3 Days 'til Home

Is it really THREE days until I go home? I'm so sad about this :( I've had such a great summer in London. I feel like I've gotten the hang of London life and I could stay here for a lot longer. Unfortunately, duty calls, and I must go back to school on Monday. One more year and then I'm free to move wherever I want. (Assuming I can get a job there!) Maybe it'll be London, maybe Atlanta, maybe somewhere completely different. I've got about 8 months to make up my mind.

Right, let's get on with it then:

What I'll miss about London: When walking/busing down the street to meet my friends for lunch I realized how much I'm going to miss Old Street! Before we moved office we were located at 20 Old Street and the new office is just down the road, not far at all. So I've been on Old Street almost everyday for the past three months and I've come to know it very well. One thing I'll especially miss is the "food alley" as my girlfriends and I call it. Vendors from all over the world set up vans, tents and tables on one side street off of Old Street. I was partial to the Italian place; they had the best tortellini! I'll miss the daily grind of having a real job, as crazy as that sounds. It won't be near as exciting having a job in America. To me, going to work everyday was an adventure right up to the very end.

What I'm looking forward to in America: It's getting harder and harder to come up with these :( Not that I don't love home, I do. I've just been living in my favorite city for the past three months; I've been spoiled! But one thing I've been looking forward to since I GOT here was and is seeing the kids I babysit. And there's a new little one! The Lochhead family welcomed a baby boy, Gus, last month and I can't wait to meet him. Most of all I can't wait to see my buddy, Georgia! No favoritism here, we just spend the most time together out of all the 9 children I babysit.

5 Days 'til Home

Well, I missed yesterday because I was/am in Berlin! I'm visiting my Uncle Topper, Aunt Katja, and cousins, Max (14) & Tillman (10). It's been a few years since I've seen them, so it's so great to catch up - and in Berlin! What a cool city. Yesterday we walked all around and Topper kept pointing out when we were in old East vs. old West Berlin. We saw where the wall once was and all of the new buildings that have recently gone up. There is some great architecture here. While Berlin is a big city, there are certain parts that give it a small-town feel, such as the awesome wooden playground we went on yesterday and the garden my aunt and uncle rent and care for; it's only a bus ride away from their apartment. See? Big city, small-town feel. Today I'm off to explore with Max and Tillman. Here we go!

What I'm going to miss about London: Double-decker buses. I absolutely LOVE taking the bus at any time of day. My favorite seat is at the top in the very front. It often seems as though you are about to or have already run over the car or cyclist in front, but rarely does that actually happen. In my eyes, it's a free tour of the fabulous city that is London.

What I'm looking forward to in the USA: Hmm.. it's hard to top double-decker buses, so let me give this a good think ... Mmm, yes. I've got it. Whole wheat options and light options of everything. It seems like we have hundreds of choices when it comes to bread alone. I love the really thin wheat bread. It lets me feel like I'm being health-conscious while eating my turkey sandwich and feel less guilty on that trip to St. Louis Frozen Custard Factory.

*Another thing I'll miss about London: Everyone is not so damn concerned with weight! This is a good and a bad thing. You can understand both sides, I trust.

Until next time! x

9 Days 'til Home

What I'll miss about London: Being able to "pop down to the shop." Gotta love the corner news agents and local shops where you can get just what you need pretty much whenever you need it. Chocolate fix? Absolutely; grab a Dairy Milk or a Flake. Alcohol? Check! Will that be a £5 bottle of Cab Sauv or a few cans of Carlsberg? And of course you can get your Heinz baked beans for that English fry-up you're so desperately craving after a big night out. It's true that as far as convenience, America is the King. But the little convenience shops that seem to be on every corner of every street are wonderfully helpful for this American in England.

What I'm looking forward to in the USA: Walgreens, of course! And having the choice of two Walgreens that are equidistant from my house. Without shame, I'll add that I get to DRIVE there and I don't have to walk. Granted, Walgreens is further from my house than the nearest news agent is here, but even if it was just as close I might still drive. Although that isn't very green of me... I'll cycle - I mean bike - instead.

10 Days 'til Home

This post comes on the morning after the day I got bitten by some kind of spider. My ankle is swollen and painful as all hell but there's no point trying to make an appointment to see a doctor; there's NO chance I'd get in before next week. Did get some medicine from the pharmacy... and had to pay out of pocket, of course.

