Adjusting

I am now in my third day here in Great Britain (I think), and things are starting to settle in a bit.  I started writing this blog post in my head almost as soon as I woke up from my nap on Monday.  Although I am very grateful to be in an English-speaking culture that is (relatively) safe, there are still some things that take getting used to.  I will probably discover more as I expand my circle of exploration, but for now, here are my initial impressions.  Not all of these are surprises, but they still require extra thinking for now.
 

Accent

Obviously, not a surprise.  What is  as surprise is how different their speech sounds.  When I am walking through a store or restaurant, and hear people all around me talking and I'm not trying to understand what they're saying, it sounds like a foreign language.  If I "tune in" and try to understand, I usually can, but the background chatter all sounds like another language all together.
 

Language

There are some different terms around here, which hasn't been too confusing so far.  I know what they're talking about, but if I'm not careful, they don't know what I'm talking about.  Monday night I walked up to the counter and ordered a hamburger.  After a moment of blank stare, the cashier said "...you want the beefburger?". Yes.  Yes I do. 

 
Along with this topic, there is considerably more ethnic diversity around here, so there are plenty of people who actually are speaking a foreign language.
 

Cash

Since we suffer a foreign transaction fee every time we swipe a card over here, we're opting to get a lot of cash at once (our ATM card just has a flat fee, as opposed to the credit cards which are 3% of the charge), and pay in cash.  At home I almost NEVER use cash.  I'm finding its kind of handy and simple.  It will be even simpler when I figure out these coins.

 Crossing the Road

There are several different types of pedestrian crossings, but the one outside our hotel that we use basically anytime we go anywhere has some flashing lampposts (see photo below).  What this means is that pedestrians have the right-of-way, so basically, I just step out into traffic and they stop.  Thankfully the first couple of times I did this, I was with the guys. 

 
Also, I have been taught since before kindergarten (hello SafetyTown!) that when crossing the street you look left, right, then left again.  I'm not sure I will ever get over these years of brainwashing and start to look right, left, then right again.  Basically I am always rapidly scanning my surroundings like a confused and terrified tourist.  Thankfully, at many intersections they have "LOOK RIGHT" painted on the road.  I would take a picture of this for you, but if I stand at the intersection I will stop traffic (no, not because I'm so hot... because they have to stop), so I'll just avoid that for now.

 

Walking on the Sidewalk

The streets are narrow, the sidewalks can be narrow, and they are VERY CLOSE TOGETHER.  What I'm saying is: keep your elbows in, so it doesn't get bumped by someone's mirror.
 
Also, I have experienced immense confusion as to whether I should go left or right when I meet someone on the sidewalk.  I've actually heard they do it both ways, and I've seen it happen both ways.  I think that if I confidently go left, they will go left.  If I'm unsure, they will know I'm not British, and go right.  However, all of those internationals I talked about under "Language" seem to also naturally go right.  So if they look like they are of Asian descent, I go right. 
 
Are you confused yet?  Cause I am...

I'm the weird one

I know what you're thinking. "Steph, you should be used to this..." but it's not like that.  I'm actually the one with a funny accent.  I'm used to going the wrong way down the road/ sidewalk.  I'm the one that has funny words for things.


Of course not all of my adjustments have to do with British culture.
 

Double Bed

At home Tim and I have a queen size bed-- this hotel only has doubles and singles.  Actually the hardest part of this is the covers-- there just aren't enough.  I feel like we have enough room on the mattress to get away from each other, but there just isn't quite enough duvet to go around.  Unfortunately, we can't seem to get the room cool enough for comfortable cuddling.  Once I start sleeping better, the bed situation won't matter so much.
 

Different Time Zone

My body is waaaay confused.  I am able to go to sleep all right at a normal bed time, but what really doesn't make sense is that I wake up super-duper early and can't go back to sleep.  As in 3 am.  Which doesn't even make sense, because that is 9 pm back home, which is when I would start getting sleepy.   If I was home and couldn't sleep, I would probably just get up and do something, but I don't want to bother Tim (because he can sleep) so I just lay in bed in the dark, and wonder when he will finally get up.

Mirrors.  Everywhere.

Or at least everywhere in our hotel room. Obviously there's the inescapable mirror in the bathroom.  There's a full-length mirror by the closet,  and there's a huge mirror above the desk at the end of our bed.   So I keep looking up and seeing myself when I'm using the computer.  And when I sit up in bed first thing in the morning, I have a hot mess looking at me with bleary eyes.  It is both terrifying and disturbing.

At home we have a grand total of two mirrors: one in the bathroom, and a full-length one in the guest room, that I use maybe once every two months.  I know what you're thinking... "That explains a lot..." I know I'm a mess, I don't need mirrors to confirm that.

 

Men

As I think I've said many times, everyone we are here with is male.  This is not bad... necessarily.  Just different.  They are all kind to me, but they're definitely not girls.  What does this mean for you?  Since I don't have girls to get my talking out on, my need to gab is probably going to be fulfilled through blogging.  So watch out, World.  Stephanie's got words to use up.