Snow

There's one word -- an evil, horrible four-letter-word, which no one in the UK (except children) ever wants to hear:

SNOW.

That's right, snow. In January we had a major snowstorm and it caused traffic chaos everywhere! Hubby and I tried to get to work on the other side of town which only takes about half an hour on a normal day. But while driving up a hill, the car lost traction and got stuck. We weren't the only one. We somehow managed to turn around, and at that point we figured the best option was to just go home.

The entire journey from one side of town to the other took four hours. That's right, FOUR HOURS! So how much snow did we get? A foot? Two feet?

Four inches.

Our patio furniture

That's right, a measley 4 inches of snow did this. And why? Because they don't clear the freakin' roads!!

Our slippery drive home.

Our road. No sand or plowed road!

Traffic was at a complete standstill. Our journey also included a half hour where our car overheated and we had to wait on the side of the road while the engine cooled off.

Many thanks to The Swindon Advertiser (local newspaper) for adding insult to injury by sneakily taking a picture of us broken down on the side of the road. Nice that the photographer had the time to take a photo but didn't have the time to ask if we needed help!

That's us with the hood up. Stolen from the Swindon Advertiser.

I can hear my family and friends in NJ chuckling and shaking their heads in disbelief. NJ gets snow virtually every winter. Four inches is nothing. I still remember the blizzard of 1996 when we got 2 FEET of snow. 

Blizzard of 1996. Taken a day or two after the storm.

Yes, it was certainly inconvenient but at least the roads were plowed. Yes, you still had to be careful while driving, but AT LEAST THE ROADS WERE PLOWED. Do you see a pattern here?

The attitude here in Britain seems to be, "Oh, let's just throw down some grit (sand) on top of the snow. That'll do it." No, no, no! The sand mixes with the snow to create a slippery, muddy mess. It's still 4 inches of snow with sand mixed in! It doesn't make driving any better! You're supposed to plow the road first and THEN put down the sand. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that!

The trouble is that because we don't get snow that often, no one wants to put money into snow removal. Why put the money into something when we might not need it? But we've been seeing more and more snow each winter. They need to do something! I mean, don't these people get stuck in the snow traffic too?

As I write this, NJ has just had 8 inches of snow and New England has had 2 feet or more. Yes it'll take a day or 2 to clear it up over the weekend. But I guarantee that despite all that snow, the roads will be plowed and driveable by Monday morning.

I've learned my lesson. The next time I see an inch or two of snow out there, I'll no longer think with my NJ mentality, "Oh I can drive in that." Instead, I'll just panic like everyone else and take the bus!

London Paralympics 2012

Well, well, well. Just when I thought I'd never see another Olympics,  I was lucky enough to see the Paralympics!

This time was different because instead of going back to Olympic Park, we (my Olympics friend Justin and I) went to the ExCel Centre in London. 

For me personally, because I'd already been to Olympic Park, the ExCel Centre experience wasn't quite as exciting. Once you were inside you stayed inside, unlike Olympic Park where you could walk around outside and explore the area. Still, the day pass for the ExCel was great because it allowed you to see any of the events which were there that day. It was general admission seating so as long as you got to your event early, you could get a good seat.

We were booked into a specific session to see men's sitting volleyball. First we saw Russia vs. Morocco and then Iran vs. Boznia and Herzegovina. 

Morocco (red) vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina

Russia beat Morocco after only 3 sets (there were 5 sets in all).  One thing I learned is that unlike regular volleyball, in sitting volleyball a player can hit the ball with any part of his body. When I saw someone kick the ball I thought I was seeing things!

Iran vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina was a lively game, due in part to the very enthusiastic Iranians in the crowd! After awhile the Bosnians were making themselves known as well and it got very loud indeed. But Iran won the game.

The moment when Iran won

Iranians in celebration

The game for the gold medal was a few days later, and both teams played each other again. Iran was expected to win but Bosnia and Herzegovina won and beat them to the gold.

Sitting volleyball was fantastic. I must admit that having never seen it before I thought it would look odd. But after they began playing I completely forgot that they were sitting. It just looked like a regular volleyball game to me.

