Listening to British accents all day has made me fascinated by linguistics - just many interests I've picked up since I've been here. Here are some differences I've encountered.
advert - ad, or advertisement
anticlockwise - counterclockwise
aubergine - eggplant
barrister - lawyer
bin - trashcan
biscuits - cookies
bollocks - rubbish, b.s.
budgerido - parakeet ('budgie')
burgle - to burglarize, as in 'he burgled the apartment'
car park - parking lot
multi-storey car park - parking garage
cash machine, cashpoint - ATM
cheers - thanks
chips - French fries
crisps - potato chips
digestives - biscuits
dodgy - sketchy
draughts - checkers
drink-driving - drunk driving
high street - main street or shopping street
ice lolly - popsicle
jacket potato - baked potato
knickers - girl's underwear
motorway - highway
nutter - crazy person, nut
pasty (Cornish pasty) - meat or vegetable-filled pastry
petrol - gas
post - mail
postcode - ZIP code
prawn - shrimp
quid - like bucks, but for pounds
rocket - arugula
skimmed milk - skim/nonfat milk
take away - to go
tuna mayonnaise, egg mayonnaise, prawn mayonnaise, etc. - tuna salad, etc.
uni - university
yob - thug
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Saturday, August 1, 2009
The best hostel ever
I'm in Dublin, staying at the best hostel ever, the Globetrotters hostel on Lower Gardiner St.
It's beautiful, the beds are comfortable, I have free access to this computer and the Internet and there's all-you-can-eat (free) Irish breakfast in the morning.
Today, my four room mates and I are going to go on a walking tour, and then we're going to hang out in the city and hopefully get something to drink.
Tomorrow, I'm going to wake up early to go to County Cavan, which is the general proximity of where my great-grandparents are born.
The Homeland.
It's beautiful, the beds are comfortable, I have free access to this computer and the Internet and there's all-you-can-eat (free) Irish breakfast in the morning.
Today, my four room mates and I are going to go on a walking tour, and then we're going to hang out in the city and hopefully get something to drink.
Tomorrow, I'm going to wake up early to go to County Cavan, which is the general proximity of where my great-grandparents are born.
The Homeland.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Shoreditch Music Festival
On Sunday I went to the 1234 Shoreditch Music Festival. It wasn't far from where I'm staying in Clerkenwell, Islington.
It was an interesting experience to say the least. I went with fellow Pitt student Rich. It was rainy and chilly, not surprisingly. No wonder the Brits are such cynics.
The bands were not amazing, for the most part, but I really enjoyed The Warlocks and Polly Scattergood. Especially Polly, because I approved of the large, ostentacious pink feather attachment she wore to her shiny shirt.
The Rakes were headlining, but they were terrible. Although I liked the theme of their first song, 'I'm exceptional at being sexual,' I found the lyrics to be a little too brash and their musicality did not make up for it.
But the highlight of the festival, apart from the tent rave in the Electronica booth, was Patrick Wolf. First of all, he wore a zebra-striped tight deep-cut v-neck pantsuit with gold paint a la David Bowie. I approved. But he is a very talented singer and his songs range from pop to folk influence. Plus, he plays viola and played in duet with an electric violinist. I highly suggest checking his work out - he's got an impressive discography for being only 26. My favorite song was 'Accident & Emergency.'
Peace.
It was an interesting experience to say the least. I went with fellow Pitt student Rich. It was rainy and chilly, not surprisingly. No wonder the Brits are such cynics.
The bands were not amazing, for the most part, but I really enjoyed The Warlocks and Polly Scattergood. Especially Polly, because I approved of the large, ostentacious pink feather attachment she wore to her shiny shirt.
The Rakes were headlining, but they were terrible. Although I liked the theme of their first song, 'I'm exceptional at being sexual,' I found the lyrics to be a little too brash and their musicality did not make up for it.
But the highlight of the festival, apart from the tent rave in the Electronica booth, was Patrick Wolf. First of all, he wore a zebra-striped tight deep-cut v-neck pantsuit with gold paint a la David Bowie. I approved. But he is a very talented singer and his songs range from pop to folk influence. Plus, he plays viola and played in duet with an electric violinist. I highly suggest checking his work out - he's got an impressive discography for being only 26. My favorite song was 'Accident & Emergency.'