So, without further ado:

What I'll miss about London: Their lovely currency. Makes more sense than American coins, I think. 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p, 1 pound and 2 pound coins make everything eeeasy. Oh, and no added tax at the register - it's already factored in so you're not paying $2.67; it's £2.60.

What I'm looking forward to in America: Being able to see the doctor on short notice and health insurance coverage.

11 Days 'til Home

What I'll miss about London: Pimms and cider.

What I'm looking forward to in the USA: Bud Light and the gym.

12 Days 'til Home

Since I've been a terrible blogger this summer, I plan to make up for it by blogging everyday until I go home. I will list one thing I'm going to miss and one thing I'm looking forward to when I get home.

What I'll miss about London: Glasses of red wine in Bar Soho.

What I'm looking forward to in the USA: Tide-to-go.

Anthropological Observations

Once again I've found it difficult to make time for blogging. My apologies, faithful readers.

This is my 6th or 7th time in England and I think I'm finally able to pinpoint some differences between this country and my native one. After returning home from my summer here in 2007 I was at a loss for words when people asked me how things across the pond compare to things at home. To be honest, I didn't think things were that different with the exception of English people being decidedly more laid back about certain things and stores closing at 5pm everyday. I have always, always appreciated the ever-present option of going to the pub and I take advantage of it when I can. (This may be indicative of a personal problem but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it, shall we?) The drinking culture is obviously different over here, a big part of that to do with the legal drinking age being 18, not 21. While 18 year olds can legally go out to clubs and have a few pints with lunch or dinner down at the pub, we Americans take the much more tactful approach to drinking: Take eight shots of vodka and go out and see what happens. (Note: Good things rarely happen to an 18 year old after eight shots of vodka.) Everyone here in England asks about the famous "red cups" they've seen in movies like "American Pie," and let's face it, we Americans know that a party ain't a party 'til you've got your Solo cup. College students in America are beer pong experts by the end of their first semester and are well versed in Flip Cup, Quarters and Kings/Circle of Death, among other culturally relevant drinking games well before their 21st birthdays. Funny, aren't we?

The best part of drinking in England is the number of late night Kabab shops where you can get a burger and some nice thick-cut chips after a night of drinking and dancing. Oooh - I'm sorry, England, I've just remembered that in America you can get Taco Bell at almost any hour of the night, provided you have a DD. Sorry - that one goes to America.

But England comes back swinging! The most endearing quality of every single Brit, and I feel confident making such a sweeping statement because I swear they ALL have this in common, is the seemingly endless list of idioms every one of them knows and uses constantly. I love it! I just don't have the memory for it; I can never think in time to say something is as "cheap as chips" or that I did "sod all" today. I can't even think of them now when I'm trying to. I'm rubbish - there you go.

And one final observation of the Yank vs the Brit: Americans are insanely nice and happy all the time. We all have very good manners when meeting new people; we shake hands and say "nice to meet you," and then we usually ask our new acquaintance about himself to find anything we may have in common and that might be a jumping off point for conversation. Even the tone of voice we use, or at least for girls, is different. We speak in a considerably higher pitch that doesn't sound like our real voice. Why this is I have no idea. In England when two people are introduced they will just say "alright?" "alright." and that's that. They take less of an initiative to speak to people they don't know. In fact, they don't do it. Often times Americans seem "fake" and insincere to the English when they are so high-pitchedly asked for detailed descriptions of their personal lives by a complete stranger. People really start to notice I'm American when I make conversation with strangers in the chip shop or out in a bar at night. But I'm completely genuine in my gregariousness and I'm not ashamed. Having spent so much time over here I have developed an understanding of English culture and I can communicate with them comfortably like I can with my American friends. I know, I know, they're not animals in the zoo. But in my experience I've learned that the longer one spends in another culture the easier it is to relate to the people there and to form deeper relationships. But as is human nature (with the possible exception of the French), after a while the two cultures begin to understand each other. By this I mean that the American's voice returns to normal and she tries to seem less excited about every single thing that happens and the Brit starts to consider the possibility that when one person is nice to another, she might actually not be taking the piss and it could be genuine.