10 Funny Things in London

1. Although people here drive on the left side of the road, no one walks on any particular side of the street. I've tried staying to my American "right" to no avail; then thought I'd blend in with the locals on and steer to the left, and I still get run over. Now I stick to the left and hope people move out of our way (a big feat for a 5' 2" person)

2. The word "brilliant" never describes anything or anyone exceptionally bright or academically smart; substitute the word for "great," "wonderful," etc... ex: how about dinner at taco diner? (I wish).... "Brilliant!"

3. Drip coffee is for everyone on the other side of the pond. There is no such thing here. An "Americano" is espresso topped with water. This is most delicious form of coffee concocted by man that I have found since Common Grounds. And since we walk so much over here, we don't even thing twice about adding as much cream as we want to make it even more delicious.  :)

4. No one talks or looks you in the eye on the tubes. And if they do, you should change train cars straight away. (oh, and "straight away" is another British term for "immediately")

5. I now understand that instead of graduating from college, I "went to Uni." Yes, I am not abbreviating for space considerations, but everyone pronounces university as "uni." (university)

6. We now never greet anyone with  "hi!" but rather a polite, "Hello."  :)

7. Ma'am is for some reason a derogative form to address a woman with, Brian was shot very dirty looks when we first got here and he did that accidentally. So, say "miss" when asking a stranger which way the closest tube is, etc...

8. The newscasters make us laugh almost every night. Last night, we were cooking pancakes and scrambled eggs for dinner (yum) and the anchor was half way through a whole story before saying, "oh, that was the wrong story, alrighty then, changing directions, moving on, etc..." This might not sound funny, but it is when you see this or similar things happen every night on the news. :)

9. Holiday doesn't refer to Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons, but it's a vacation. Summer holiday, bank holiday, spring holiday. I am not sure what they call the "holiday season" yet.

10. Often the tube is delayed, etc... and it's so funny/odd to us that they announce over the intercom why it is most often delayed: "we are sorry for the delay, but there is a person under the train on the Circle line." So sad! 

Just some tidbits of everyday life in England! 

Happy Tuesday!  :)