My list of Britishisms

When I first moved here I kept making comments on things that were weird, things I didn't like, or things that I loved.

My sister in law suggested that I write it all down, my first impressions, because after 6mo-1year it'll be normal.

Here is my list so far:

1. How oddly big the outlets are here.
2. No outlets in the bathroom....
3. Kettles!!!!!!!
4. Writing the date wrong! My birthday is 9/6 not 6/9! I am NOT a Gemini!!
5. Driving on the wrong side of the road (probably my absolute least favorite thing about the UK)
6. Cafe's everywhere!!! 
7. Separate taps for hot and cold
8. You can turn off the outlets!!
9. There is no one pound note...It is a coin and I forget it's a 1pound and then I have loads of coins!! 
10. Free health care!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (even though I paid the surcharge)
11. Celsius!! 
12. The metric system 
13. Being corrected even when people know what I mean because of my pronunciation/word usage 
14. Radiators! (we don't need those in South Louisiana, and I had to be shown how they work)
15. No Air Conditioning!!
16. No screens on windows. (mosquitos!)
17. Opening windows out instead of up! They can be pushed open!!! (can't do that in South Louisiana due to the mosquitos!)
18. Fish. Finger. Sandwiches!
19. Clotted cream!! 



To be continued......any of you have a list ?? 

That's fantastic! I can't stand when people correct me if i slip up and call fries 'fries' instead of chips. Like, I KNOW lol.

 

I wish I'd done this 6 years ago when it was all new...  I'm trying to think of the little things...

 - Paying a deposit/renting the shopping trolley!
 - All four wheels on the shopping trolley swivel... how are you supposed to drive those things?
 - The term "car park".  Just that.   
 - Everything about driving is backwards here, not just the side of the road.  Shifting left-handed is weird, and takes some getting used to, and you all know it! 
 - Grocery shopping was like being an alien just deposited on the planet.  I looked at things that seemed vaguely familiar but could not always figure out what they were.  Things my husband took for granted because they always existed in his world.

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I love kettles!  It's a shame the 110-120V supply in the US means they're not efficient there.  Americans back home are really missing out.

Please tell me more about fish finger sandwiches.  Is this a common thing?  What else goes on them?  Do you toast the bread?  Is there even bread?

Shifting left-handed is weird, and takes some getting used to, and you all know it! 

so. much. this. It's hard enough learning a manual but with the wrong hand 

I wish I'd done this 6 years ago when it was all new...  I'm trying to think of the little things...

 - Paying a deposit/renting the shopping trolley!
 - All four wheels on the shopping trolley swivel... how are you supposed to drive those things?
 - The term "car park".  Just that.   
 - Everything about driving is backwards here, not just the side of the road.  Shifting left-handed is weird, and takes some getting used to, and you all know it! 
 - Grocery shopping was like being an alien just deposited on the planet.  I looked at things that seemed vaguely familiar but could not always figure out what they were.  Things my husband took for granted because they always existed in his world.

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I love kettles!  It's a shame the 110-120V supply in the US means they're not efficient there.  Americans back home are really missing out.

Please tell me more about fish finger sandwiches.  Is this a common thing?  What else goes on them?  Do you toast the bread?  Is there even bread?

Yes, everything you said about the car/driving is SO true. I feel like if they drove on the same side of the road/car as we do, I wouldn't have an issue.  I love the kettles too!! Except ours is not working today.....

Fish fingers sandwiches are fish fingers, with bread and your choice of condiment. I usually have bread (not toasted), hot fish fingers, ketchup and mayo. Delicious.

That's fantastic! I can't stand when people correct me if i slip up and call fries 'fries' instead of chips. Like, I KNOW lol.

 

I know!! It drives me crazy! I said, "I should've brought a sweater today, it's chilly!" And someone went "DID U MEAN A JUMPAH"

UGH NO I MEANT A SWEATER 

When I first moved here I kept making comments on things that were weird, things I didn't like, or things that I loved.

My sister in law suggested that I write it all down, my first impressions, because after 6mo-1year it'll be normal.

Here is my list so far:

2. No outlets in the bathroom....

7. Separate taps for hot and cold

11. Celsius!! 

13. Being corrected even when people know what I mean because of my pronunciation/word usage 

16. No screens on windows. (mosquitos!)



To be continued......any of you have a list ?? 

Girl. #2 just chaps my hide!! LOL!! I NEED an outlet in the bathroom. I don't want blow dry my hair anywhere else and get hair all over the place. Also, I like to wax my eyebrows and underarms. I need the bright lights of the bathroom for this!!! LOL!! So I've resorted to an extension cord running from the hallway into the bathroom. Do they think I'm gonna just be dumb and stick my curling iron in the toilet? Sheesh.

#7. I either turn my teeth to ice cubes or scald my tongue when brushing my teeth here. Can we get some WARM or COOL water here?? The UK is a place of extremes!!!

#11. That is gonna take me a while. Someone says something about some damn celsius and out comes my iPhone. I need my conversion app.

#13. Yeah, I got made fun of for saying "aluminum." Ok guys, ha ha. But for the record "a-lu-MIN-EE-UM" sounds ridic.

