I have lived here for X & I still have trouble with...

Ha ha, you had me cracking up at this one!  I usually textkiss back so as not to offend but it does seem a bit silly tbh.

OMG, I am so glad that I am not the only one that doesn't get that text kissing thing! I don't see the point and I also do it just in case it is rude not to. But you know what, I think I am gonna stop doint it.

Just thought of another one...after watching my boyfriend sitting goggle-eyed in front of the TV weather forecast.

I have lived here for 26 years and have still not developed this OBSESSION with the weather that the natives seem to have.  

In every household I know, the conversation comes to a screeching halt when the weather is read on TV or radio, and when the main weather report comes on the news, I have heard of people recording/taping it to either watch again later, or recording it for someone in the family who happens to be out at the time!  

My ex FIL still listens to the shipping forecast every day (and don't you DARE speak or make a noise during it!), even though the chances of him ever being on a boat again are nil.

I never watch/listen to weather reports, and just kinda glance at the sky on my way out the door to decide which jacket to wear.  Yes, I sometimes make a wrong decision!  But >shrug< oh well... I can always get a taxi if i'm likely to get soaked waiting for a bus.

(with apologies to KSand... I know this is your job and I'm sure the actual job you do is interesting and fun!)  I just still think it's odd how such a  huge proportion of the general public are like, riveted to the telly when the weather report comes on!

Friends tell me to just be a little old lady driver if I need to be, get in the slow lane, deep breaths, and take my time. 

Yes. It's not a race and safety and confidence are more important!   

And I hate that after all this time I still feel like a foreigner, especially recently when I discovered that the English don't know what mad libs or a dreidel is (which naturally doesn't come up in conversation). I just hate that I'm reminded of how different I am here and how I've been brought up differently. I think that's just a phase I'm going through.

Also, I still freak out that my toilet is going to overflow. It's been 10 years. I've not had a single overflow but I was so used to the terribly sensitive plumbing that I grew up with that I'm convinced every time I flush the freaking loo, it'll overflow.

Aw, hugs, Ashley. It's hard feeling like an outsider sometimes. If you ever need a vent, there's always a coffee in the 'hood.

What are mad libs and dreidel?  You have peaked my curiosity!

I am terrified of toilets in North America now re: overflow and splash back! So when I do go back I hover and then flush and run just in case! 

So that's having trouble with something in reverse. Maybe I need to start an alternate thread? 

OMG, I am so glad that I am not the only one that doesn't get that text kissing thing! I don't see the point and I also do it just in case it is rude not to. But you know what, I think I am gonna stop doint it.

Haha. I forgot about this. I've never done it and I never will.

DF does the "x" thing at the end of texts and IM conversations to me, but when we were initially talking and I didn't do it back, he thought that I didn't want to talk to him and that I didn't "fancy" him.  My girlfriend in Spain does it as well, so I'm assuming it's a European thing? I dunno. It never really occurs to me to reciprocate text kisses when I see them, but I hope no one feels offended.

I like text kisses. But I am weird!
xxxxxx

I like text kisses. But I am weird!
xxxxxx

 

(with apologies to KSand... I know this is your job and I'm sure the actual job you do is interesting and fun!)  I just still think it's odd how such a  huge proportion of the general public are like, riveted to the telly when the weather report comes on!

No offence taken .

Honestly, I don't really get the obsession with watching the weather reports either... we never really watched them specifically in my house - it was just something that came on at the end of the news.

These days, I only really watch them to compare my forecast for the next day with what they are saying on the TV or the radio. My family don't watch the weather reports much either because if they want to know what's going on, they'll just ask me for a forecast .

Be aware though - often the weather forecast is misinterpreted by the media and what they say on the TV/radio (more so the radio than TV) is not exactly what the Met Office have predicted. I keep having to set the record straight at work when pilots ask me if what they've heard on the TV is true (it usually isn't... or it's been made out to be much worse than it actually is).

If you haven't read Watching the English by Kate Fox, I would recommend it... there's a whole chapter in there explaining why the British have such an obsession with the weather.

What are mad libs and dreidel?  You have peaked my curiosity!

