2. Twinings tea (real Twinings...)
3. Regular English Tea with Milk
4. Pubs
5. True alcoholic Bulmers, Magners, Kopparberg Cider
6. Terms:
Quid (slang for £)
Full stop
Chuffed
Chundered
Cheers
Fancy
Jumpers
Cross
Kicking off
Fit
Fanny/fanny about
Wanker
Faff/faff about
Pissed (drunk)
Popping by
You okay?
You alright?
Can't be bothered
Sorted/Sort out
Keen
Press on
Straight on
Knob
Knackered
Cringe
Mental
Cheeky
Fortnight
Knickers
Trousers
Crisps
Smart (not just intelligent but well put together, well dressed)
Posh
Clever
Slag
Bless
Fag (cigarette)
Rough
(to be added too... sometimes they don't just come to mind)
7. RIBENA. I have only found some cheap-o horrible version of Ribena in New York once... not like the true Ribena in the UK. Blackcurrant goodness!
8. Pret a Manger. This also exists in New York now but it's not the same.
9. DIGESTIVES. They are essentially biscuits (cookies in American terms) that cannot be found in the US
10. Quavers (type of potato crisp/chip)
11. Fish and Chips
12. Balls... there are so many balls here and opportunities to dress up.
13. Night buses. The tube stops at a certain hour but night buses are saviours! And... they don't just exist in Harry Potter
14. The history. Everything here is historical and as an outsider, that sense of history permeates into the culture: pubs, balls, education, etc. I will miss that sense of antiquity.15. The National Theatre. The National produces daring, solid, new works that look at society from the past to the present day. An institution like it does not exist in the States and I will miss it terribly. I wish there was such a dedication towards the theatre like that in the States.
16. UCL. They let me live my fantasy of studying in England and gave me quite a year of learning. I'm very thankful for what I've learned.
17. The Musical Theatre Society. They gave me a social life, an opportunity to have fun acting and to learn about myself. And despite the drama, I made good friends.
18. Cellar Door. So many good memories.
19. London style of clothing: classic, jumpers, brogues, very vintage-almost 1940s, sort of taking history into the present like the city and country.
20. Speaking of clothing these stores: Next, Topshop, Warehouse, Selfridges, John Lewis, Joy
21. And shoes: Office, Schuh, Clarks (it's different than in the States!), Dune
22. Camden. I know... odd. But I like Camden Lock and the wonderful shops/atmosphere of next to the river.
23. THE SOUTH BANK. So beautiful. It's where the National Theatre is and just looks over to Parliament - it encompasses what IS London.
24. The accents. There are so many accents in England (not even counting the whole of the UK) and I've learned to understand the region and 'class' assigned to it
25. Britain's obsession with class (this is not necessarily a good thing but something I find fascinating that is so unique, so unapologetic, and almost politically incorrect from an American point of view)26. The British Library
27. Cambridge. History and friends (Katie and Josh) - I always feel like I'm in Harry Potter when I go there.
28. Parks in London. There's so much green space and it's so charming and livable and typically... English.
29. Trains - trains get you everywhere... thank you RAILCARD!
30. Marks and Spencer. Not just because of Percy Pigs or their food...
31. PAPERCHASE. I never began to love stationary until I found this store.
32. Sainsburys. Good 'ole Sainsburys - main supermarket in the UK
33. Waitrose. High-end supermarket for when I feel POSH.
34. Boots. Boots has everything (drugstore)
35. NHS (National Health Service). America needs it. Full stop.
36. British humour - dry, sarcastic, and mockingly.
37. Friends (a number on a list doesn't give them justice AT ALL).
38. FOYLES. The best bookstore in England. Its main store is on Charing Cross Road and it is massive and so much better than a Barnes and Noble or Waterstones. It has EVERYTHING and it's not corporate. But SMART (both in intellect and in style).
39. COVENT GARDEN. Not the market part but Seven Dials, the streets around it - it's so quaint full of small shops and I just feel transported back in time to the quintessential charming London world.
40. Dove Spray Deodorant. They don't have spray deodorant in the States and I LOVE spray deodorant... odd I know. It just makes life easier. I will miss it... may need to import it!
More to add later...
It's odd. After being here for almost a year there are certain aspects of British/London life that don't seem so novel that would of made me so obsessed a year ago because of its 'British-ness':
-Pubs and the characters within them are so British (and Irish) and the atmosphere is so warm and full of tradition. Now it feels second nature, a place to meet people.
-The accent - I know it's lame but the accent doesn't faze me like it did before, now I begin to (dare I say it) judge or assess people on their accent (Brits and Americans included).
-Tea too... I used to think it was SO cute and British - now I love it.
-The TUBE - who knew? I know it and love it and it's orderliness (they have bars so people walk in one direction... and signs to direct pedestrian traffic).
-Driving on the other side of the road has become second nature. I wouldn't be surprised if I have a similar near death experience of being run over in America like I have here...
-The history... it still fascinates me when I read books and see where they happened, but the fact that I'm surrounded by it and that it is so embedded in the culture doesn't shock me like it used too. I know I will miss it when I get back to American and something (gasp!) 100 years old is 'old'.
The irony: the more I articulate these 'things' the more I single them out AS particularly novel and unique to what I'm 'used to'. Essentially, they may seem 'normal now' but truly they are and always will be somewhat 'differently fascinating.'
As I approach my departure... more to come, I assure you.
THE MORE TO COME:
One of the many amazing things about going abroad is learning about yourself but also really learning and understanding your country (America) and the country you're living in (Britain). I found that while I still don't always know when is the PC way to use England or Britain (it's quite complicated!), I feel I have gotten somewhat of a grasp on what is typically 'British' (or 'English' - I told you I didn't know!). And it's comforting knowing that it's both a combination of my own stereotypical movie vision of England but also of a more modern place full of complexities and issues that any country has. Whether it's the humour, the cultural bias, the pop culture obsessions, one acquires this knowledge by comparing it to what one knows (America) and by seeing the differences in how different countries present their news, conduct their elections, interact with each other and different classes, ethnicities, immigrants, and even how they wash their dishes and don't always use clothing dryers, one begins to have perspective on both where they came from and from where they are. But that's only possible by being in two different places and living life in those respective places. And as I approach my departure back to America, I find that comparison and the fact that I feel so invested in both America and England truly powerful.
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