almost end of my first week abroad
So...i've been a bit remiss in put up stuff, but thanks to those who've been emailing me and sending facebook msgs, it means more than you think :-). Here's some stuff from this week...what's been going on and some musings about my time here so far....
So, I arrived in London at about 5:30 AM, which is waaayyy too early…but this also meant that the lines weren’t that long, so it was fairly stress-free getting through customs. After getting in, I went to get my rental car. Now I was fully expecting to receive something that made the Mini Cooper look big, but no suck luck, lol. I actually got a very nice little car (please see facebook and flickr – flickr address is on the right) that even had navigation…pretty cool. Actually, i hope to get some pics up this weekend...
However, I must say that driving on the opposite side of the road is pretty confusing, but I managed to arrive in Tenby, Wales after only 1 wrong turn and about 5 hrs of driving (not b/c of the wrong turn, but b/c it was pretty far from London). Tenby, is a beautiful little European town with lots of history. There is even a castle near the refinery (not far from here, it’s actually pretty close to work – in Pembroke); I plan to go this weekend…unfortunately, the two major downsides are that since the town is soooo small that everything except some bars and stuff is closed by the time I get back from work and I have extremely limited internet access…..only like a bit at night at the hotel desk
Hmm…yeah, the roads here a really narrow, and everyone drives like they’re in a rally, but I’ve decided that I’m just going to be “that guy” and drive super slow and piss everyone off – that’s the best way I know how to not have to deal with local authorities, haha. It looks like I’ll be here at least until sometime next week, which means that I’m going to try and get to Ireland this weekend – dunno if I’ll get as far as Dublin, but I’m going to try.
So far, I’m doing ok…I think it’ll be a little while ‘till it’s set in. Haha, and then a little while more until God makes it ok…but I know he will. That and I’m really grateful for all of you back home (both in GA and Chicago….and Korea and NC and various parts of the world, lol) it means a lot to know you think of me occasionally. Again, feel free to send me emails, or phone me…let me know if you have any questions about my trip so far – I’m sure I’ve forgotten something cool/funny that’s happened so far…haha, like how I’ve already burnt out my alarm clock b/c I didn’t buy one that is good for 240V.
So, the following are some musings about my time here so far:
Customs/culture: people really do say “bloody” a lot, and “mate” – you know, it’s curious that we don’t have a word comparable to mate – it’s kinda like a cross between “man” and “friend”, as in “no problem, mate” and “me and my mates” – pretty cool…that and most of the other typical UK things like “brilliant” and “what are you on about” (aka. What are you going on about, I think). So far most of the people are fairly friendly. One thing that’s funny is I’ve noticed that the “gents” here all seem to have either a shaved head, or spiked up hair (clothing, and style in general is a bit different here). Hmmm, what else…oh, everyone holds their fork with their left hand and uses it like a spear (as opposed to the hold-it-like-a-pencil-but-use-it-like-a-shovel method we have in the states).
I got the chance to watch a Liverpool game last night – I went into a pub to get some food, and sat down (they had some couches in the back and a big, ~200in, projection screen) just about when the game came on. What was cool about it was that this just so happened to be a Liverpool pub, so everyone in there was cheering. Haha, although since Tenby is so small, everyone consisted of about 15-20 people, but it was fun anyhow. I was talking to these two older guys in there and they mentioned some things I found interesting…apparently England is having similar issues to the US, in that there are a lot of people immigrating there for work, but instead of like Mexicans (no offense Ryan, lol) it’s all Polish and Indian people. OH, tea and coffee (tea esp) is big here – I’ve even got a tea set thing in my room (comes with one of those plug in boilers, lol, it’s great). Ha, ok, so the queen’s picture is on all of the money here…(I was looking at some coins the other day) and I’ve realized that her picture has changed – she looks older on the newer coins than she does on the other ones. I find that hilarious that they change her picture to reflect her age, ahaha. Two things about the money here – the bills are too big to fit in your wallet w/o everyone knowing what you’ve got (maybe that’s the point), and I’ve never seen (don’t think they even have it) a bill smaller than 5 pounds. This means that you have to carry around 1 and 2 pound coins…now, I have enough trouble losing quarters, now I have to worry about losing pounds – fyi, the pound is worth almost 2 US dollars...which I constantly have to remember b/c everything here costs the same (numerically) except that’s it’s really twice as expensive b/c of the exchange rate. Fun, lol. The weather here is fun too. The countryside is beautiful – maybe ill get some pics up soon…but there’s a reason that it’s so green, lol. I think it rains more and the wind blows harder when it’s sunny out. And there seems to be much fewer hrs of daylight. But one cool thing is that all this rain means a lot of rainbows. Saw one just this morning on the way to work as a matter of fact.