Mad libs is a word game where one person gives a list of words to another who puts the words into a story or letter or something. They tend to be really silly. Try one: http://www.madglibs.com/

A dreidel is a jewish spinny toy for children. I don't know the history of it but it tends to pop up around the holidays. There is a song that you sing with it. I had it on my Draw Something game and that's when I learned that it's not known here. We used to sing the song in school as part of our cultural awareness stuff. I've had the frigging song stuck in my head for weeks.

A dreidel is a top that has symbols on it.  You spin the top and whatever is facing up is what you get; we played with pretzel sticks but traditionally it is played with geld otherwise known as chocolate coins.

So one is a symbol for none, one for all, one for half and one for put in.   

It is played at Hanukkah.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreidel

I'm not Jewish, but we have a pretty high Jewish population in my area of PA.  It always shocks me how little people in the UK know about Jewish traditions.  Not that they should per se, just that it is something I was exposed to as a kid.

Well, I learned something new today! 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreidel

I'm not Jewish, but we have a pretty high Jewish population in my area of PA.  It always shocks me how little people in the UK know about Jewish traditions.  Not that they should per se, just that it is something I was exposed to as a kid.

I've noticed this, too.  I think many Jewish people in the UK are sort of in their own community and don't circulate so much outside of it so non-Jews are less aware of culture and customs here.  One of my hubby's friends who is in his 40s said that I was the first Jewish person he'd ever met.  He kept asking me loads of questions and kept looking at me like I was from outer space!  (I didn't mind the questions, but I really don't even look Jewish for the most part...)

There is certainly a community in Cambridge, I see them when we go into the city on Saturdays but no one else has ever seen them (or, in reality, just didn't notice).

I've noticed this, too.  I think many Jewish people in the UK are sort of in their own community and don't circulate so much outside of it so non-Jews are less aware of culture and customs here.  One of my hubby's friends who is in his 40s said that I was the first Jewish person he'd ever met.

I grew up in Southern California, and don't think I ever met a Jewish person until I came to the UK!

I never see (for example) men wearing the yarmulke in the city centre, but when I worked at Whole Foods, I found out that Giffnock is the main Jewish community in Glasgow... all our bakery stuff was kosher because of this (i dont think the bread is kosher in all WF markets), and I saw lots of men wearing the yarmulke every day.

 but I really don't even look Jewish for the most part...)

.... or maybe I did meet Jewish people in California, but didn't realise it?   No idea what a Jewish person 'looks like'.   (if it hadn't been for the yarmulke, I would never have known.)

I grew up in Southern California, and don't think I ever met a Jewish person until I came to the UK!

I never see (for example) men wearing the yarmulke in the city centre, but when I worked at Whole Foods, I found out that Giffnock is the main Jewish community in Glasgow... all our bakery stuff was kosher because of this (i dont think the bread is kosher in all WF markets), and I saw lots of men wearing the yarmulke every day.
.... or maybe I did meet Jewish people in California, but didn't realise it?   No idea what a Jewish person 'looks like'.   (if it hadn't been for the yarmulke, I would never have known.)

Well I guess a Jewish person looks Jewish the way an Italian person looks Italian?  But not always....

There were probably lots of Jewish people around in CA, but you just didn't realize it. 

Most Jews in the US are Conservative or Reform Jews (as opposed to Orthodox or Chasidic) which means they don't dress any differently and men don't wear the yarmulke outside of synogogue.  In the UK many more of the Jewish population (it seems to me) are more religious (Orthodox) and wear the yarmulke, the women wear dresses, never trousers and cover their hair. They seem very separate from the rest of the community.  I may be generalizing a bit.

I think the Cambridge group are probably Reform, the women don't have hair covers or wigs.  The men don't have Payot.

But it is also the little things, I said oy vey once and everyone looked like I had three heads.  Surely most people in the US know what oy vey is supposed to convey, if only from Seinfeld.

I would expect that in a major Jewish part of Glasgow that you would meet a lot of Jewish people, but I just lived in a city in PA.  So Kosher part of Giant and fun with Purim and friends.

I think we should start pushing the UK Jewish heritage.  More holidays!