Peace.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
I have eaten 7 peanut butter sandwiches in the past three days.
Only about half of them had jelly.
This is because I have been stranded with almost no money in one of the most expensive cities in the world for 72 hours.
Trust me. I love peanut butter and jelly. But after awhile, it makes you go crazy. If you're interested in how I came to this point, please read on. The following account is a lively tale filled with mystery, sadness, deceit, heroism - and of course, bureaucratic red tape.
IT BEGAN innocently when I went to the Budgens near my Clerkenwell flat two Sunday mornings ago.
When I got to the counter, the apathetic-yet-polite clerk told me my card didn't work. I told him it was an American card, so maybe that was why. Not so. He swiped the card at least 20 times and it worked.
Luckily, my total was only £10, and I had about £9, or something like that. I only had to give up a bunch of grapes. I thought nothing of this incident. I figured it was just that my American card wouldn't work at the Budgens register.
At some point, I must have gone to an ATM or tried to buy something else, because by Sunday night I realized that my card had been deactivated. I borrowed £5 from my room mate Alex so that I'd have enough money to get to my internship. It was my first day there. I needed money because our tube pass only covers London zones 1 through 3, and my internship is in Morden, zone 4.
I made it to work and back. When I got back to the flat, I called Visa Card Services and they activated the card for me. Of course, I assumed that the message I left them before leaving the States hadn't been relayed to the right person.
The next morning, I picked up my £40 stipend at CAPA right before class. I paid Alex back. I spent some money on some food and things, like a prawn sandwich after work, etc. I must have gone out or done something otherwise and spent a little more money. On Thursday, our class went to Parliament. I bought some postcards and stamps later that afternoon. It's a good thing I didn't spend the £12 I wanted to spend to get into Westminster Abbey that day.
Anyway, when I got home from the Parliament trip, etc., I was planning on going to Hammersmith to go swing dancing, so I needed some more money (it cost £10 to get in). But when I got to the ATM next to the Sainsbury's grocery store, the machine said my card was faulty.
Apparently, my card had not been activated.
I was pretty upset. We came back and I gave Visa a call back. The person said I had no holds on my account and it wasn't flagged, so the problem was probably because I was using a Star ATM instead of a Plus ATM. Visa recently dropped its contract with Star. She said the Sainsbury's machine probably worked the first time because of a fault in the system, or because the company that runs the machine recently updated their computer system.
It sounded unlikely to me, too.
On Friday morning, the CAPA students all went on the Stonehenge and Bath day trip. I got £40 before the trip because I explained the situation to the CAPA faculty and they told me that I could get next week's stipend to pay for food and things on my trip.
Stonehenge and Bath were beautiful. I'll upload pictures of Bath soon. I spent some money on a sandwich in Bath, as well as a souvenir for a family member back home (~ £10). Then we came came back home and decided to go see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (£6).
Early the next afternoon, I went to the change bureau. I didn't realize it had closed at 12:30. I went to use the ATM instead. My card was again rejected. I looked at which cards they accepted. It was a Plus ATM.
It was about to go down. I immediately called Visa as I was standing outside the ATM. The person I spoke with said they didn't know what was wrong with my account, and because my credit union has a certain agreement with Visa, he wasn't able to view specific details of my account because it had not been flagged.
So I called my credit union. The same thing was established - my account had not been flagged. In fact, it hadn't even been "used" since July 13, which I think was when I bought a purse and dress at the London H&M.
That meant that something was wrong with the card itself, because it wasn't even able to register on machines to dial to Visa to access my account.
It had somehow been demagnetized.
I cried. The woman told me not to worry - that I should be able to go to a bank, or any merchant, and just tell them to key the number in manually.
It was Saturday. I had £25. No bank was open until Monday.
After I assembled myself, my room mates and I went to Portobello Road, a really cool outdoor market in Notting Hill. I loved it there - it was probably my favorite part of London so far. It was kind of sad not being able to buy anything that I liked, but I survived. Instead, I opted for a £2 cupcake at a shop that had been highly recommended to us, called Hummingbird's. I don't regret it. It was awesome.
