Hi Everyone!
Today I thought I would write up a fun little list telling you what things that I have noticed that make life in the UK different from life in Canada. So, without further ado:
1. There are awesome stores that we do not have in Canada, my
favourite being PRIMARK!! It’s like the
UK version of Forever 21 (price and style-wise) but includes a home section (I
bought tea towels there).
-There is one less than a 20 minute walk from my flat
(almost right across the road from my church) so it will become very helpful
when adding to my teacher wardrobe.
2. When you are out and about, men who are complete
strangers to you (ie cashiers, salesmen) may call you "my love"
and/or "sweetie." You just have to roll with it (though admittedly I was shocked at first).
3. Politically correct cheese: the most aged cheeses are
referred to as ‘mature,’ which sounds a little bit more delicate than
‘old.’ It makes me giggle.
4. In all of the shops that I have been to, I have not been
charged any tax on top of the list price.
The tax is included in the prices, which makes much more sense in my
opinion. No more trying to calculate 13%
HST while shopping!
5. There are self-checkouts in most supermarkets (I think at
home I have only seen them in Wal-Mart).
6. Driving on the left side of the road: it seems simple enough to figure this out and
to not get hit but I generally go to the crosswalk and wait for the signal to
make absolutely sure that I do not make a disastrous mistake!
7. Vocabulary:
There are SO MANY little differences! Here are a few that I knew already when I got
here but have been trying to get used to using in order to be understood:
pants=trousers (I am determined not to mess this one up when
teaching a class full of 12 year olds!)
shrimp=prawns
chips=crisps
garbage can=’dust’ or ‘rubbish’ bin
washroom=loo or toilet
apartment=flat
bandaid=plaster
buddy/friend=mate (which reminds me of Donna meeting the
Doctor: “You just want…to MATE!?!”)
cookie=biscuit
cell phone=mobile
purse=handbag
vacation=holiday
TV=telly
sweater=jumper
8. In Starbucks (and I assume other similar establishments)
there are two prices on food: a “take away” price and an “eat in” price.
9. On a similar note: what we would call “take out” the
Brits call “take away.”
10. There is an equivalent to dollar stores: Poundland or
the 99p store. They sell pretty much the
same kind of variety of toiletries, cleaning products, snack foods, canned
goods, kitchen gadgets, etc. that Dollarama does.
11. According to the TV network E4 “Classic US
Entertainment” consists of ‘The Big Bang Theory’, ‘How I Met Your Mother’, ‘The
Mindy Project’, ‘New Girl’ and occasionally ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’. Fun and enjoyable? Yes. Classic?
Maybe not.
12. Train doors do not open when they reach each station
unless you press the button to open them.
This caused me to panic during my move but some friendly people helped
me out!
13. You can buy alcohol at corner stores, grocery stores,
the UK equivalent of Wal-Mart…pretty much everywhere.
14. Within large crisp bags there are several smaller bags
like you might get in a convenience store or on Halloween. Good for portion control I suppose, but it
seems like an exorbitant amount of packaging to me!
-Some of the most common crisp flavours that I have seen
include “cheese and onion” and “prawn cocktail.”
15. From what I have seen so far you switch light switches
down to turn them on and up to turn them off.
Also all of the outlets have individual ‘on’ and ‘off’ switches.
16. Coca-Cola has a marketing scheme right now where bottles
say “share a Coke with” and then a first name.
It is very clever but I was satisfied with just taking a picture when I
saw my name!
17. I have a both a debit card and a separate card for
taking cash out of bank machines and ATMs.
18. In transit stations there have been no solid bins for
security reasons since the London bombings.
There are clear bin bags in their place.
19. There is post on Saturday (but not on Sunday, as Vernon
Dursley has taught me).
20. There are signs all over the airports and public
transport station in London warning people to watch out for pickpockets and ‘luggage
snatchers’.
21. Biscuits are super delicious and even better when dipped
in tea! I tried some of the 11th
Doctor’s favourite Jammie Dodgers and they were no good until I dipped them in
my evening cuppa :)
22. There are A LOT of different coins: 1 penny, 2 pence, 5 pence, 10 pence, 20 pence, 50 pence, 1 pound and 2 pounds. Plus they are HEAVY compared to coins in Canada. My wallet gets weighed down pretty fast.
These are the differences that come to mind right away but I
am sure that I will think of enough to write a Part 2 list
sometime soon.
Have a lovely weekend!
-Heather <3
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