It's really the small things that point out cultural differences to me here. Case in point...Linda, who lived in England for 1 1/2 years, had told me that instead of saying 'how are you?" as a greeting, people said, "y'alright?"--to which the answer is usually "yah, y'alright?" Well I ran into the neighbours yesterday, and sure enough, one said, "y'alright?"...to which I replied, "fine, how are you?" I could tell it startled him a bit, and it startled me too...oh well, I'll get used to it. I am also trying to figure out the right time to say "cheers"...it means both thanks and bye, so I guess as long a I put it at the end of an interaction, I'll be OK.
On a different topic completely, there sure is a lot of road kill! When Mary and I went to Frome last weekend, which was about a half hour drive, I counted five dead animals--a fox, a badger (I think--I don't really know what a badger looks like, except from reading The Wind in the Willows). I guess they get lulled into feeling safe, with all those rolling hills and trees...and then they venture out on the road, and SPLAT, someone zooming along to get to the next village finishes them off. I guess that's no different in Canada...just that in the countryside you might be more likely to hit a deer.
Thanks to all for your comments on the blog--it's great to know you're reading!
cheers
Karen
Friday, 26 October 2007
Bath
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Here are some pictures of Bath that I took during the summer...it really is a fabulous place, and the more I walk around town, the more I find myself awestruck by yet another beautiful, old sight..jpg)
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Monday, 22 October 2007
Frome
Here's Mary in an old cemetery in Frome (pronounced Frume), about a half hour from where we live. We had a beautiful sunny day, I had a guidebook and we saw a lot of really old stuff! Then we managed to get directions to head to a car boot sale (= flea market) and buy some really cheap stuff, and finally went to Woolworths--does anyone remember Woolworths from childhood days? I sure do!
We have had such glorious sunshine, cold mornings but warm afternoons...today is kind of gloomy though but that's OK, since Mary is at school and I'm trying to work.
We spent some time in Bath on the weekend. I think it's beautiful...Mary does too, but she did comment that the rowhouses look like something from a Communist-design school of thought. I never really thought of it like that before. We have had some pub food--the rule seems to be , serve chips with everything--case in point, ravioli with chips. We are going to eat at home as much as possible.
Mary's place in Vancouver isn't rented yet, so if you happen to know of anyone needing a furnished two bedroom place for at least a month, let us know and we will put you in touch with the rental agency. I think there are still chances it will get rented come January...at least we are hoping for that.
I still haven't tried driving but I need to start soon. Mary is zooming around quite confidently though she's turned into the wrong lane a time or two--those turns are hard. And I still have brief moments when I am shocked to see a child, or a dog, driving the car...til I remember, oh right, driver is on the right side.
Mary will be posting here occassionally too so you can get a perspective other that just mine.
More in a few days....
Karen
Thursday, 18 October 2007
The town of Peasedown
Hi all
I went to the Post Office yesterday. It's an old building, selling postal services of course, some stationery supplies, greeting cards...and 2nd hand books, which seemed a bit odd...and then, dog food and pet supplies (?) There are three convenience stores, one of which is a co-op and has quite a lot of the supplies we need, though we are driving to a nearby town once a week to do a big shop. All of the convenience stores are heavy on the candy, chips and alcohol...I wish they had a bit more in the way of produce.
When we were grocery shopping, we were consuming every free sample offered and the guy behind the counter asked Mary where she was from--and guessed Texas! Yes, that is quite the Texas accent she has. :-) I keep being surprised when people ask me where I'm from because I think I don't have an accent. Of course I don't understand half of what people say to me the first time--I am constantly asking for repeats. I'm trying to pick up on the differences in words...of course we all know petrol rather than gas, most of us know crisps instead of chips, knickers instead of underpants...but I realize I should ask for a single ticket on the bus rather than one-way, the street beggars ask for small change vs spare change...and I am still not sure what a quid is (I asked a boy at the grocery store what kind of coin I needed to put into the shopping cart to release the key and he said, one pound quid. Why "quid"? why not just "one pound"? these are the things that keep me awake at night--well, that and jet lag...and middle age)
The bus system here is a complete mystery to me. We get schedules, we go on line, and I end up having to go into the station and ask a live person because I can't figure it out--and even then two people behind the same counter give me conflicting answers! I want to head into the city of Bristol next week...the amount of planning it takes is exhausting--I think I'll go have a nap!
I went to the university yesterday to meet Mary and saw her closet of an office, shared with four others...then we headed to the pub because her faculty, professors and students, meet there on Wednesdays. Some great people, from all over the world--Thailand, Pakistan, Italy, Finland..she is in an interesting field!
We had a day of heavy rains--I was the only person in Peasedown with an umbrella.
This weekend we are heading to Frome (pronounced frume) which has the greatest concentration of historical buildings in all of England or something like that. we also want to get to Stonehenge, which is just an hour away, even though everyone says it is disappointing. But still, we're so close--can't miss it!
More later...we miss you all!
Karen
I went to the Post Office yesterday. It's an old building, selling postal services of course, some stationery supplies, greeting cards...and 2nd hand books, which seemed a bit odd...and then, dog food and pet supplies (?) There are three convenience stores, one of which is a co-op and has quite a lot of the supplies we need, though we are driving to a nearby town once a week to do a big shop. All of the convenience stores are heavy on the candy, chips and alcohol...I wish they had a bit more in the way of produce.