Work: work is pretty fun so far…actually, we aren’t doing much here. They don’t really need us, but we came with the price of the catalyst so they’re tolerating us. For the most part, everyone just kinda ignores us. But that’s ok…makes our job easier. I think everyone in the world uses Microsoft Outlook….It’s funny, my boss here (it’s just him, his wife, and myself here from my company) has said this is pretty much his nicest location, which, except for having like zero internet, I’d have to agree, it’s much better than say, India. It’s ok, just that the town (and even refinery) are kinda out in the middle of nowhere. My hotel is pretty much a glorified bed and breakfast. I only occasionally get to use the hotel computer (that is when the girl behind the desk isn’t sending emails to her boyfriend). So far, I’m scheduled to be here for about another week and a half, then, I’ll probably go to Spain until about Christmas. I may spend Christmas in Spain, or I may spend it in the air coming back…we’ll see, but my sister has already tried to get me to fly her out there…which I’ll probably do b/c missing holidays is no fun – today happens to be Thanksgiving...and I’m working – yea!! Of course, any of you are welcome to come visit, lol. If you can get here, you’ll have a place to stay.
Oh, this is cool – I’m going to Ireland this weekend, Dublin to be precise. I’m going to visit the Guinness brewery!! Should be a blast – ha, the only thing is since the town I’m in is so far out there, I have to get up at like 4 on Saturday to drive a few hrs to the nearest airport…that should be fun. But I suppose that I can’t complain too much seeing as how I get to go to Ireland (and by “get to” I mean I paid to go, haha, but it’s obviously much cheaper. I’ll let you know how that goes…hopefully, I’ll be able to find something like an internet café or the like in Dublin…I’ll also have to mail some post cards – if anyone wants one, let me know (include your address). Oh, that reminds me, souvenirs…who wants what?? I’ll see what I can do ;-).
Anyways, let me know how things are back in the states. Updating soon….
So, I arrived in London at about 5:30 AM, which is waaayyy too early…but this also meant that the lines weren’t that long, so it was fairly stress-free getting through customs. After getting in, I went to get my rental car. Now I was fully expecting to receive something that made the Mini Cooper look big, but no suck luck, lol. I actually got a very nice little car (please see facebook and flickr – flickr address is on the right) that even had navigation…pretty cool. Actually, i hope to get some pics up this weekend...
However, I must say that driving on the opposite side of the road is pretty confusing, but I managed to arrive in Tenby, Wales after only 1 wrong turn and about 5 hrs of driving (not b/c of the wrong turn, but b/c it was pretty far from London). Tenby, is a beautiful little European town with lots of history. There is even a castle near the refinery (not far from here, it’s actually pretty close to work – in Pembroke); I plan to go this weekend…unfortunately, the two major downsides are that since the town is soooo small that everything except some bars and stuff is closed by the time I get back from work and I have extremely limited internet access…..only like a bit at night at the hotel desk
Hmm…yeah, the roads here a really narrow, and everyone drives like they’re in a rally, but I’ve decided that I’m just going to be “that guy” and drive super slow and piss everyone off – that’s the best way I know how to not have to deal with local authorities, haha. It looks like I’ll be here at least until sometime next week, which means that I’m going to try and get to Ireland this weekend – dunno if I’ll get as far as Dublin, but I’m going to try.
So far, I’m doing ok…I think it’ll be a little while ‘till it’s set in. Haha, and then a little while more until God makes it ok…but I know he will. That and I’m really grateful for all of you back home (both in GA and Chicago….and Korea and NC and various parts of the world, lol) it means a lot to know you think of me occasionally. Again, feel free to send me emails, or phone me…let me know if you have any questions about my trip so far – I’m sure I’ve forgotten something cool/funny that’s happened so far…haha, like how I’ve already burnt out my alarm clock b/c I didn’t buy one that is good for 240V.
