Its all about the baby

I haven't written for a while because I've been busy having a baby and being a mother. I recently joined a website called bumps to bambinos and then I became one of the administrators for the site. This site is for pregnant woman and mothers to post questions on it for others to comment with their opinions. The people following on the page are from the UK as it is a UK website. So recently I have come across a few names that mean different things that i catch myself seeing that i wanted to point out.

In England - dummy
In America - its called pacifier

In England - push chair/buggy
In America - its stroller

In England - nappy
In America - diaper

The Maternity Story

This subject came up because I'm pregnant and due in June. My cousin and a good friend of mine in England asked me how much time off I would be taking and I told them that I would be taking 6- 8 weeks off. They were very surprised because the standard in England is 9 months. She said it depends company to company but usually 3 months you get 2/3rd of your pay, then another 3 months 1/3 or 1/2 of your pay and then for the last 3 months unpaid. This was very surprising to me because 6-8 weeks is standard here and you may or may not get paid for this time depending on the company you work for. I think most people would get fired if they asked for 9 months. Not sure why there is this big difference between maternity time in both countries.

Nuts and Bolts

At work there was a container of pretzels, chips, peanuts etc and I heard it being referred to as 'nuts and bolts.' I was surprised, perhaps I had mis-heard because this wasn't a container of screws and fasteners. Perplexed I waited and then I heard it being called again nuts and bolts but it was still the same container of pretzels, chips and peanuts. So I asked and apparently a snack mix can be termed nuts and bolts because it is a combination of different things. And nuts and bolts is a terminology not just for screws and fasteners but also for a snack mix and it could be a variation of different snack mixes.

Interesting...!

Trimming the tree

This past christmas I heard someone use the phrase 'trimming the tree.' I was surprised I haven't heard that phrase before, so I asked them what they meant - and they said this meant decorating the tree for christmas.
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary the word 'trim' means to 'embellish with ribbons, lace and/or ornaments' as well as 'to cut', or 'to beat.' Initially when they said they were trimming the tree, I thought they were giving the tree a hair cut lol because to me that's what trim means but in fact trimming in this context also means to decorate, to embellish. The phrase could also be reworded as 'trimming the house', which would basically mean to embellish the house with christmas lol or something like that. I'm sure I'm not the only English Yankee who had to take a second look at this. So, next year I guess I'll be joining the rest of you in trimming my house and tree...

Bangers and mash mainly...

One of the things I miss most about England is of course the food that I grew up with. Fish and chips, Bangers and mash, Shephards pie --- yum. Finally though - I have found a great place to have my England favorites. The pub at Pointe Orlando - is a great place because it has a wide selection of traditional English dishes, and for those that like it - also about 40 different types of beer and spirits. In fact 3/4 of their menu is dedicated to that. Hopefully this place will stay around.
Anyway did you ever wonder where the name bangers and mash originated from. For those that don't know what this is, it refers to sausages and mashed potatoes. The term 'bangers' has its origins from World War 2, because at this time sausages were under a ration so they were made with water and therefore they were more likely to explode under a high temperature if not cooked carefully.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangers_and_mash

Watching TV and ..... getting confused

So a good American friend of ours recently asked me a question. He said 'do English people who watch American TV in the UK, ever wonder about thanksgiving.' Most of the American typical shows, Grey's anatomy, Gossip Girl, 90210 etc.. are also popular in the UK and typically these shows will feature a special thanksgiving and Christmas episode although due to lag of scheduling, the timing of the shows most likely does not correspond as nicely with the holidays as it does with us in the US. However - back to the question, do people in England ever watch an American show and wonder what is all this thanksgiving. Well - living in London I had previously been a prisoner to the hype of the American shows, back then it was Beverly Hills, Melrose place, Gilmore girls etc and I did notice that there was some kind of thanksgiving event that happened in American. It seemed to me that it was about family getting together with a lot of food. I'm not sure if it is really analyzed or thought about it. I'm sure the curious would google thanksgiving or perhaps just figure out its meaning from the concepts that they would see because I know for years I had been watching American TV and thought nothing of it. Well maybe its because I multitask when I watch TV and maybe I didn't pay as much attention.... lol just kidding.
That's all for now... be back soon.

