Wow, a whirlwind

The last month has been a blur.  Closing bank accounts, getting rid of cars, moving into a temporary apartment, moving out of a temporary apartment, traveling for work to Spain, buying a house, moving house, a 40th birthday party (for a friend:)), a final road trip to Bath, various sleepovers for the girls, four or five goodbye events of sorts, and a fantastic dance performance.

Mara's first dance performance was a huge hit, and a tremendous success from the Sophie Gallie Dance Academy.  She was brilliant on stage, and was glowing afterwards.

On to America!

24 Days of British Culture: Day 24 - WC, Toilet, and Loo

Brits have lots of funny names for bathrooms - Water closets, toilets, the loo.

The thing is, they all are super small, usually cold, and they stink.  During our trip home last week, it was interesting to look at public American bathrooms that were 2-3x the size of what you would see in England.

In this bathroom, I think I could pee into all three urinals without moving my feet.  It makes it easier to play swords, but not great if you get stage fright...

"I'm going to pop to the loo to have a wee"

24 Days of British Culture: Day 23 - Greetings and Goodbyes

We found it quite unusual when we were first asked, "you alright there?"

This translates to lots of different meanings:

• How are you?
• Can I help you?
• What's new?
• Hi.

Similarly, "cheers" has lots of meanings as well.

• Thanks
• Goodbye
• Cheers!

Some of these will take a little while to break once we get back in America.  I've found myself saying "Cheers" and "you already there?" all the time.

Finally, I've always find greetings with women a little awkward.  How well do I know them? - do I give a kiss on two cheeks?  In Switzerland, it is three kisses.  Or is it more formal and a handshake?  Does the person prefer no touching at all?  Whatever the answer, I always seem to come up on the awkward end of this one.

24 Days of British Culture: Day 22 - I Need a Toothbrush

After our American house-finding hiatus, we're back to finish off the last 8 days...here you go...

This is the toothbrush section at Boots.  Boots is a kind of a pharmacy/Walgreens/Target-without clothes and food.

The toothbrush section is 3 feet wide:

This is the toothbrush section at Target in Minneapolis.  The toothbrush section is 6 feet wide and twice as tall (insert your British teeth joke here):

24 Days of British Culture: Day 21 - Royalty

You can't discuss English culture without mentioning the Royal Family.  We have yet to run into royalty...this was our closest encounter over the last three years...

24 Days of British Culture: Day 20 - Radiators

Most English homes have boilers and radiators...

They are great for drying clothes, but not the best for even heating in the house.

24 Days of British Culture: Day 19 - Parking

This is a normal and accepted parking practice:

The roads are typically so narrow, that there is no choice but to park halfway on the sidewalk in order to fit two cars side-by-side on the road.

This is another common occurrence due to the square kerbs (curbs) and narrow spots...rim rash (Christina and I are both unfortunately familiar with this:)).

24 Days of British Culture: Day 18 - Grocery Store Oddities

The grocery store is a little different experience than what we were used to in America.

Check this...the cashiers all sit.  It looks a little more comfortable:

And the beer and wine section is larger than the cereal section!

We have also enjoyed participating in the online grocery trend.  Over 12% of all groceries are sold online here, and we are totally hooked.  What a timesaver!  Does Amazon Fresh deliver to MN yet?

24 Days of British Culture: Day 17 - Accents

Before moving to England, we couldn't differentiate between Geordies, Scousers, Yorkshire, and a proper "posh" accent (that would be Queen's English).

We have silly American accents still - we are often mistaken for Canadian actually.  Mara has developed a proper English accent.  Jeryn has developed a nice blend of a Tennessee twang combined with proper English.  Here's an unofficial map of UK accents:

24 Days of British Culture: Day 16 - Ironing and Laundry

Many Brits take their ironing pretty seriously.  Everything is ironed: jeans, knickers, even sheets.  Wrinkles are unacceptable in this society:)

I think Christina is looking forward to American laundry.  She isn't a huge fan of having to go outside to the washer/dryer.  Somehow I'm sure we'll end up with some fancy type of new steam dryer or something that doesn't require an iron.