"I'm sorry, I don't speak American"- Mr. Salt (in the 2005 version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)

Anyone who knows me knows of my love for Will & Grace. Since I have been in London, I’ve developed a new love and appreciation for this clip:


Even though I am studying abroad in an English-speaking country, I often feel like I am learning a new language, and lately I am catching myself more and more speaking like a Brit. Some of the differences are interesting, even amusing. Others irk me. Some of the biggest differences that stick out to me are:

-The use of the word “the”: The British often omit this word- if you’re sick you “go to hospital”. If you need to run errands you “go to shops”.

-They call cream cheese “Philadelphia” (after the brand). I had a long debate with a British friend over this, but I maintain that this is ridiculous and I refuse to ever pass anyone “the Philadelphia”. I will only hand them the CREAM CHEESE if they call it by its proper name.

- “Really” becomes “quite” and “real” becomes “proper”

- “I have” or “I don’t have” becomes “I’ve got” “I haven’t got”

- They say “Cheers!” as a parting term, but I still haven’t decided if it is supposed to be used in lieu of “thank you” or in addition to it. I generally say both, because I don’t want to be rude, but I hear both ways said equally as often

- “You alright? / You ok?” is the same as “how are you?” It took me a while to figure this one out, and I was very concerned that I must look suicidal considering how often people were asking me if I was ok

- Using the word “awesome” here is the same as wearing a sign around your neck that reads “Hello, I’m American!” I got sick of being mocked so I had to learn to use “lovely” or “brilliant” instead

- “Bathroom” refers to a room with a bath. If you simply need to use the little girls room, it is referred to as the “toilet”, and often the bath is in a room of its own.

- What Americans call “jello” the British call “jelly”. What we call “jelly” just doesn’t exist here. It’s quite sad.

- You don’t rent in London, you “hire”. Someone told me they had “hired a car” for the day, which naturally made me think he had paid a small fortune for a fancy car and chauffer. Really, he had gone to Hertz and rented a little clunker.

- To tease someone is to “try to get the mickey out of them”. I have no idea where this expression comes from.

- When we first got to London, our orientation leaders cautioned us to never, ever, under any circumstances use the term “fanny pack” or anything with the word “fanny.” Here, it refers to a part of the female anatomy and will earn you some funny looks if you use it!

- Similarly, don’t talk about your “pants” in England! What they call “pants” we call “underwear”. So telling someone you need new pants, or that your pants are too tight, etc, will also earn you strange looks

- (This one isn’t verbal, but it is still part of communication, so it counts). Holding up your index and middle finger as if to count to two is not something you should do when trying to teach British children math, as the gesture is basically equivalent to holding up the middle finger. I learned that one the hard way.

- This: “Z” is the letter “zed” and it’s used far less often here than in the states. And this: “.” is a “full stop”.

- In “primary school” (not “elementary school”) you study “maths” (plural. Don’t ask me why.)

I have also been known to say “bloody” when I’m very upset, and an annoying person is a “bugger”.

I suppose the fact that I am speaking in a more British manner speaks to the fact that I have become quite comfortable here, and London feels almost like home (not that anything could ever compare to New York). In a weird way, this makes me feel proud and accomplished. It is nice to look back on how I felt when I first got here, and think how far I’ve come. I remember when I had no idea how to get to King’s Cross Station, and now I know three different ways to get there from my flat. London used to seem so strange and scary, but now I have made a life for myself here, and it’s a life I’m quite enjoying.

Sadly, I will be leaving this life in London in a matter of weeks. Between now and then I have six (killer) exams, and the paper of death. I’m stressed, overwhelmed, exhausted, and frustrated. I was going crazy for a bit, but I am trying to get everything under control, set plans, goals, and rewards for when I meet said goals.

One reward I gave myself was a trip to Leeds Castle yesterday with a wonderful friend. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, and we had a lovely day. Here are some pictures:


There were a million peacocks at Leeds Castles, but they were all being lazy and refusing to move and look pretty!


There's a huge flower show coming up at the castle, so we got a bit of a preview


A lovely cottage on the way up to the castle


Beautiful willow trees


Library in the Castle




Views of the castle


A tucan in Lady Bailie's Aviary


The maze at the castle (it's very tricky!)


Gardens at the castle

Blogger is being very annoying at the moment, so I can't upload as many pictures as I would like, but there are loads more of my facebook.