Skip to main content

Asking for a ride in England

I have just been made aware of the fact that if I ask someone for a ride here in England, instead of asking for a lift, I am actually requesting sex!!  It's things like this that are so hard to get used to!  It's not like there is a handbook that comes with your visa - Although there should be!!


Some other things I have learned since arriving here...


** A fag is a cigarette, not a distasteful word for homosexual, so you can imagine my surprise when my husband asked me for the 1st time after kissing me (when I still smoked), if I was just sucking on a fag!


** A toilet is the word for restroom not just the thing you sit on (the word restroom just gets you a blank look when asking for directions to the nearest bathroom).


** Pants are actually underwear here not trousers, so while walking down the street talking to my husband saying, 'I think I'll wear my black pants tonight', gets me some pretty interesting looks from passer-byers!


** A period refers to menstruation not a punctuation mark (which is called a 'full stop') so if you make a statement saying something like: We're not doing that tonight - period (meaning end of conversation), people might look at you funny as well.


** A fanny is a word for female genitalia - not a cute word for butt (My husband still giggles like a child when he sees a fanny-mae commercial on TV in the US). So, I don't recommend saying to a child 'Did you fall on your fanny.' You might get a good talking to by a angry parent!


** You all right (said like: Y'alright)?  Is a greeting like saying 'how ya doin?'  When I first arrived I used to wonder why everyone seemed so concerned.  I thought maybe I looked sad all the time!


** An aubergine is an eggplant, a courgette is a Zucchini, a prawn in a shrimp and a biscuit is a cookie and a sweet is candy (I can go on and on)...


** If someone asks you over for tea, they are actually inviting you over for dinner so, don't eat before arriving or you'll be eating twice that day!


** Bugger is not a cute replacement word for a curse either!  It is a very dirty word to use, so I'm glad I never used it in the presents of my new in-laws!


There are a million things like this that make it a challenge to have simple conversations with people here in England if you speak American vs English and I am still learning.  I am just glad I didn't ask one of Wayne's friends for a ride before finding out it's true meaning!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Fight Club for Five Year Olds - Part 2

The other mother and I went into the school to meet with the teacher and the assistant head.  We both let them know how upset we were that we were not informed that our children were sent to the office and how much we were against the children being allowed to play fighting games on the playground.  I told them I wouldn't allow it at home and I'm really unhappy that it's being allowed at school.  They admitted it was a problem and explained that they are planning to introduce a a scheme to teach the children to play in a safe way.  They will be calling it 'Super Hero Training'.  They plan to give out capes & masks out to children who behave well as rewards at playtime.  They will have assemblies where they will teach the children to play fighting games without making contact.  I find this to be absurd.  The problem has gone on to long and I doubt they will be able to teach little children to change their games when they have sixty other childr...

Attitude adjustment...

It's been a while since I blogged regularly. I guess I've been going by the rule - if you don't have anything nice to say - don't say anything at all. I hate 'woe is me' type entries and for the last month or so, I've been really down and haven't had anything good to say. I think it started with the news that Aniela (my fellow expat girlfriend) was moving back to the US and was exacerbated by the incident with Wayne's cousin and the flare up of my condition (along with a general feeling of homesickness & loneliness). I was really depressed for quite a few weeks there and haven't been doing much more than going to the gym and other random things to keep me busy during the day. I haven't even worked on my web classes (in any serious way) in weeks (probably because I can't concentrate when I'm in pain - never mind get very motivated). I'm not so down anymore. Maybe it's the sunshine. Maybe it's the fact that I'...

Friday Night with Jonathan Ross

Did anyone see Friday Night with Johnathan Ross last night? (for those of you in the US - it's a British R-Rated, Jay Leno type show) He had on the actor Dominic Monaghan (who plays Charlie on Lost). While discussing the show, Dominic (who I really liked before last night) said the problem with the cast of Lost is that there are too many bloody Americans. To Which Jonathan Ross replied, 'Isn't that the problem with the world'? The audience roared with laughter and applauded (so did my husband as if he's not married to one of those bloody Americans and laying on the couch with her watching the damned show). It didn't stop there. they went on to talk about how much it annoys them that we destroy the language etc etc etc... It was yet again, another example that leads me to believe that this type of attitude is the general feeling that all people in this country seem to have. Wayne says I'm wrong, but I sometimes wonder if he too shares this opinion. ...