House Swap

There's a show on afternoon TV...dont' recall the name...where they show people experiencing house swapping. I haven't really paid attention because for me, TV during the day is really just background noise...a blockage of tinitus.

Occasionally something grabs my attention and this happened yesterday when an American family swapped their home with a British family for a week. They showed the Americans going around the London house and picking things up "what's this?" or seeing applicances and not not being able to figure out what they do. It was rather funny, actually.

So, I wondered if you can think of things the British have that would be total head-scratchers for any of your first-time-visiting friends and family to try to work out...things you've now just taken for granted.

I'll start off with...
- washing machines
- ice cube bags
- roundabouts

Wish I'd seen that program...sounds like just my kind of thing!

How about:

--electric kettles
--electric showers
--Ovens (I know I didn't know how to use it when I got here!)

There are electric kettles in the states now....we had one before we left.

but defintely the ovens especially fan assisted ones I still bout get burned from the heat when I check foods.

One thing that would dumb found them is the fact that there are no outlets in the bathrooms.

One thing that would dumb found them is the fact that there are no outlets in the bathrooms.

Oh how I miss blow drying my hair in the bathroom.  Not having a socket in there is such a pain.

The other one that gets me is the amount doors.  According to building regulations, you must have at least two doors between your bathroom and kitchen.  My husband had an open-plan studio flat before we were married that had two doors in quick succession (within 4ft of each other) to get the bathroom.

There are no outlets anywhere, it seems.

I'm an architect, and in the US, the codes require min. one outlet per wall, one every 4 ft. in kitchens, etc.

Here in my little home office in Dublin, I have plug strip upon plugstrip to get everything plugged in.  I can never find anywhere to plug in the vacuum cleaner.  Aargh!  

No outlet in the bathroom, of course, but we also have not light switch in there - it's in the hall...

One thing that was odd for me, but I loved, was the way my MIL's flat had two "bathrooms"...one with the toilet, and one with the tub and sink.  I thought it was so clever, the way one person could wash up or have their bath (BTW, lack of showers is a big confuser, or those odd push-button shower things) while the other used the toilet.

Of course, it was really embarrassing the first time I went there, because the tub-room door was closed and I didn't know the sink was there.  So I didn't know where to wash my hands, so I didn't.  Then when I went again a little later (we were drinking fairly heavily) I decided I had to wash my hands this time and washed them in my kitchen sink, only to be caught by MIL, who told me about the other sink, and clearly realized at that point I had not washed my hands.

They wouldn't understand our washing machine or oven.
I don't either, to be fair. I pres the same 2 buttons on the washer no matter what it is.

And for most not having a dyer is hard to understand as well....BUT thankfully Glenns mum went and got one for us when we arrived with a baby you really need one to get the clothes to shrink back to normal size after stretching them on and off all day changing diapers.