Queuing Up

Whether it be at airport security, at Walmart, or on Blackfriday - no-one likes to line up. But in England its not calling lining up its called a queue. Although now that I think about it, I remember my English teacher (whose name I won't mention) he would get very strict and particular that we were all in a line. If the line was not perfectly straight, either he would go off at us, or we would have to re-line up. He seriously had an obsession with everyone lining up really straight. Was he preparing us for the world? For the lines that would await us in the future. The line that we take when we drive to work everyday. The line that we wait in when we make a purchase, go to the bank, or pick up the kids at school. The line that becomes part of everyday life. The line that people don't like to wait in. Have you noticed that when there's a traffic jam, there's always at least one person who thinks that they shouldn't have to wait in the line (like the rest of us) and they try to go on the extra emergency lane or they try to cut everyone else off so they can get perhaps an inch further. How about the lines at the theme parks in the blazing sun. The lines that we all wait in just to get on a ride for about 3 minutes, for those few minutes of thrill and excitement. Has anyone ever calculated what percent of our line we spend lining up.
In England they call it queing up. In America its called a line. But its the same at the end of the day.

Wow look at that queue.... but we'll still stand in it anyway. Because its the queue to our future and sometimes its worth the wait.

Sweet Tooth

I don't think the subject of candy can be written about too much. I know I've stressed about the absence of Cadbury's in the US (although you can find a small selection at an outrageous price in select store in the US) but the subject of this post refers to some other matters of the sweet kind.
I asked my niece the other day if she wanted a biscuit and she looked at me like I was crazy. Well perhaps... but.... she had no idea what that was. In America biscuits are actually called cookies. It doesn't matter what the shape of these are or what they contain. In America biscuits are actually those things you can get from McDonalds or Dunkin donuts that you have for breakfast (see below)

But in London if you ask for a biscuit... you will actually get what Americans call a cookie (see below)

Continuing with the discussion of sweet treats....
US Candy = UK sweets
so skittles are candy in America but in UK you would call them sweets.

Big Hats

Amidst the news of the Royal Wedding was of course the subject of big hats. I've always seen big hats being worn in England especially on auspicious occasions such as weddings etc. but now living in America I was seeing the hats in a different light. I tried to google some reasons why big hats were worn and to so much pomp and animation in the UK but this just appears to be a tradition that arose. Big hats are worn to racing events and weddings. So lets not argue... just watch and enjoy.

Vegetarian please

I am barely vegetarian but I have a lot of friends and family members who are either vegetarians or just eat halal meat. In London it was not much of an issue. It was easy to get vegetarian options. Only when I need to be vegetarian or am around friends and family who are vegetarian have I noticed the difference in Florida. I'm sure it is not so prevelant in other states, like New York where there is a more diverse population. Orlando is a big tourist spot, especially the theme park, outlets, shopping malls etc offer very little vegetarian choices. Each place will most likely offer a cheese pizza and if you're likely pasta with tomato sauce but that is usually the extent of the vegetarian choices and unless you want to engage in a diet of pizza and pasta you have very little other choices. I know that non vegetarian is the majority but if would be nice, especially in a tourist area, and attractions to appeal to everyone and offer choices that would be suitable to people of vegetarian and non vegetarian diets.

blouse, shirt, sweater, cardigans, jacket = all the same right?

The difference in terminology for the upper garment clothing made shopping with my cousin challenging to say the least lol. We survived.
Blouse (UK) = shirt (US)
Shirt (US) = T-shirt (UK)
Confused yet?
If its a nice top, its called a blouse in England. But in America we call that a shirt. But what's called a shirt in London is actually a T shirt. So when I yelled at her to come and look at a 'shirt' she was wondering why I was calling a blouse a shirt.

Similiarly in England a jacket is a heavy thick thing that people wear in extreme cold, but what we call a jacket is a light full length zip up hoodie that I may grab to take to the movies with me (see picture)

So if you like to shop make sure you know the differences when you visit!!

R u mad?

One of my cousins in England wrote to me and said that he thought that this was an important difference. Said that when he visited America he noticed that when Americans used the phrase mad - they were referring to someone being crazy, but in the UK when someone says mad - they mean angry.
I haven't seen that too much actually or encountered a problem with offending someone or meaning something else and it being interpreted differently.

It's boiling

I love the phrase - It's boiling. I can't believe that I almost forgot it from living in the UK. I've recently begun to adopt it and the staff where I work sometimes look at me like I'm crazy but I think they're starting to understand what I mind.

People generally think of the term 'boiling' to refer to something in a pot that is boiling away, like water etc.

In London, the term 'its boiling' refers to the weather. Its just another way of saying 'its hot'. But I think the term 'its boiling' does a better job of expressing how you feel especially when it is super hot and you feel like you are actually boiling.