That night, we had planned to go to Fabric, a very popular nightclub. I thought the ticket would be £10. It was £16 when we got to the door. I didn't buy drinks or anything. (I'll save the story of Fabric for another blog entry.)
So, by Sunday, I was left with about £5. (These numbers are approximate... my memory is not perfect.) Meanwhile, a week had gone by. I had no food left. That morning, I went to Budgens to buy peanut butter, bread, and custard cookies to last me until at least the next day, when I'd be able to get cash at the bank. Hopefully.
I went to my internship and spent another £2 on a ticket to get to Morden. I had less than a pound left. I went to the bank next door to Crimestoppers and they told me they were unable to manually key in the number.
What?
Luckily, the saga is almost over. I continued eating peanut butter sandwiches, although I'd run out of jelly. Meanwhile, several people (Erik and my dad) were devising rescue strategies.
Finally, a breakthrough came this morning.
Except that first, my dad valiantly tried to send money through PayPal. But then we found out it would have to wait 5 days to be shipped - the instant debit card option obviously would not work.
I went to the change bureau near CAPA and told the woman what happened.
"How many ATMs have you tried, ma'am?" she asked. "Just one?"
I informed her that I'd tried several.
"Well, I'm not allowed to key in the numbers myself," she said. "Not even my manager can do that."
"Why not?"
"Because it's not allowed."
And then I started to cry. I swear I didn't try. I'd cried a couple times before. Let's review - I hadn't been able to use my card in 9 days. I had 94 pence. Everyone seemed unable to help me. As I said before - lies, deceit. Bureaucratic red tape.
"Oh, no, don't cry!"
This woman turned to be the most helpful person I had come across in Britain. She lent me 7 pounds and told me to call a family member to have them wire the money through Western Union, and that I could pick it up there after I went back to the flat and got my passport for identification. My dad wired me 100 pounds to hold me over until he can ship my card. He was able to do it online.
Did I feel a little silly for not realizing there was a Western Union service? Yes. Did I care? Not really. Relief is a beautiful thing.
Special thanks to my dad, my boyfriend, room mates and the Bureau de Change woman for the advice and consulation.
Only about half of them had jelly.
This is because I have been stranded with almost no money in one of the most expensive cities in the world for 72 hours.
Trust me. I love peanut butter and jelly. But after awhile, it makes you go crazy. If you're interested in how I came to this point, please read on. The following account is a lively tale filled with mystery, sadness, deceit, heroism - and of course, bureaucratic red tape.
IT BEGAN innocently when I went to the Budgens near my Clerkenwell flat two Sunday mornings ago.
When I got to the counter, the apathetic-yet-polite clerk told me my card didn't work. I told him it was an American card, so maybe that was why. Not so. He swiped the card at least 20 times and it worked.
Luckily, my total was only £10, and I had about £9, or something like that. I only had to give up a bunch of grapes. I thought nothing of this incident. I figured it was just that my American card wouldn't work at the Budgens register.
At some point, I must have gone to an ATM or tried to buy something else, because by Sunday night I realized that my card had been deactivated. I borrowed £5 from my room mate Alex so that I'd have enough money to get to my internship. It was my first day there. I needed money because our tube pass only covers London zones 1 through 3, and my internship is in Morden, zone 4.
I made it to work and back. When I got back to the flat, I called Visa Card Services and they activated the card for me. Of course, I assumed that the message I left them before leaving the States hadn't been relayed to the right person.
The next morning, I picked up my £40 stipend at CAPA right before class. I paid Alex back. I spent some money on some food and things, like a prawn sandwich after work, etc. I must have gone out or done something otherwise and spent a little more money. On Thursday, our class went to Parliament. I bought some postcards and stamps later that afternoon. It's a good thing I didn't spend the £12 I wanted to spend to get into Westminster Abbey that day.
Anyway, when I got home from the Parliament trip, etc., I was planning on going to Hammersmith to go swing dancing, so I needed some more money (it cost £10 to get in). But when I got to the ATM next to the Sainsbury's grocery store, the machine said my card was faulty.
Apparently, my card had not been activated.
