I'm from.

One week from today, I'll be in Italy! Can't wait.

Enjoy your Wednesday.

The Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

Yesterday, in honor of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, there was a river parade on the Thames. Over one thousand boats participated. And despite all the beautiful weather we've been having, it rained. But that's okay, because that's pretty typically British, yes?

Afterward, the trains were absolutely rammed. I can't even imagine what kind of chaos the Olympics will bring. It should be interesting.

Tonight there's a big concert at Buckingham Palace, featuring Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney and others. They've set up big screens all over Hyde Park and St. James's Park. We'd talked about going into central to see it, but after spending the last three days running all over London, I just want to stay in.

Anywho, today's a bank holiday, and tomorrow's a public holiday. (I asked Hannah what the difference was, but she didn't know.) So we'll still be celebrating.

Happy Diamond Jubilee to you!
 

God Save the Queen.

We got handed flags when we walked into church today. So fun for a foreigner like me. And then there was this great performance to celebrate the Queen (as it's her Diamond Jubilee) that included trumpeters, an electric guitar version of the national anthem, and some crazy dance moves.

As the pastor was leading us in a prayer for the Queen and the country, he said this: "If you're from this country, she's your Queen. And if you're not from this country...well she's the Queen." The Queen. Lisa and I had a good little laugh about that.

 

Also, can we just talk about how we totally stole Britain's national anthem? Whenever I hear "God Save the Queen," I can't help but sing "My Country 'Tis of Thee."

Also also, you know how if you write something enough, it starts to look weird? Well that's what's happening to me with the word "Queen." I think if I type it one more time, it won't even seem like a real word anymore.

Queen.
 

Wednesday randoms.

Is it really Wednesday already? I have a hard time knowing what day it is when I'm not in class.

It's been sunny all week, so I've spent a lot of time outdoors, which I love. I especially love the days when I can convince someone to go play tennis with me. But the other day, we found something out...something that was not so pleasant. Apparently, most of the tennis courts here, despite being found in public parks, are not free. Even the ones we'd gone to like 5 times without ever paying. It costs like £6, and there's a time limit. Lame. But we did end up finding some nearby courts that are free. At least we're pretty sure they're free. So that's good.

This made me laugh out loud. Single ladies out there, take note.

This phrase has been floating around the Internet lately. Till I moved to London, I'd have definitely agreed. But now? Not so sure. Because have you ever heard a Liverpool accent? You don't want to sound like that.

Let's clarify...which British accent do you mean?

My building had a barbeque last night. Let it be known that, here, "barbeque" does not involve barbeque sauce. It's just grilling out. But it was a lot of fun.

This weekend is the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. It's to celebrate her 60 years as monarch. And accordingly, London is covered in red, white and blue (the Union Jack kind, not the Stars and Bars kind) right now. There's bunting (I had to learn what that meant from Sheila) everywhere, and all the shops are filled with patriotic gear. Not to mention this sweet portrait of the Queen made out of Legos.

And, best of all, two of my favorite people will be visiting me this weekend! Countdown to glorious reunion at 9am on Friday starts now. I can barely handle the excitement. Can't wait to see ya, Alexis and Phil! Forget hugs, I'm gonna tackle you with love.

Wednesday randoms.

My favorite food is anything breakfast, so I was really really excited to see that this exists.

We went to a pub in Surbiton to watch the Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Chelsea. Since Chelsea is a London team, pretty much everyone there was wearing blue and singing songs like, "You are my Chelsea..." The game went to overtime, and then penalty kicks. And then Chelsea won, and all hell broke loose. Half the guys immediately ripped off their shirts and started swinging them around their heads. Others climbed onto the tables to lead a celebratory sing along. A couple glasses went flying, and we decided that was our cue to leave. It was certainly entertaining, though. And the whole bus ride home, these guys behind us were singing this song. Quite the night.

I submitted my final essay of the term today! I had over 16,000 words in this month, so I'm not as worried about my 10,000 word dissertation as I used to be.

McDonald's McFlurries choices are severely limited here. They choices are all Cadbury's stuff...no Oreos, no M&M...and, worst of all, no Reese's! Disgraceful.

The best email a girl can get? "Two pairs of pretty, but occasionally impractical shoes headed to you tomorrow." Thanks, Dad!

On the subject, mail is quickly becoming my love language. Especially when there's coffee involved. And the tank was just in time -- the next day, it was 75 degrees (F) and sunny! Lovely.

I'm really excited for June. Friends are coming the first and last weeks, and about mid-month, I'm headed to Italy! The last time I was in Italy, I was only 5. All I remember is getting stung by wasps, my uncle's cracked rear-view mirror, and people burning trash on the side of the road. So I'm hoping this go around will help to redeem the country for me. And with Google images like this, I'm thinking that might just happen.

Happy Wednesday!