#16. The dagblasted flies this past summer were out of order!!!! Yep, Britain needs a window intervention!!!

Girl. #2 just chaps my hide!! LOL!! I NEED an outlet in the bathroom. I don't want blow dry my hair anywhere else and get hair all over the place. Also, I like to wax my eyebrows and underarms. I need the bright lights of the bathroom for this!!! LOL!! So I've resorted to an extension cord running from the hallway into the bathroom. Do they think I'm gonna just be dumb and stick my curling iron in the toilet? Sheesh.

#7. I either turn my teeth to ice cubes or scald my tongue when brushing my teeth here. Can we get some WARM or COOL water here?? The UK is a place of extremes!!!

#11. That is gonna take me a while. Someone says something about some damn celsius and out comes my iPhone. I need my conversion app.

#13. Yeah, I got made fun of for saying "aluminum." Ok guys, ha ha. But for the record "a-lu-MIN-EE-UM" sounds ridic.

#16. The dagblasted flies this past summer were out of order!!!! Yep, Britain needs a window intervention!!!

omg you just made me laugh!!! YES I have hair all under my desk because I shed so much. In the bathroom, I just let it fall into the sink and I scooped it up and threw it in the trash. But nooooo!! They allow shavers....but not everything else! Yeah, let me just toss my hair dryer into the bath!!

Celsius is the worst...I can't see 15 on my phone and know what that feels like. Give me Fahrenheit!

"Dagblasted" XD

And I agree, the UK is the "land of extremes"   

omg you just made me laugh!!! YES I have hair all under my desk because I shed so much. In the bathroom, I just let it fall into the sink and I scooped it up and threw it in the trash. But nooooo!! They allow shavers....but not everything else! Yeah, let me just toss my hair dryer into the bath!!

Celsius is the worst...I can't see 15 on my phone and know what that feels like. Give me Fahrenheit!

"Dagblasted" XD

And I agree, the UK is the "land of extremes"   

Ha ha! Glad I could make you laugh! But the funny thing is I'm coming to embrace it all. I'm not sure if it's better or worse... it's just different. Some things are easier to adapt to than others. But I also realize how much I took most things for granted in the US. Anyway, it's an adventure!

#13. Yeah, I got made fun of for saying "aluminum." Ok guys, ha ha. But for the record "a-lu-MIN-EE-UM" sounds ridic.

The spelling is different though, which means they are two different words which are pronounced differently.

Therefore, you are correct for saying alumin-UM, because that is how it is spelled in the US .

And Brits are correct for saying alumin-I-UM because that’s how it is spelled in the UK .



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The spelling is different though, which means they are two different words which are pronounced differently.

Therefore, you are correct for saying alumin-UM, because that is how it is spelled in the US .

And Brits are correct for saying alumin-I-UM because that’s how it is spelled in the UK .



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I didn't even notice it was spelled differently.

Ya learn something new everyday!!

Mine are a bit more about commonly used incorrect terminology.

Such as:

I brought instead of bought.  "I brought a house."  Wow, you mean you lugged a house on your back all the way over here? 

Chester draws instead of Chest of Drawers.

There are more.  Lots more.

Ha ha! Glad I could make you laugh! But the funny thing is I'm coming to embrace it all. I'm not sure if it's better or worse... it's just different. Some things are easier to adapt to than others. But I also realize how much I took most things for granted in the US. Anyway, it's an adventure!

I'm struggling with being lonely and not having my friends/family/familiarity. I miss driving and the independence it brought. I can't do much outside of town without my husband's help and I hate that.

Other than that, I'm adjusting and loving it here. Sometimes I feel like I'm going to go back home soon.

The spelling is different though, which means they are two different words which are pronounced differently.

Therefore, you are correct for saying alumin-UM, because that is how it is spelled in the US .

And Brits are correct for saying alumin-I-UM because that’s how it is spelled in the UK .



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes, I know that it's two different words but I think that THEY didn't know that. Because they proceeded to take the mickey for the next like 10 minutes. LOL!! I've resorted to just calling it "foil" now. 

so. much. this. It's hard enough learning a manual but with the wrong hand 

Yeah, but the shifting pattern is the same as in the States, correct? So you can't just mirror everything.

I'm having weird flashes, when out driving with my driving instructor, of suddenly feeling that I'm on the wrong side of the road. Mini-panic attacks. And with the list of stuff I'm not doing "correctly" it'll be a miracle if I ever pass my driving test.  I did learn how to reverse into a bay the other day - when my elbow is on the line two bays down, I turn the wheel hard and the car pretty much parks itself! That's cool! I am just hoping they don't ask me to parallel park. Oh, dear god, I'm on the wrong side of the car for parallel parking!

And then there's the thing about there being no stop signs. I have not seen a single stop sign since my arrival (18+ months ago). Lots of "give way" (aka "Yield") markings on the roads. But no red signs with "STOP" on 'em.

Britishisms:

Phone Points.
Hob.
Cooker.
"Lifting" meaning other than the literal term.
Mince. (To me, mince is a verb, not a noun.)
I'm forgetting the others - going native, I am!