Moving to England seems like it should be easy. "At least they speak the
same language!" people tell you when they hear where you're going. But
it's definitely a false sense of security. Here are some things I've learned so far that are different from home. Not better or worse, just different.
"You all right?"
This is the general greeting in Nottingham. I'm not sure how far it extends outside of the Midlands, or even if it's just in the city, but either way, it takes a lot longer to get used to than you would think. In stores, when you open the door, when you meet up with someone - this is what they say. And it's such a one-way question, to my mind, I forget that it's a greeting that requires some kind of reciprocating response. "Yes, thanks" seems insufficient, but that's usually what comes out until I remember a half a second later I should ask them if they ... are all right too? I'm still not sure what I should say.
The accent
My ear is still not attuned to it, and it's even harder because they say different things so the context clues aren't always there. I had to ask someone to repeat something three times last night only to find out she was saying "Did you enjoy yourself?" It makes me pretty anxious when I have to make calls, even moreso than the usual amount.
Squash
If someone tells you they're drinking squash, don't be like me and assume it's some gross new green drink and judge them. Turns out, squash for the Brits is a non-alcoholic concentrated syrup used in beverage making, also sometimes known as a cordial. Why do they call it squash? No idea. What do they call actual squash? Also no clue. Here's a fun fact from Wikipedia, though: The gorillas at London Zoo are given both squash and cold fruit tea to drink. When a silverback called Kumbuka escaped from his enclosure in 2016, he drank five litres of undiluted blackcurrant squash that was in the keepers' area.
Stores closing early
Stores here close much earlier than we're used to. The mall in town is only open until 6 pm on weekdays and 7 pm on Saturday. And under the Sunday Trading Act of 1994, shops over 3,000 sq ft can only be open for 6 continual hours on Sundays, between 10 am and 6 pm. So that leaves your Sunday grocery shopping window from about 10 am to 4 pm. And if you live near a 24 hour Tesco, which I'm told exists, it's 24 hours except Sunday. But they do grocery delivery here, too, so it's not that big of a deal so far.
Other grocery store items
So far I haven't been able to find tomato sauce, enchilada sauce or shredded cheese that isn't cheddar.
Garbage pick up
Garbage only gets picked up every other week, and same for recycling, but we're more used to that. At least we have a big can!
Things are still good so far. No extreme bouts of homesickness yet, and we're enjoying our adventure. One month for me!
"You all right?"
This is the general greeting in Nottingham. I'm not sure how far it extends outside of the Midlands, or even if it's just in the city, but either way, it takes a lot longer to get used to than you would think. In stores, when you open the door, when you meet up with someone - this is what they say. And it's such a one-way question, to my mind, I forget that it's a greeting that requires some kind of reciprocating response. "Yes, thanks" seems insufficient, but that's usually what comes out until I remember a half a second later I should ask them if they ... are all right too? I'm still not sure what I should say.
The accent
My ear is still not attuned to it, and it's even harder because they say different things so the context clues aren't always there. I had to ask someone to repeat something three times last night only to find out she was saying "Did you enjoy yourself?" It makes me pretty anxious when I have to make calls, even moreso than the usual amount.
Squash
If someone tells you they're drinking squash, don't be like me and assume it's some gross new green drink and judge them. Turns out, squash for the Brits is a non-alcoholic concentrated syrup used in beverage making, also sometimes known as a cordial. Why do they call it squash? No idea. What do they call actual squash? Also no clue. Here's a fun fact from Wikipedia, though: The gorillas at London Zoo are given both squash and cold fruit tea to drink. When a silverback called Kumbuka escaped from his enclosure in 2016, he drank five litres of undiluted blackcurrant squash that was in the keepers' area.
 |
| You can't really see it, but it says Apple & Alphonso Mango, High Juice Squash. |
Stores closing early
Stores here close much earlier than we're used to. The mall in town is only open until 6 pm on weekdays and 7 pm on Saturday. And under the Sunday Trading Act of 1994, shops over 3,000 sq ft can only be open for 6 continual hours on Sundays, between 10 am and 6 pm. So that leaves your Sunday grocery shopping window from about 10 am to 4 pm. And if you live near a 24 hour Tesco, which I'm told exists, it's 24 hours except Sunday. But they do grocery delivery here, too, so it's not that big of a deal so far.
Other grocery store items
So far I haven't been able to find tomato sauce, enchilada sauce or shredded cheese that isn't cheddar.
Garbage pick up
Garbage only gets picked up every other week, and same for recycling, but we're more used to that. At least we have a big can!
Things are still good so far. No extreme bouts of homesickness yet, and we're enjoying our adventure. One month for me!
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