I was pretty upset. We came back and I gave Visa a call back. The person said I had no holds on my account and it wasn't flagged, so the problem was probably because I was using a Star ATM instead of a Plus ATM. Visa recently dropped its contract with Star. She said the Sainsbury's machine probably worked the first time because of a fault in the system, or because the company that runs the machine recently updated their computer system.
It sounded unlikely to me, too.
On Friday morning, the CAPA students all went on the Stonehenge and Bath day trip. I got £40 before the trip because I explained the situation to the CAPA faculty and they told me that I could get next week's stipend to pay for food and things on my trip.
Stonehenge and Bath were beautiful. I'll upload pictures of Bath soon. I spent some money on a sandwich in Bath, as well as a souvenir for a family member back home (~ £10). Then we came came back home and decided to go see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (£6).
Early the next afternoon, I went to the change bureau. I didn't realize it had closed at 12:30. I went to use the ATM instead. My card was again rejected. I looked at which cards they accepted. It was a Plus ATM.
It was about to go down. I immediately called Visa as I was standing outside the ATM. The person I spoke with said they didn't know what was wrong with my account, and because my credit union has a certain agreement with Visa, he wasn't able to view specific details of my account because it had not been flagged.
So I called my credit union. The same thing was established - my account had not been flagged. In fact, it hadn't even been "used" since July 13, which I think was when I bought a purse and dress at the London H&M.
That meant that something was wrong with the card itself, because it wasn't even able to register on machines to dial to Visa to access my account.
It had somehow been demagnetized.
I cried. The woman told me not to worry - that I should be able to go to a bank, or any merchant, and just tell them to key the number in manually.
It was Saturday. I had £25. No bank was open until Monday.
After I assembled myself, my room mates and I went to Portobello Road, a really cool outdoor market in Notting Hill. I loved it there - it was probably my favorite part of London so far. It was kind of sad not being able to buy anything that I liked, but I survived. Instead, I opted for a £2 cupcake at a shop that had been highly recommended to us, called Hummingbird's. I don't regret it. It was awesome.
That night, we had planned to go to Fabric, a very popular nightclub. I thought the ticket would be £10. It was £16 when we got to the door. I didn't buy drinks or anything. (I'll save the story of Fabric for another blog entry.)
So, by Sunday, I was left with about £5. (These numbers are approximate... my memory is not perfect.) Meanwhile, a week had gone by. I had no food left. That morning, I went to Budgens to buy peanut butter, bread, and custard cookies to last me until at least the next day, when I'd be able to get cash at the bank. Hopefully.
I went to my internship and spent another £2 on a ticket to get to Morden. I had less than a pound left. I went to the bank next door to Crimestoppers and they told me they were unable to manually key in the number.
What?
Luckily, the saga is almost over. I continued eating peanut butter sandwiches, although I'd run out of jelly. Meanwhile, several people (Erik and my dad) were devising rescue strategies.
Finally, a breakthrough came this morning.
Except that first, my dad valiantly tried to send money through PayPal. But then we found out it would have to wait 5 days to be shipped - the instant debit card option obviously would not work.
I went to the change bureau near CAPA and told the woman what happened.
"How many ATMs have you tried, ma'am?" she asked. "Just one?"
I informed her that I'd tried several.
"Well, I'm not allowed to key in the numbers myself," she said. "Not even my manager can do that."
"Why not?"
"Because it's not allowed."
And then I started to cry. I swear I didn't try. I'd cried a couple times before. Let's review - I hadn't been able to use my card in 9 days. I had 94 pence. Everyone seemed unable to help me. As I said before - lies, deceit. Bureaucratic red tape.
"Oh, no, don't cry!"
This woman turned to be the most helpful person I had come across in Britain. She lent me 7 pounds and told me to call a family member to have them wire the money through Western Union, and that I could pick it up there after I went back to the flat and got my passport for identification. My dad wired me 100 pounds to hold me over until he can ship my card. He was able to do it online.
Did I feel a little silly for not realizing there was a Western Union service? Yes. Did I care? Not really. Relief is a beautiful thing.
Special thanks to my dad, my boyfriend, room mates and the Bureau de Change woman for the advice and consulation.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Stonehenge
I was expecting a little more adventure out of Stonehenge.