So, the following are some musings about my time here so far:
Customs/culture: people really do say “bloody” a lot, and “mate” – you know, it’s curious that we don’t have a word comparable to mate – it’s kinda like a cross between “man” and “friend”, as in “no problem, mate” and “me and my mates” – pretty cool…that and most of the other typical UK things like “brilliant” and “what are you on about” (aka. What are you going on about, I think). So far most of the people are fairly friendly. One thing that’s funny is I’ve noticed that the “gents” here all seem to have either a shaved head, or spiked up hair (clothing, and style in general is a bit different here). Hmmm, what else…oh, everyone holds their fork with their left hand and uses it like a spear (as opposed to the hold-it-like-a-pencil-but-use-it-like-a-shovel method we have in the states).
I got the chance to watch a Liverpool game last night – I went into a pub to get some food, and sat down (they had some couches in the back and a big, ~200in, projection screen) just about when the game came on. What was cool about it was that this just so happened to be a Liverpool pub, so everyone in there was cheering. Haha, although since Tenby is so small, everyone consisted of about 15-20 people, but it was fun anyhow. I was talking to these two older guys in there and they mentioned some things I found interesting…apparently England is having similar issues to the US, in that there are a lot of people immigrating there for work, but instead of like Mexicans (no offense Ryan, lol) it’s all Polish and Indian people. OH, tea and coffee (tea esp) is big here – I’ve even got a tea set thing in my room (comes with one of those plug in boilers, lol, it’s great). Ha, ok, so the queen’s picture is on all of the money here…(I was looking at some coins the other day) and I’ve realized that her picture has changed – she looks older on the newer coins than she does on the other ones. I find that hilarious that they change her picture to reflect her age, ahaha. Two things about the money here – the bills are too big to fit in your wallet w/o everyone knowing what you’ve got (maybe that’s the point), and I’ve never seen (don’t think they even have it) a bill smaller than 5 pounds. This means that you have to carry around 1 and 2 pound coins…now, I have enough trouble losing quarters, now I have to worry about losing pounds – fyi, the pound is worth almost 2 US dollars...which I constantly have to remember b/c everything here costs the same (numerically) except that’s it’s really twice as expensive b/c of the exchange rate. Fun, lol. The weather here is fun too. The countryside is beautiful – maybe ill get some pics up soon…but there’s a reason that it’s so green, lol. I think it rains more and the wind blows harder when it’s sunny out. And there seems to be much fewer hrs of daylight. But one cool thing is that all this rain means a lot of rainbows. Saw one just this morning on the way to work as a matter of fact.
Work: work is pretty fun so far…actually, we aren’t doing much here. They don’t really need us, but we came with the price of the catalyst so they’re tolerating us. For the most part, everyone just kinda ignores us. But that’s ok…makes our job easier. I think everyone in the world uses Microsoft Outlook….It’s funny, my boss here (it’s just him, his wife, and myself here from my company) has said this is pretty much his nicest location, which, except for having like zero internet, I’d have to agree, it’s much better than say, India. It’s ok, just that the town (and even refinery) are kinda out in the middle of nowhere. My hotel is pretty much a glorified bed and breakfast. I only occasionally get to use the hotel computer (that is when the girl behind the desk isn’t sending emails to her boyfriend). So far, I’m scheduled to be here for about another week and a half, then, I’ll probably go to Spain until about Christmas. I may spend Christmas in Spain, or I may spend it in the air coming back…we’ll see, but my sister has already tried to get me to fly her out there…which I’ll probably do b/c missing holidays is no fun – today happens to be Thanksgiving...and I’m working – yea!! Of course, any of you are welcome to come visit, lol. If you can get here, you’ll have a place to stay.
Oh, this is cool – I’m going to Ireland this weekend, Dublin to be precise. I’m going to visit the Guinness brewery!! Should be a blast – ha, the only thing is since the town I’m in is so far out there, I have to get up at like 4 on Saturday to drive a few hrs to the nearest airport…that should be fun. But I suppose that I can’t complain too much seeing as how I get to go to Ireland (and by “get to” I mean I paid to go, haha, but it’s obviously much cheaper. I’ll let you know how that goes…hopefully, I’ll be able to find something like an internet café or the like in Dublin…I’ll also have to mail some post cards – if anyone wants one, let me know (include your address). Oh, that reminds me, souvenirs…who wants what?? I’ll see what I can do ;-).