The only criticism I have is that between every volley, when there was a gap in play, loud thumping music was blasted to fill the void. It was totally unnecessary because the gaps were only for a few seconds each time. I suppose it was their way of pumping up the crowd, but we didn't need any help!

After the volleyball we decided to see wheelchair fencing. I'd never seen fencing and had no idea of the rules. Each match was only 3 minutes long and was won after one person scored 15 hits (or "stabs" as I would call them!) in one match, so the matches were quick.

We were able to see some of the medal ceremony which was wonderful!

Yu Chui Yee of Hong Kong receives her gold medal

Flags being raised. Yu Chui Yee is on the screen.

The Paralympians showed that anyone can do anything despite physical limitations. And one thing's for sure: the word "disabled" didn't cross anyone's lips that day.

London Olympics 2012

The London 2012 Olympics may be over, but I'll always have memories because I was there! Sports! Medals! Excitement! Rain...

 

Yellow is my colour. Not!

I got drenched, But I didn't care about the rain. In retrospect, it added to the adventure of the day. It's England, after all, what would the day be without rain? I couldn't help chuckling at the tourists who showed up in shorts and flip flops, thinking it was going to be a warm, sunny day. They've obviously never experienced British weather! Welcome to England!

Despite the weather, it was a spectacular day. It was very, very crowded but there was a real buzz in the air. Everyone was there to support their country -- there were Americans wearing flags like capes, Brazilians with green and yellow hair, and even a man in a head-to-toe Union Jack outfit.  All the volunteers were friendly and helpful and nothing was too much trouble. They took photos for people and the occasional volunteer raised a hand for a quick High 5 from the crowd.  Smiles and laughter all around!

Smurf Turf

This was the pitch at the Riverbank Arena where I saw 2 hockey games. It's been called Smurf Turf.  I could deal with the blue pitch because it made it easier to see the yellow ball. But the neon pink border against the blue was jarring to my eyes. I mean, look at it!  It was like watching a Smurf with a bad sunburn.  They could've toned it down a little!

 

Many thanks to my friend Justin who had a spare ticket for the games. I'd never seen a field hockey game until then.  Luckily he very patiently explained the rules to me as the games were played. I can't actually remember anything he told me (I was blinded by the pitch. Yeah, that's it!) But that didn't stop me from enjoying the games. We saw China vs. South Korea and then Argentina vs. South Africa.  China and Argentina were the winners. The crowd was very enthusiastic even though their countries weren't playing. Although there were some very jubilent Argentinians in the crowd for the second game. 

When our games were over we spent time exploring the Olympic Park. After seeing it on TV, being there in person was a big thrill!  The Orbit, that funny sculpture that looks like a wacky roller-coaster, was quite impressive up close.  

The various sports venues were situated so that they were easily accessible by foot yet not crammed together.  There was a giant TV screen where we sat and watched other events -- we saw Team GB swimmer Rebecca Adlington win a bronze medal in the 400m freestyle event after storming into 3rd place in the last few seconds. And congrats to the USA who got silver in that event. Being an expat means I get to celebrate the successes of 2 countries!

At least we know that the rain was good for the beautiful wildflower meadows around the park. I love how they added a touch of the English countryside.  

All in all there was real excitement in the air, and I'm sorry that the day flew by so quickly. It was a day I'll never forget, and it was worth every raindrop!

 

 

 

  

It's That Time of Year Again

Dear Mr. British House Spider,

GO. AWAY. Do you really have to creep into our living room to look for a mate? I mean, c'mon. Does our house look like a place for hunka hunka burnin' arachnid love? Well let me tell you something, I'm going to put a serious dent in your love life tonight, mister. And your head! 

The male house spider comes out in early September to look for a mate.

Don't sit still on that carpet and stare at me! Stop it! STOP. IT. Damn you and your long, hairy legs! Now let me think...if I stomp on you that'll be one big mess on the carpet. But if I grab you with a tissue I'll feel you though the tissue, ew, ew, ew, EW! If I... 

Hey! Come back here!! Where are you...dammit, get out from under that sofa!! Grrrrrrr...<pulls sofa away from wall.> Ahh, there you are. <Runs and gets vacuum cleaner.> 

<Turns vacuum on> Right! Now then...hey, where'd you go?? <Looks around, panic-stricken> DAMMIT! 

