Ramblings

This is Beth's random ramblings....the things I think about walking down the street but never say out loud.

It takes me exactly 567 steps to get to the Kilburn tube platform from our hostel - I counted this morning.

Curse words said with a British accent sound like a 5 year old said them.....they say it, seem like they don't know what it means, but know they shouldn't say it. Very odd.

Oh, and, the Sh*t and F^ck words are used like "The" and "It" here - very common. I fit in well, but oddly enough cannot bring myself to say it in front of others. I feel like it just won't sound as good if I say it.

Mary Poppins most certainly was in London - only here can the rain create a down draft so crazy that it blows your umbrella back up. If I were light enough, I'd take flight on my umbrella almost every day. You have to admit, that would be sort of cool.

Every ledge is populated with iron spikes to keep pigeons off....some how they still find some where to sit and some where to sh*t.

We found out that Great Britain and a couple other countries are the only ones that drive on the opposite side of the road - not all of Europe does this. That would explain why most of us walk down the side walk the correct way and all the actual Brits (not many, but enough to be annoying) walk opposite everyone. I'm in a constant zig-zag pattern the whole time :)

Why did the hostel bolt the fan to the wall and then not allow enough cord length to actually plug it in? A real genius did that.

Why are homeless people (London has many) fat? They have signs that say they need food, but really.....they don't. A monk (they are normally skinny) can fast for 40 days....really homeless people just need a sign that says - WATER.

Why are JaNae and I sitting here wondering which accent we should pick to replicate? There are so many, but I think French is the hottest......so smoooooooth.

We have now decided that instead of using an actual clothes dryer (which is scarce here), air drying or a portable heat register will work just fine.

Back in the day, whoever started this city decided that hot and cold water taps should be separate - there is never a need for warm water.

Someone lied when they told me only Americans wear sun glasses.....the sun does actually shine very bright here. It is as spontaneous as the rain.

Soccer (football) may actually be exciting.

Flowers are planted and blooming here in March and the temps aren't even over 50. And the grass is super green and mowed like a golf course green.

The risotto here is wonderful - as is all pasta.

I ate ramen last night with chop sticks.....and over half the bowl was miso soup. My hand doesn't hurt any more from eating with chop sticks. I may take that up as a full time utensil.

Beverages at room temperature really aren't that bad - we don't even notice any more.

When ordering water, we actually have to ask for tap water (and that is what you get - right from the sink tap). Otherwise you pay for still or sparkling water......I don't really get why you would want carbonated water, but it doesn't taste horrible. And - Germans are big into sparkling (carbonated) water with apple juice. I haven't tried it, but I will.

Twice concentrated orange juice is not good - even watered down twice. So next time you are in the Tesco line getting lunch and think orange juice sounds good, make sure you read the label.

GBP (Great Britain Pounds) = USD (United States Dollars) Exchange rate some where around 1.5 (1 pound = 1.5 dollars) Pounds - Dollars. Cents - Pence. Get it?

Why we can stay up until midnight each night, but then when we have a long weekend and I don't have to work in the morning my wife decides that 10pm is her pass out time? Maybe the excitement of leaving the hostel wore her out today.

My alarm going off at the wrong time (or not at all) really isn't a problem here. I don't have to be to work by 9 or 9:30. 50% of the mornings this week I've missed the alarm but still made it to work by 8:30. That's with a 1/2 hour commute.

Getting used to military time is extremely difficult - right now it is 22:28. I just subtract 12, but still gets me thinking.

Scheduling conference calls with clients over 3 time zones - even more difficult. My brain just doesn't function that way yet.

And, why is main land Europe 1 hour ahead of the islands? What makes Ireland and GB so special?

I guess people surf and go to the beach on the SW side of the island - summer trip!!! Also, it's not illegal to go topless on the beach unless someone complains. Not that I care - just interesting.

And last, but certainly not least. Why does a box of 20 tampons in the states cost like 5-6 bucks (the good ones) and here they only cost 1-2 pounds? Besides rent, everything else is much cheaper here!