That being said, I'm trying to maintain a glass-is-half-full attitude, after all, where else would I be able to perfect my British accent or eat chips {fries} with every meal or be able to bring a baby into a bar {if I wanted to, of course, or had one or knew of someone here who had one}? See, for every 5 things that drive me crazy, there's always one positive ;). And that, my friends, brings me to the 11 things I've learned the last few weeks that bother me, and yet also intrigue me:
1. They love mayo. I knew from the minute we moved here how much Brits loved their mayonnaise, as it was served with everything from sandwiches to fries to tacos. But I just recently learned how obsessed they are with it when I saw a woman drinking it and another man scooping spoonfuls into his mouth. Are you grossed out yet?
2. They {or at least the people I've encountered} don't say "Bless You" after sneezing and if you say it to them, they either stare in confusion or glare at you for talking. They also don't respond to "excuse me." In fact, I've gotten an "you're excused" response back when trying to push my way through a crowd of people. So much for those proper manners...
3. Winters are mild here. Last winter was extremely cold for them {I had to wear two pairs of pants on some days while out and about}, but I guess that's abnormal. This winter is much more bearable with temps in the 40-50s, so I've only had to wear one pair of pants ;). It just rains. A lot.
4. Mardi Gras/ Fat Tuesday doesn't exist here. Instead, they celebrate National Pancake Day.
5. Their pancakes are not thick + fluffy. Instead, they're thin + sticky. They are more like crepes than pancakes.
6. Men {and I'm talking middle-aged to old men} love Hollister here. They love wearing the Hollister logo plastered all over their shirts like teenage boys in The States.
7. Sorted means "figured out" or "organized." However, it never quite comes out as sorted with the "t" sounded out. Instead, with the British accent, it comes out as "sohd'd".
8. It takes forever and a day to fix anything that breaks in a flat. I've commented on the lack of communication and effort here in the past, but this is the icing on top: our washer and drier was broken for a month before anything was done. And they claimed to have "fixed" it, yet it still doesn't work.
9. Because we're American, we're supposed to answer for all Americans, the country, and our political system. Did you know that my opinion was also your opinion? Doesn't seem right, or even logical for that matter.
10. I used to think the American school system was all about testing and teaching to the test. Boy, was I wrong. I have never felt more pressure by the testing + inspections + audits than I do teaching here. It's absurd how much testing goes on in England, and it saddens me to see students only care about the assessments.
11. I'll end on a positive note: British schools + international schools, like the one I work in, have a week or longer break every 6 weeks. My mid-term, weeklong break is this week. Then in another 6 weeks, we have a two week spring break. While we get out a bit later {June 24} than schools at home, I am loving the fact that I have long breaks built into the school year.