In my mind, I imagined an empty field surrounded by trees. I would come to a clearing in the forest and find all these beautiful rocks waiting for me.
Not so. About 50 of us (or so) went on a large tour bus, and could see Stonehenge from the busy road. We parked in a large parking lot with souvenir shops. To get to Stonehenge, we had to go through a short tunnel constructed to pass under the busy road and up through.
Stonehenge is in Wiltshire, England, which is southeast of London. The drive there was beautiful, and it was really the first time I had seen the English countryside. It really is similar to in movies like Pride and Prejudice (the Keira Knightley version). Stormy, moody, green and beautiful. The land somehow feels older than in the United States.
Unfortunately I slept for most of the two-and-a-half hour drive there and back, so I missed most of the beauty.
Stonehenge was built by people who may have been druids in about 3100 BC. The ancient people probably arranged the rocks in their infamous circular shape because of seasonal worship beliefs. Druids are now video game characters and Pitt secret society members. During the time of Stonehenge, the druids were ancient Celtic peoples who were prosecuted by Romans, partially because of human sacrifice in religious ceremonies. However, it's not certain that the peoples that built Stonehenge in three stages over a thousand years were druids.
What the historians do know is that Stonehenge was built by people who were reverent of their ancestors. The site is located on a large ancient burial ground, and some historians theorize that because of the This was an incredible feat. Some of the rocks weigh several tons and may have been shipped down river to get to the Stonehenge site. Some of the rocks have joints that have been carved out to hold the giant stones in place. The sun aligns through the rocks onto what is called the "altar stone" on the summer solstice, indicating that the people who built Stonehenge were highly in-tune with astronomical observation and the changing of the seasons.
When I first saw Stonehenge, it looked like a giant pile of rocks. As we listened to a self-guided audio tour, we made a large circle around the diameter of Stonehenge, so that we could view it from all directions. As usual in England, it was about to rain, so I was able to capture the expected images of Stonehenge underneath ominous clouds.
I took my time. As I crossed to the other side, the circular formation became more clear. It was a beautiful site, and I admit that it felt a little magical, although that was dampened by the hundreds of tourists that were with me. Of course, I got drenched in the downpour.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Museum-going
London has fantastic museums. I went to the British Museum on Sunday.
The building itself is beautiful, with a great main hall that has sweeping architecture and a beautiful skylight window. The works are impressive, although many of them are stolen from other countries (or former British colonies). A lot of the work is from the Pantheon. The statues from there are beautiful.
My favorite part of the museum was definitely the various statues of Venus/Aphrodite. I love the classical portrayal of women. I was also excited to see the Rosetta Stone - arguably one of the most important discoveries in recent history.
The museum also had King George III's library, medieval statues from east and southern Asia and artifacts from every stage of European history. The experience was tiring - there were just so many different exhibits.
Then today, Jane and I went to the Victoria & Albert Museum. In the guidebooks, I thought this sounded kind of lame, because the title is not descriptive of what's inside. It turned out to be an awesome museum. There were hundreds of sculptures, a good portion of which were by French sculptor Auguste Rodin (who has an impressive beard).
The museum had a beautiful courtyard with a wading pool, outside cafes, purple and magenta hydrangea flowers, and many different kinds of people who were wading in the water with their children, sunbathing and chatting. It was gorgeous and relaxed.
The museum also had cultural artifacts like furniture, armor and clothing from King Henry VIII's court. It had a good amount of modern displays as well, including a look at fashion from the 1800s to the present and a design exhibit. I loved the Islamic art and Indian art exhibits, which featured beautiful, huge Persian rugs and many Hindu sculptures.
The building itself was amazing. It was probably one of the oldest-looking buildings I have ever seen. It was immense and gorgeous. I'll include pictures when I have the chance to upload them.
Some personal updates - I've started all of my classes and my internship. My internship at Crimestoppers is going well. Everyone is very nice, and I feel very welcome and capable of the tasks. My politics class will be very interesting. We're going to Parliament on Thursday, the Winston Churchill Museum (the War Cabinet Rooms - where the government governed from underground during the bombings - my dad would love this) next Thursday, and Wales at the end of the month. So excited.
I've also decided to make a trip to Ireland to visit where my great-grandparents were born.
