UK vs. US

This weekend I spent quite some time checking out various expat blogs, particularly looking for someone who has moved to an English-speaking country. Actually, there are not a lot of good blogs out there, but I found one that might be worth mentioning. It is called ‘An American woman in London’ and as you can tell from the title, the writer is an American woman who moved to London. She grew up in Southern California (I guess it’s L.A.) and got a job offer when she was 20 which made her move to England. The blogger, unfortunately she doesn’t reveal her name, and her husband (I suppose he is also American) have already been living in London for three years now.

Not all of her entries are that interesting to me (she’s very much into theater..) and she also doesn’t write very frequently, maybe two or three entries a month. But the reason why I still want to present her blog is that she’s got one category, namely US vs. UK, which I thought worth reading. In these entries she compares different aspects of British life with the American way of life. She also writes about the language and provides the reader with a glossary of ‘BritSpeak’. Here are some of the funniest or most interesting excerpts of this entry:

Brit to US:

Take Away = To Go

When you order your food, you'll be asked if you want "take away." Some London Starbucks baristas will ask if you want your coffee to go, but then the Starbucks chain prides itself on worldwide consistency. Don't even start to confuse your food server by asking for "carry out."

Fairy lights = Christmas lights

Fairy cakes = cupcakes

The British seem very fond of fairies with gossamer wings and flower wands. Whereas little American girls dress up as princesses (usually of the Disney variety), here fairy costumes seem more prevalent. Unfortunately, I can't see these names ever catching on in the US...

knackered = tired

minibreak = weekend holiday or long weekend

dangling bits = male "private parts"

bank holiday = national holiday

The British seem to have a lot of different terms for clothes and food. To name just a few:

pants = underwear (pants is also another way to say crappy - "It's pants.")
cossie (short for costume) = outfit
Vest = tank top
polo neck = turtleneck

salad (on a sandwich) = lettuce, tomato and cucumber

granary loaf = whole wheat bread

tuna mayonnaise = tuna salad

They also prefer the French words aubergine and courgette to eggplant and zucchini.

Another very interesting entry of hers was called ‘You know you’ve been out of the US too long when…’
In this entry she writes about her visit to US where she realized that she had become British in some ways. She points out the main cultural differences between US and UK. These are only a few of them:

You know you’ve been out of the States far too long when…

… you automatically eat with a fork in your left hand and a knife in your right, and you never put down either utensil.

… cold beer - that's just WRONG.

…you don't even realize you just asked "Where's the loo?" until your parents give you a strange look.

… you giggle at how cheap petrol- I mean, gas, is.

… you grumble at having to tip.

… you constantly come up short at the cash register, because you forget sales tax isn't already included in the price.

One of the main cultural differences she points out is that in Britain “you don’t speak unless spoken to” whereas in the States it’s perfectly fine to talk to strangers and even start a conversation with someone sitting next to you on the bus. The blogger mentions one particular incidence in the US: She was shopping at Macy’s when a random woman came up to her holding up a blouse and saying “This would be cute on you”. Never ever would a thing like that happen in Britain and I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t anywhere in Europe, let alone Austria.