LIST: Things that the Brits think we're nuts for..

In the glorious differences between cultures, we sometimes do things, often causing a spat (or row), which we're considered nuts (substitute anyother term you like) for doing by our Brit friends or family.

1. Using papertowels to eat sandwiches or snacks from instead of dirtying a plate. (hubby says it's uncivilized)

2. Putting crackers in soup.

Those are just a start for me. It's too early and I've had too little sleep.

Well there's the old 'sweet' on a 'savory' plate.
Or putting things in jello-jello salad is a big 'no-no' in our house.

Okay okay so I admit it.. putting a nice slice of baked Easter ham on his beloved hot cross buns...

Be back with more as I think of them...

My husband is right there with the papertowel thing.. still looks at me quizzically when I put his toast on it in the morning.

When i try to eat like they do (left hand fork-right hand knife) and my hand cramps up from the effort . . . but i keep trying!  (Stop, rub hand and wrist, pick up fork with right hand again, proceed).  His english friends laugh at me for trying.  For me, it's like using chopsticks, but more difficult .  

When i try to eat like they do (left hand fork-right hand knife) and my hand cramps up from the effort . . . but i keep trying!  (Stop, rub hand and wrist, pick up fork with right hand again, proceed).  His english friends laugh at me for trying.  For me, it's like using chopsticks, but more difficult .  

Kudos to you for trying, Justine. I won't even bother. So they do all do that knife thing after all, lol.

Mindy, yep, know what you mean with the jello, they see that as a dessert. Reminded me of another.

3. Eating applesauce on it's own and not as a "sauce" for meats. (oh for a big jar of Mott's..*sigh)

Rinsing the dishes.  I've gotten so used to them not doing it over here, that when I was helping my lil bro do them in the states...I totally forgot to rinse (I'm sooo not used to having 2 sinks now....and I miss that!).

I've always done the fork in left knife in right hand thing....but I *don't* turn my fork upside down.  That's just weird.

Eating finger foods with my *gasp* fingers!

hehe
wench

That's a good one, kcg--does this exchange ring true with anyone:
US: I'll meet you at noon.
UK: You'll meet me at what time?
US: At noon.
UK:  What time at noon?
US: 12:00 noon.
UK: 12:00 is 12:00!

aargh!  or is this just my siginificant other??

ok,ok got another one.

serving pickles and olives on a dish at Thanksgiving.  Makes my in-laws think that I'm barking

oh, and the whole, this week, next week, this coming week.  Still after all these years have not got the hang of this and end up confusing everybody around me.

okay okay...
the fact that I use the term "on the job"...apparently it can mean something else .. along more sexual line...first time I told him that someone was sleeping on the job he died laughing... :-/

The whole excuse me versus the I'm sorry thing... I mean hate those looks when you tell them excuse me when you bump into someone..

This might be my husband .. but the fact that I point with my index finger instead of the middle one...question is.. is he weird or do other Brits do this?

Oh and using a piece of bread or a finger to push food onto my fork instead of manuvering the knife to do so... I am SUCH a heathen....  


And.. I cannot tell you how glad I am to hear that my husband is not a doof and that a lot of Brits don't rinse their dishes....v yucky...

Cutting in line is a big no no and do not...repeat do not talk to anyone randomly...I got a bunch of weird looks on the tube...perfectly normal southern behavior to talk to strangers...

..... This might be my husband .. but the fact that I point with my index finger instead of the middle one...question is.. is he weird or do other Brits do this? .....

Uh?  You're saying that your husband points with his second finger, not his index finger?  If that is what you are saying then, I'm sorry to have to break the news to you, but, your husband is weird!  .... I've never seen anyone do that in Britain, though I've seen it sometimes since I moved to the US - drivers seem to use it to point to the sky.  Do they mean that they think it is about to rain?  

Mr. Val,

Yep... it means it is going to rain  .... especially here in the South.  LOL. This is often combined in Atlanta with the car rain dance wherein cars swerve in and out of three to six lanes of traffic going 80+ mph.  

Good to know that he is just weird...now I feel much better about the nation as a whole...not so sure about my hubby though... might need to get him a finger harnass to keep that puppy from pointing every which way!

Hee hee! Okay .. I'll stop before I get way off topic.

When i try to eat like they do (left hand fork-right hand knife)

Uh, maybe it's just because I'm up too late, but how else would you eat with a knife and fork? Don't think I've ever seen anyone eat any other way either here or back home.

The way they eat pizza with a knife and fork is just about the goofiest thing I've ever seen.  

Hubby and family always rinse their dishes though.  

Is your hubby from Ireland by any chance?  We had an Irish priest when I was young and Catholic....imagine the fits of giggles as us poor little ones were getting ready for 1st Communion...and he kept pointing to things with his middle finger!  

wench

My problem is this, when I hold up two fingers to mean 'two', I hold them up the wrong way.  I've obviously been doing this for 13 years, but my husband never pointed it out to me. I know what it means, I just didn't realize I was doing all the time.    Now that I'm working, well, you can imagine how hilarious my co-workers find this.