The museum had a beautiful courtyard with a wading pool, outside cafes, purple and magenta hydrangea flowers, and many different kinds of people who were wading in the water with their children, sunbathing and chatting. It was gorgeous and relaxed.
The museum also had cultural artifacts like furniture, armor and clothing from King Henry VIII's court. It had a good amount of modern displays as well, including a look at fashion from the 1800s to the present and a design exhibit. I loved the Islamic art and Indian art exhibits, which featured beautiful, huge Persian rugs and many Hindu sculptures.
The building itself was amazing. It was probably one of the oldest-looking buildings I have ever seen. It was immense and gorgeous. I'll include pictures when I have the chance to upload them.
Some personal updates - I've started all of my classes and my internship. My internship at Crimestoppers is going well. Everyone is very nice, and I feel very welcome and capable of the tasks. My politics class will be very interesting. We're going to Parliament on Thursday, the Winston Churchill Museum (the War Cabinet Rooms - where the government governed from underground during the bombings - my dad would love this) next Thursday, and Wales at the end of the month. So excited.
I've also decided to make a trip to Ireland to visit where my great-grandparents were born.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Things I like better in the U.K. than the U.S.
1. Packaging
The packaging on food seems much more recycle-friendly and efficient. There's not a whole lot of plastic, and most jellies/peanut butters/condiments etc., which would normally come in plastic in the U.S., come in glass jars. I collect jars. I put spices in them. This is very good for me. I also think that products are designed better (more aesthetically appealing) that in the States.
2. Refrigerators/freezers
I think it's good that the refrigerators are smaller. You buy less at a time. Also, this allows them to be hidden in cabinets, like the one of the ones in our flat.
3. Openness on the tube
I love that when you're riding the tube, the operators and other staff tell you exactly what's going on if there is a delay. Sometimes this seems like too much information. They'll tell you when there's a signal failure, and what stop it's at, but they'll also tell you if someone's tried to kill themselves but jumping into the train tracks.
4. Tea
Fairly self-explanatory. I hate coffee. It makes me paranoid. I love tea, although I don't like it with milk like the Brits do, and I prefer green tea to black tea.
5. Nutrition labels
Many of the labels here are much more exact and informative than American labels, or so it seems to me. First of all, they include how many Joules of energy the food gives you, along with the calories. I don't any reason to want Joules on my labels, but I still appreciate the effort. Also, instead of rounding, the labels are exact. My granola bars have 77.6 grams of carbohydrates, not 78. And in general, I think the labels are easier to read, the daily guidelines are easier to understand, and the design is better.
6. Saying "thank you"
In the UK they say "cheers" instead of "thank you" or "thanks" if the occasion is informal.
The packaging on food seems much more recycle-friendly and efficient. There's not a whole lot of plastic, and most jellies/peanut butters/condiments etc., which would normally come in plastic in the U.S., come in glass jars. I collect jars. I put spices in them. This is very good for me. I also think that products are designed better (more aesthetically appealing) that in the States.
2. Refrigerators/freezers
I think it's good that the refrigerators are smaller. You buy less at a time. Also, this allows them to be hidden in cabinets, like the one of the ones in our flat.
3. Openness on the tube
I love that when you're riding the tube, the operators and other staff tell you exactly what's going on if there is a delay. Sometimes this seems like too much information. They'll tell you when there's a signal failure, and what stop it's at, but they'll also tell you if someone's tried to kill themselves but jumping into the train tracks.
4. Tea
Fairly self-explanatory. I hate coffee. It makes me paranoid. I love tea, although I don't like it with milk like the Brits do, and I prefer green tea to black tea.
5. Nutrition labels
Many of the labels here are much more exact and informative than American labels, or so it seems to me. First of all, they include how many Joules of energy the food gives you, along with the calories. I don't any reason to want Joules on my labels, but I still appreciate the effort. Also, instead of rounding, the labels are exact. My granola bars have 77.6 grams of carbohydrates, not 78. And in general, I think the labels are easier to read, the daily guidelines are easier to understand, and the design is better.
6. Saying "thank you"
In the UK they say "cheers" instead of "thank you" or "thanks" if the occasion is informal.
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