Here is a round up of the 10 things I learned this week:
1. For emergencies, dial 999 instead of 911 {I learned this in a book my aunt gave me about living in London, and it turned out to be useful when we had to call to help a poor, old man who fell and gashed open his lip}.
2. I need to make friends.
3. In order to make friends, it looks like I'll have to join a group, like a women's club or an ex-pat club; however, these clubs have annual dues. Who knew I had to pay money to find friends? #DesperateTimesCallForDesperateMeasures
4. The yellow traffic light tells drivers to prepare for the green light. It also tells drivers to slow down and prepare for the red light. Good thing I don't drive here {I can barely drive at home!}.
5. When a number is placed in front of a month, it is not an adjective, but rather a date. For instance, "13 January Buses may be disrupted" means "On January 13th, bus service may be disrupted"; it does not mean "13 buses in January will be disrupted," like I stupidly thought. Further, 13/1/15 means January 13, 2015. It's a brain puzzle.
6. The oven's temperature is written in Celsius. Imagine my surprise when I made dinner for the first time!
7. There is a map on basically every corner in central London to help people reach their destination. This also means that I must learn how to read a map {gone are the days of relying on Siri!}.
8. There are 3 different ways to cross the street safely: a) follow the crowd and don't look back, b) {the proper, English way} look right THEN left, unless a sign says otherwise, c) {the American way} move your head side-to-side rapidly for about 30 seconds until you absolutely know you won't get hit by a car, biker, or scooter/motorcycle. THEN cross and don't look back ;).
9. The original "Hang on Sloopy" does not contain the "OH-IO" part to the song and is not as much fun when hearing it in a different country that doesn't understand its significance. Makes me miss Ohio and home.
10. Listening to country music on iHeart Radio also makes me homesick {sad emoji}.