<Turns off vacuum and steps gingerly around the living room.> 

<Slowly looks up.>

EEEEEK!! 

<Runs out of the room as Mr. Spider jumps off the wall and scuttles across the floor.>

Hubby: What the hell is all that racket? 

Me: <Innocently> Ohhh nothing. Um, I'm going upstairs. The living room's all yours, honey! 

Words and Phrases

Define this word: Innit

A. An Eskimo.

"When we visited Alaska, we saw lots of Innits in igloos!"

B. The mating call of the British garden frog

"Innit innit innit innit innit...."

C. A British mashup of the words "isn't it."

"Look at that giant frog in that igloo! It's a big one, innit?"

If you answered C, you're correct! And no, you don't win a prize (hey I'm working on a budget here).

I thought I knew everything there was to know about British words and phrases. Yes I knew that "petrol" was "gas" and the "boot" of a car was the "trunk" of a car and a "holiday" was a "vacation." But when I got here, I never realized how many other words and phrases I'd never heard of before.

Here's a very small sample of some that stumped me:

Trainers = Sneakers

OK, I could get used to that.

Tights = Pantyhose

Where I'm from, tights are thick, colored, tight leggings. Pantyhose is different. I couldn't understand why all the shops I visited sold tights and not pantyhose. I knew women wore pantyhose, why couldn't I find any? Was I shopping in the wrong place? And then the lightbulb turned on.

Rubber = Eraser

As a lot of you may know, in America "rubber" is slang for a condom. The first time someone at work asked me for a rubber I nearly fainted!

Everything's gone pear-shaped

It means everything's gone wrong.

Teething Problems

If a project has some problems when first implemented, then it's got teething problems. You could have teething problems and then everything could go pear-shaped.

Groundhog Day

OK. This takes some explaining. Yes, "Groundhog Day" is the 1993 movie starring Bill Murray as a man who lives the same day over and over again.

The British have adapted the phrase "groundhog day" to mean "déjà vu." As in, "Oh! Didn't I just do this yesterday? It feels like groundhog day."

No, no, no. *Repeated head bang on desk*  It's an actual day.

Groundhog Day is February 2nd. If the groundhog comes out of his burrow and sees his shadow, then there will be six more weeks of winter. Otherwise, an early spring is on the way. See? Simple.

Here's a good website that explains the folklore behind it (click on the name below):

Groundhog Day

Finally, let's talk a little about pronunciations. God knows I get picked on if I forget myself and say "to-MAY-to" by accident. Hmmph. But how come I say to-MAY-to, they say to-MAH-to, I say po-TAY-to...but they don't say po-TAH-to? C'mon guys, let's be consistent.

Here are a few pronunciations that were new to me:

Controversy. Sometimes pronounced, "con-TRAH-versy." I mostly hear that in newscasts.

Oregano. Pronounced "or-e-GAH-no." I burst out laughing the first time I heard that one.

Basil. Pronounced "BAH-sil." I thought he was married to Sybil?

Herb. Pronounced "HHHerb" with an "H" and not "erb" like we say it. One of my British friends laughed at me and said, "Why wouldn't you pronounce the 'H'? You do it in every other word." I just looked at her and said, "What about the word 'honor'?" She couldn't answer me -- they use a silent "H" for that word too.

(And yes I'm aware that I wrote "honor" and not "honour." It's my blog and I'll spell it how I like. So there.)

Adidas (the sportswear brand). Pronounced "AD-i-das" with the accent on the first syllable. Well that's a strange word anyway.

Aluminium = Aluminum.  Oh sure, as if the word doesn't have enough syllables already, they had to add an extra one! I'll just say tin foil. 

And finally, as my friends all know, the one that really gets me:

Maryland. Pronounced as it looks, "Mary-land" and not "Merilund." But I mean, really. Mary-land? Sounds like the land of Marys. But whatever.

I could go on and on. I actually find the language differences fascinating, so I hope no one minds me poking a little fun. After all, my language is made fun of all the time. And I like to give back.

And that's pretty interesting...innit?