One time you felt like an 'outsider' in the UK

hi all! it is strange to try and piece it all together. one thing to avoid until feeling very secure is the boardgame 'articulate'. i've never felt quite so slow in my whole life. i've found that weakest link is most helpful in learning a variety of UK info very quickly! without it, i never would have known to call 999 in case of emergency. what a mess that could have been!  

hi all! it is strange to try and piece it all together. one thing to avoid until feeling very secure is the boardgame 'articulate'. i've never felt quite so slow in my whole life. i've found that weakest link is most helpful in learning a variety of UK info very quickly! without it, i never would have known to call 999 in case of emergency. what a mess that could have been!  

 yeah...  the Weakest Link.  that lady is such a %@&$!, but i find myself tuning in every so often, too.  i am only good at that show if i play with my husband as a team, like LisaE and "Who wants to be a millionaire"... *lol*

I read Closer!

Haha.. ditto that.  In the US, I couldn't care less about celebrities or their lives, but in the UK.. I find it more necessary to make an effort to know the social references.

Also helps that Sean has old tv classics on tape such as Fawlty Towers, Father Ted, The Fast Show, etc.. I've found that a TON of references come from those and others.  

Also.. because he's such a huge sports fan, he's tried to explain some of the more famous sporting moments and sports personalities.. things like, "They think it's all over.. and it is".. stuff like that.  Just so when it comes up in conversation, I have LESS of a blank look on my face

Watching things like What the Papers Say, Nevermind the Buzzcocks, and Have I Got News for You also help tune you into what's going on.

I find that, watching US shows/movies with my husband and in-laws, I have to explain little US-isms and nuances as well, so it pretty much comes out even.  None of our family or friends expected me to come here knowing everything they've known - just like I can't expect my husband to get the irony of Friends casting Greg Kinnear as Aisha Tyler's ex-boyfriend - since they both hosted Talk Soup on E!.  There's plenty of things he hears/sees in the US movies/tv shows now that he admits he didn't get before we were together, but now he does.

I got the biggest kick once when we were all watching an American teen flick and my British stepson turned to me with a huge question mark over his head and I then went on to explain what a prom was.

its true... i explain a lot of Americanisms to my husband when we watch tv and films, and vice versa.  the Simpsons, for example, have become even funnier to him, i think, since i started explaining some of the jokes...  i guess that ME being in THIS country makes me feel like an outsider (in public), as everyone else here (Brits) know what's going on, but when we decide to move back to the U.S., he will have some of the same feelings as i do now...

actually, i think that he will probably be even more prepared than i was, as American culture is more popular here (tv, etc) than British culture is there, so he has had time to "study"...  

just like I can't expect my husband to get the irony of Friends casting Greg Kinnear as Aisha Tyler's ex-boyfriend - since they both hosted Talk Soup on E!.  

Oh yeah! That's where I've seen her! I knew she looked familiar.  

Bingo! THAT's where I'd seen her! You know, I even read an interview with her before her appearance on Friends was broadcast the first time and it never mentioned that.

BTW, I thought I was the only person in the world who stayed up and watching Talk Soup since it was on so late...and therefore I had Greg Kinnear all to myself.

Sorrl Lisa... Greg Kinnear must be shared

ps    is there a way to edit yourself after you post? I always see my typos too late.

ps    is there a way to edit yourself after you post? I always see my typos too late.

Yep, see up in the right hand corner of your post, there are 3 little words... one of them is 'modify'.  That's how you edit your posts!

I was so excited when Greg Kinnear did that movie on Bob Crane - except then they did it just on the seedy side of his life, not his whole life.  Talk about disappointment.  I had SUCH a crush on Bob Crane...