1. To flush a toilet in England, push the button or flusher down very hard and swiftly or you will likely get an unsatisfactory flush. The quality of flush seems to be related to the handling of the flushing mechanism.
2. I have got to stop referring to the clothing I wear on my legs as pants, as in "bought some new pants today - want to see them?". I'm going to embarrass myself soon, if I haven't already (note to the North Americans: "pants" means "underwear" in England - the outerwear is called "trousers").
3. Always look right before you cross the street. It's not a good idea to realize halfway across the street that you failed to check for oncoming traffic because you looked in the wrong direction and are very lucky to not be on the underside of a car right now.
4. Many people will assume you are Australian if you speak English fluently but with an odd accent. The correct response to this is "Yes, I've come to work in your pubs." Apparently England is full of Australians who have come over to work in a pub for a year or two.
5. November = Fog. Nearly every day in the past week, I would not have ventured outside the house in a car if I still lived in North America. Here, the roads are just as full and people drive nearly as fast. I guess if fog puts you off driving, you'd better stock up in October for a month of being shut in. Our car has fog lights, but I still haven't figured out what they do that is beneficial to us.
Musings of a Canadian who has moved with her husband to England. Likely to be full of stories of me greatly offending those around me via many cultural foibles. Hopefully some happy stories of how wonderful our new life is.
#1 - have they designed toilets there with 2 separate flush mechanisms, depending on how much water you need to get a satisfactory flush?
ReplyDelete#2 - reminds me of Elizabeth asking a friend in Belfast if she should wear pants or a skirt to some function. The answer? "Both, please!"
#3 - this is a real matter for prayer for 2 of my children...too many years of looking left first and then stepping out into the street can be extremely dangerous!
#4 - nice that they don't automatically decide you're American. :)
#5 - similar here...November is generally the worst month.
You have a blog!! How exciting! I ditto everything that you just wrote. The toilet still stumps me at times, but practise makes perfect.
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