Anyways, let me know how things are back in the states. Updating soon….
posted by ramblinwreck at 10:28 AM
1 Comments:
Wow, I'm impressed about the car. Your company must have paid an "arse-load" of money for it. (Arse=ass in the UK).
Yeah, it's amazing how spoiled we are here. My first week in Birmingham was SO difficult. I lived in brand new halls (dorms) and they hadn't quite sorted out the internet connection for it. I had to wait a MONTH to get internet in my room. There were jacks built right into the wall--but they couldn't get their network system to integrate the new outlets for some reason. So I spent my life in internet cafes paying £1 every 30 minutes or something to write long e-mails bitching about how I wanted to shoot myself. (I'll go through the archives and put some of those up soon).
Your alarm clock...hahaha. My mom once took a hairdryer to France and didn't realize that there was a difference between adapters and converters. It ended in disaster. For those of you who don't know, most mobile electronic devices can take between 100V and 240V. That includes mobile phones, laptop computers, and iPods, for example. But you MUST look on the power cord itself (usually the big head thing you plug into the wall) and it will say what it'll take. Anyway, my mom plugged in her hairdryer with an ADAPTER (meaning it simply transferred *full* power by adapting the prong to fit into the socket) and it actually [I AM NOT JOKING] caught on fire. When I asked her about it after reading this entry, she told me, "I remember it getting really hot and I thought, 'Damn, this thing is sure heating up fast!' And then it caught on fire. It scared the shit out of me and I ripped the cord out of the wall. I hated France even more after that." And when I arrived in England at the start of my year there, I stayed with Jon for the first few nights. I didn't have enough adapters, so I tried to improvise by using a power strip I'd brought along with me. I plugged it into the wall using an adapter and thought to myself, "well, if it is too much power for this thing is a SURGE PROTECTOR, so it'll just shut off." So I plugged it in and flipped the switch (each outlet has its own on/off switch in the UK). Well, I saw blue light beneath the holes in the power strip and I smelled burning plastic. I quickly switched it off and heard Jon scream downstairs, "What the bloody hell? Ryan! What have you done up there! Tottenham's winning and we're right at the end of the match! I'm gonna miss it!" I'd overloaded the system and tripped the circuit breaker--meaning Jon's TV was out. I went downstairs after hiding the evidence and denied everything. I was SO embarrassed and felt incredibly stupid. I just couldn't admit it for some reason (which really surprised me). His dad said, "I wonder if it's something that's hit the whole street? I should call Lily next door." Then we went into the utility room and he saw the circuit breaker and flipped the switch. "Hmm, it's the circuit for the upstairs bedroom." Jon was in there with us and I just looked away from him. "Wow, that's interesting" Jon said.
Yes, the lingo is great. "What are you on about" does mean "What are you talking about?" There are hundreds of little nuances--some that are easy to figure out--like the "what are you on about" and others that are less obvious, such as "and the house may be let to holidaymakers," which was in an article I read from BBC this morning. That means, "and the house may be rented to vacationers." Speaking of that, you'll see "To Let" signs in front of houses that mean "For Rent." I always wanted to draw an "I" in between so it would say, "ToILet."
Yes, the styles there are dramatically different. I remember being in London (which is one of the top five fashion capitals in the world--the others being New York, Paris, Milan, and Tokyo) and seeing guys with super spiked hair, TIGHT trousers ["pants" means "underwear" so don't call them that] and very colorful shirts and ties--as in bright pink shirts with pink and purple polka dotted ties. Basically stuff from GQ--stuff you see in magazines but never expect to see in real life. Everything is form-fitting over there. Nothing is baggy. (That's actually understandable if you think about it because most people there are super skinny and CAN pull off form fitting clothes. 75% of Americans would cause psychological trauma to the people looking at them if they wore form-fitting clothes. We're so damn fat)! So, if you see "loads" of guys who look gay, they're probably not. They're just more form-fitting and fashion conscious over there--although I'd be slightly surprised if you see that level of metrosexuality in Wales. It's a bit like Montana as far as excitement goes.