When we were grocery shopping, we were consuming every free sample offered and the guy behind the counter asked Mary where she was from--and guessed Texas! Yes, that is quite the Texas accent she has. :-) I keep being surprised when people ask me where I'm from because I think I don't have an accent. Of course I don't understand half of what people say to me the first time--I am constantly asking for repeats. I'm trying to pick up on the differences in words...of course we all know petrol rather than gas, most of us know crisps instead of chips, knickers instead of underpants...but I realize I should ask for a single ticket on the bus rather than one-way, the street beggars ask for small change vs spare change...and I am still not sure what a quid is (I asked a boy at the grocery store what kind of coin I needed to put into the shopping cart to release the key and he said, one pound quid. Why "quid"? why not just "one pound"? these are the things that keep me awake at night--well, that and jet lag...and middle age)
The bus system here is a complete mystery to me. We get schedules, we go on line, and I end up having to go into the station and ask a live person because I can't figure it out--and even then two people behind the same counter give me conflicting answers! I want to head into the city of Bristol next week...the amount of planning it takes is exhausting--I think I'll go have a nap!
I went to the university yesterday to meet Mary and saw her closet of an office, shared with four others...then we headed to the pub because her faculty, professors and students, meet there on Wednesdays. Some great people, from all over the world--Thailand, Pakistan, Italy, Finland..she is in an interesting field!
We had a day of heavy rains--I was the only person in Peasedown with an umbrella.
This weekend we are heading to Frome (pronounced frume) which has the greatest concentration of historical buildings in all of England or something like that. we also want to get to Stonehenge, which is just an hour away, even though everyone says it is disappointing. But still, we're so close--can't miss it!
More later...we miss you all!
Karen
Monday, 15 October 2007
The adventure begins!
Well maybe that heading isn't exactly accurate...the adventure began awhile ago, but now we are finally both here and settling into the rhythm of being here. We are in an area that is kind of suburban, kind of rural...we look out the bedroom window to see horses, cows, goats, sheep. It is pastoral! All those movies of English countryside?--they are accurate. Mary and I went for a walk last week and ended up in the cutest village, all stone houses, , fields and farms, middle-aged women with dogs hiking through the fields wearing their Wellies. I guess at some point I will get used to it all but I am walking around with my mouth hanging open, just loving it.
Mary has a commute to the university, and bus service at night is sparse...but traffic during morning and evenings is total gridlock once you get close to Bath. She's still trying to figure out the best time to leave and get there, but it seems to be coming together. She is liking her program but hasn't had the greatest communication from the university...she just found out that apparently 1200 graduate students had not yet registered for classes and it was the second week of school, so the university was all irate and threatening to cut them off from email access. Well, duh, that's the only way they can register. Makes my college look like the height of efficiency!
We had a belated Thanksgiving dinner last night and invited one of Mary's classmates, who's Finnish and is here for three months studying prior to returning home. It was great to socialize...I imagine we will have a lot of time on our own, but that feels fine. I insisted Mary turn the heat on when I arrived--she kept telling me you get used to the chill, but now that it's on, she finds the house more comfortable. And then the temperature warmed up and we're having some lovely fall days. I don't know what winter will be like here, but hey, it's only this one time, and if it rains a lot, that's certainly something we're used to in Vancouver!
The roads here aren't very well signed--we went into a nearby town to get groceries, and got there fine but it was really confusing to figure out how to get home. I guess they figure you should already know where you're going. but the town (Midsomer Norton--I just love these names!) had FIVE charity shops (AKA 2nd hand stores) so we got some good bargains. It is amazing to me that hauling my luggage over, I kept thinking, I have too much stuff, I should have brought less...and as soon as I got it in the dresser and closet, I thought, I don't have enough stuff!
Well guess that is long enough to begin with...we will keep you posted. I hope to post some pictures once I figure out how to do that. there are just so many systems and transportation issues and money to figure out, I am trying to take it a bit at a time.
Hope all are well!
Karen
Mary has a commute to the university, and bus service at night is sparse...but traffic during morning and evenings is total gridlock once you get close to Bath. She's still trying to figure out the best time to leave and get there, but it seems to be coming together. She is liking her program but hasn't had the greatest communication from the university...she just found out that apparently 1200 graduate students had not yet registered for classes and it was the second week of school, so the university was all irate and threatening to cut them off from email access. Well, duh, that's the only way they can register. Makes my college look like the height of efficiency!
We had a belated Thanksgiving dinner last night and invited one of Mary's classmates, who's Finnish and is here for three months studying prior to returning home. It was great to socialize...I imagine we will have a lot of time on our own, but that feels fine. I insisted Mary turn the heat on when I arrived--she kept telling me you get used to the chill, but now that it's on, she finds the house more comfortable. And then the temperature warmed up and we're having some lovely fall days. I don't know what winter will be like here, but hey, it's only this one time, and if it rains a lot, that's certainly something we're used to in Vancouver!
The roads here aren't very well signed--we went into a nearby town to get groceries, and got there fine but it was really confusing to figure out how to get home. I guess they figure you should already know where you're going. but the town (Midsomer Norton--I just love these names!) had FIVE charity shops (AKA 2nd hand stores) so we got some good bargains. It is amazing to me that hauling my luggage over, I kept thinking, I have too much stuff, I should have brought less...and as soon as I got it in the dresser and closet, I thought, I don't have enough stuff!
Well guess that is long enough to begin with...we will keep you posted. I hope to post some pictures once I figure out how to do that. there are just so many systems and transportation issues and money to figure out, I am trying to take it a bit at a time.
Hope all are well!
Karen
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