The driving game

It seems like people in the UK seem to spend a large portion of their time reversing, whereas that is not true in the US. I actually began learning to drive in England. And almost every single lesson there was an exercise where I had to reverse around the corner. It was prettlucy tedious and exhaustive especially because 90% of the time there was usually cars waiting to move past me and were really aggravated with the extended amount of time it took me to reverse around the corner.

In addition, people also reverse park in London. On occassion I've seen people (mostly just my parents) who reverse park (back into a driving space) but this is not common in Florida. I think that the biggest reason why it is done so much in London is because the parking spaces are smaller and also there is more traffic.

Roundabouts luckily for me are not present much in Florida but they are everywhere in England. I wonder why. The lack of roundabouts makes it easier for people who come to America to drive, because they are less likely to drive on the wrong side of the road. Are roundabouts that helpful at the end of the day?
Of course I can't comment on all the US states just on the ones I happen to reside at.
To be honest - I'm kinda glad about not having roundabouts here... I never did like them.

And lastly.... in London if you are learning to drive you have to display a L plate which is prominently displayed on your car. And when you pass you have to display a P plate. But that isn't seen in Florida. I know that at school they offer drivers ed classes but usually most people learn how to drive from a family or friend member and they usually just have someone sitting next to them while they drive around. But I have never seen any indication on a car that it is a driver in training. Maybe that would explain all these crazy drivers I see on the road.

That's naff

Naff is used in the UK to say when something is rubbish. 'That's naff' - i haven't heard that saying in a long time.

Air conditioning

Florida is the warm state.. there's no discussion about that. And that's why I love Florida but what I don't understand is that when you go into shops, the cinema or whatever the air conditioning is on something like 60 degrees so its freezing. You wear clothes based on the weather outside, so when its 90 degrees outside, you're wearing shorts and t shirts etc but then you go into a store and the AC is on 60 degrees and you're freezing. Doesn't anyone realize that this fluctuation between 90 and 60 degrees is enough to get anyone sick.

Coke no ice please

What's the deal with ice? Growing up in the UK I was never used to ice. Never had ice with my water or in my drinks. On the few occasions when the waiter asked if I wanted ice I declined because it seemed like the drink was watered down with the addition of the ice.

In the US you have to specifically state when ordering a drink that you DO NOT want ice because otherwise you will get ice. And sometimes when you do request no ice, you still get it ANYWAY. I hate ice in my drink, what's the deal with that anyway. It waters down whatever it is you choose. I guess if the drink has been kept out and is really hot, you may need ice to cool it down but otherwise if the drink is cool, I'll take it without ice.

'coke, no ice please'

The selling game

We all know how enthusiastic sales associates are in the US and how keen they are to do everything they can to make a sale. Well most of the time they have to - its their job. And in certain stores they get a commission based upon how much they can sell.

Went to Macy's the other day w/ my cousin. She was looking at a designer bag. A sales associate approached us and asked if she could help. A few minutes that she approached us again in a different area asking again if she could help. After saying no both times, I was surprised when I saw her again for the third time, but this time she began asking us if we had a Macy's credit card, and if not, she would be happy to open one for us so we could get an additional discount on this purchase she was 'hoping' we would make. When my cousin told her that she was not a Florida resident, she went on to tell us that she could still try to open an account for her or would try to see if she could offer her an international discount if she could open a international credit card. Seriously - I think she was a little over the top, but I guess she was just doing her job.

Isn't it funny how sometimes when you do want help, you can never find someone to help you but when you don't want help, and you just want to be left alone to do your shopping - there is someone bugging you constantly.

You can't win - I suppose.

That's awesome

Have you ever noticed how many times Americans say 'that's awesome?' Do we really mean it, or is it just another optimistic way of looking at the world, or just part of the American friendliness that we all try to portray.

Crisps or Chips

In the UK - crisps are those things that you get in small little packets in different flavors and shapes. Chips are the things you get in a newspaper that are fried and you can put salt and vinegar on.

In the US - chips are the things in small little packets. Fries are the things you get from McDonalds, burger king, wendy's etc.

At Washington airport my cousin and her kids were at the airport and fancied some 'chips' (the typical fish and chips). and when they asked for chips at a food stall, they were surprised when they got a packet of crisps  (Doritos) which in America are actually called chips. So just remember when visiting.......... you have to know what is called what if you want a good snack.