Pubs are the center of life over there. They aren't bars--like what we think of here. They are a place where the entire town gathers (some towns are small enough for that to be true) and that's how people catch up with each other. Big football matches and other sporting events bring people to the pubs in huge numbers, where they have a few pints, cheer for their teams, socialize, and eat things like Bangers & Mash (a type of sausage and mashed potatoes), Shepherd's Pie, Cottage Pie, Fish & Chips, and the more familiar hamburgers, etc. It's a really rich experience if you go deep into a community and truly take it in.
Yes, England is REALLY dealing with immigration issues at the moment. When I arrived I was stunned to find out how similar they are to us in that issue. Many English friends of mine would make very bitter remarks about the immigrants who have a reputation of taking advantage of the system and not working for anything. Basically, many immigrants (not all) come over, have expensive surgeries at the cost of UK taxpayers (they have nationalized health care) and then go back home. Others come to live there leeching off the UK version of welfare and not working at all. Indians and Pakistanis are the UK's answer to America's Mexicans. There are MILLIONS of them. In fact, a survey last year that was meant to list the "Most English Meals" had "Curry" at the top--or maybe near the top. It beat out fish and chips anyway. "Curry," of course, refers to Indian food. They'll say, "Let's go have a curry." One of my friends heard that and went through the roof. "ARE YOU TAKING THE PISS? Curry is NOT BLOODY ENGLISH! Indian Bastards! They've got their own bloody country. We should send them all home!" I was really taken aback at his anger--and apparent racism--but I could see why he was upset and it certainly parallels the attitude of some in this country. As horrible as it was, it proved to me that our countries understand one another more than I realized. [By the way, to "take the piss" means you are mocking or making fun of someone of something. And to be "pissed" means to be "drunk"--very confusing]. As far as Polish people are concerned, there's been a huge influx recently because they've made Poland part of the EU (European Union) and EU citizens can travel inter-country without restriction. Many Poles are moving to London especially because their country is very poor (it's Eastern European) and of course £1=an entire year's salary for them (well, not really but you get the idea).
You're right Marc--the bills or "notes" as they call them are different sizes to help distinguish them. They're also different colors. They think our money is too homogenous and difficult to distinguish. Their notes come in £5, £10, £20, and £50 denominations. £50 notes are EXTREMELY rare and you'll hardly ever see them except in casinos or something. As far as them not fitting in your wallet, the wallets there are designed to hold them. Ours, of course, are designed for the short American dollars. The coins are 1p (pence--their equivalent of cents), 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p, £1, and £2. I kind of like the £1 and £2 coins better than notes. They're quick and easy for me--but I know immediately what I'm touching when I reach in my pocket too. And again, their wallets have coin purses built in on the inside--where our second column of credit cards would go.
Tea is their coffee. You'll find an electric kettle in EVERY hotel room (they're a staple) and several tea cups. It really is a huge part of life. Think Jason and Starbucks. Yeah, it's that big--Jason & Starbucks.
As the mint produces more coins and notes, they adapt to the current image of the Queen. So yes there are some pictures of her as the new queen at age 25. And others of her today--aged 79.
Prices will make you cry, yes. I've tried to tell everyone that everything pretty much costs the same NUMERICALLY but it's double because it's in £s. I remember seeing a t-shirt at Gap in Birmingham for £19.99. When I came back to Chicago I saw the same damn shirt in Gap on Michigan Ave for $19.99. That's why Brits come here and spend thousands of dollars. It's half price for them nearly all the time with a few exceptions. I was gonna buy some jeans there one time at the Levi store because I needed new ones. The prices varied from £50-£90. Yeah...I waited until I got home. I remember people thought I was on drugs because I went on a HUGE shopping spree and kept saying, "Oh my gosh it is SO cheap here. I can't believe how cheap is it on Michigan Avenue." At the time, the iMac had just come out. I remember newspaper stories of people flying from Heathrow to NYC for the weekend, staying in a hotel, buying an Apple iMac there, and then flying home--all of which cost them £100 less than buying an iMac at home. I was SO PISSED.
Well, I'm going to call you in about 3 minutes so I'll let that be my post for now.
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