I am starting to get the hang of driving in England and reduced the incidence of being honked at to only twice a day. I’m less freaked out, but still, the British driving is fairly confusing to me – there’s a whole bunch of police speeding cameras, so you need to drive slowly, yet most people are hell on wheels at every chance they can speed. And as an added bonus, most roads only have single lanes. I’m not being paranoid or crazy – there were a couple cars that left me in the dust at 80mph at a 40mph zone yesterday morning. And then I got stuck behind a lorry, going at 30mph today.
The Nissan Micra – my little powder-blue buddy. It's cute, isn't it?
Ah... yes, the countryside. I’m definitely in the Old English countryside. It’s really peaceful and green. I’m staying in a small town called Cottingham at the moment. It really has the cozy and quaint farm community feel.
The cute homes along the road. I pass by here every day.
I love this sign. Don’t know why, but it makes me smile.
And what’s a countryside without the natural shag carpet grazing the field?
A view from the top – a local church.
And the ever-so-symbollic red telly booths.
Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas any more.
So, it's been a good 2.5 months since I moved to England. I'm starting to get used to the quirky phrases and left-side driving.
In the beginning, I used to ponder how sheeps could survive the dreadful rainy weather. Being the naive city girl that I am, I thought their wooly coats weighed a ton against adverse weather. However, I was corrected by my colleague who said that sheep have naturally oily coats, and with one shake, they can get rid of 80% of the percipitation. That's why sailors have greasy, wool sweaters. Being the simpleton that I am, I was amazed by such trivia.
English phrases are still a bit foreign to me. I submitted a proposal to my boss, to which he replied, "well, I want you to crack on with it." Excuse me? Do what? Now I know that it means "go for it with enthusiasm."
What I also didn't understand was the phrase "Are you all right?" It's used as a greeting similar to "How are you?" in the US. But being asked if I'm all right every time I see someone makes me feel as if I have a huge zit on my nose or something.
I love the way store clerks and the lady at the deli always says, "Is that all, my love?" It's so endearing.
Speaking to several people here, it's amazing how the English and Australians have a tendency to just pick up and go... to a completely foreign country. My colleague lives with a 40+ year-old lady who decided to work in France and then Spain, because she wanted to learn French and Spanish. My flatmate had a house and a long-term girlfriend, but woke up one day and got a ticket to Thailand (and he didn't even know where Thailand was on the map at the time) and became a DJ at Ko Samui area for Full Moon parties. Obviously he came back, and he's now my landlord/flatmate. And I was just sipping wine with Holly the other day, the Australian girl from Perth, who can't be contained in the corner of the world. Without any guarantees for work, she moved out to London and is now working as a temp. I'm sure she'll find her niche in no time. Their ability to uproot and explore the world is purely inspiring and calls for a novel to be written by each.
Today, a new flatmate moved in to our house - a Hungarian engineer. I made lunch and he offered me beer. An English DJ, a Japanese-American corporate associate, and a Hungarian engineer - sounds like a sit-com in a making.
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