Winding Down

Andrew and I want to truly thank all of you who have been our faithful blog readers, coming with us on this journey.  We're starting to feel that things are coming to a close here in Carlisle as we leave a week from Saturday.  And yet, there are still so many cool things between now and our return home in December.  Stay tuned as we invite you to join us on this blog for glimpses of our upcoming travels and experiences.

For now, we'd like to share a few things.

First, a story...and a reminder of how much I love being a nurse:

Yesterday was my final day volunteering at The Croft.  I have truly loved my time at The Croft.  As I have mentioned before, some groups that come to The Croft cook some of the food they eat.  The group that visited yesterday were learning about food during WWI, and they were cooking.  ...And they were 5 years old.  Now, I'm all for teaching young children to cook, but handing vegetable peelers and sharp knives to a room full of 5 year olds makes me nervous.  And as it would happen, there were a few cuts and band-aids (called "plasters" here) needed.  One young girl, Katie, cut her finger quite badly.  It was just a surface cut, taking off the top layer of skin, but it was a good size cut and it bled...a lot.  Being a nurse, I volunteered to take care of young Katie, sitting with her and comforting her while we waited for the bleeding to stop.  When the class got ready to leave at the end of the day, she went out of her way to find me, give me a big hug, and say "Thank you, miss, for helping me to feel better!"  It was a good last day for me at The Croft.

Second, while the UK speaks English and has a relatively similar culture to home, there are definitely differences.  Here we'll share with you some of what we've learned.

A few common words here and their American counterparts:
Boot/bonnet = trunk/hood of a car
Take away = take out
Pram/buggy = stroller
Hob = stove top
Lorry/HGV = semi-truck
Dual carriageway = divided highway
Motorway = highway
City Centre = downtown
Plaster = band aid
Chips = french fries
Crisps = potato chips
...more specifically...
Walkers Crisps = Lays Potato Chips
Scampi = shrimp
Loch = lake
Wee = small
Wellies = rain boots
Loo = toilet
Torch = flashlight
Pavement/footpath = sidewalk
Minced beef = ground beef
University/Uni = college
"Tea" = Although sometimes this can refer to a cup of tea with a biscuit in the afternoon, it can also refer to dinner, or the evening meal
Holiday = vacation
Pudding = dessert
Petrol = gasoline
"Cheers" = can mean hello, goodbye, thank you, good job, etc.  It's entirely appropriate to use this when passing someone on the street or in any number of social contexts.
Diary = planner/datebook
Knackered = exhausted
Nappy = diaper
Napkin = sanitary pad
Serviette - napkin

Common terms of praise:
-Well done!
-Clever!
-Brilliant!

Flavors of Crisps (we've not tried all of these...):
-Cheese & onion (not too different from home)
-Worcestershire
-Ranch Raccoon
-Cheesy Beans on Toast
-Prawn Cocktail
-Beefy Fajita
-Sweet Thai Chili
-Sticky BBQ Pulled Pork
-Roast Chicken
-Salt & Vinegar
-Smoked Bacon
-Cool American  (=cool ranch)

Yogurt flavors we've encountered:
-Rhubarb
-Fig
-Prune
-Kiwi

Common British foods we're going to miss:
-Black Pudding
-Haggis
-Digestives/biscuits - they're not really a cookie, but they are sweet - sort or a cross between a cracker and a cookie.  Often, they are offered with a hot beverage (tea or coffee).
-Fish and chips
-Take-away in general - it's kind of like fast food, except way better.  We've had excellent Indian and Chinese take-away in addition to classic British fare

Things we've learned about food that are different, but we may or may not miss:
-Ginger is in....a lot of foods
-A "full" British breakfast consists of some combination of the following: a fried egg, black pudding, bacon, sausage, a stewed tomato, a hashbrown, mushrooms, baked beans, and of course, toast and coffee or tea
-Plain yogurt is used as a common substitute for sour cream
-Brits don't drink milk straight - milk is something to be added to tea/coffee or on cereal.
-British "s'mores" are made with milk chocolate digestive biscuits as there is no such thing as graham crackers here

Miscellaneous cultural tid-bits:
-Queues: the Brits take queuing (or forming a line) very seriously.  Should you arrive at a bus stop and there be a few people already there, even if they're not in a formal line, it's very important you take note of who is there before you.  When the bus pulls up, even if it's empty and everyone will easily get a seat, it's best to make sure you get on the bus when it's your turn.
-When someone offers tea or coffee, they are not actually asking IF you would like tea or coffee, but rather they are asking if you would like tea OR coffee.  Refusing a hot beverage leads to your host feeling unsure how to proceed.
-When food shopping, if you're interested in a wide variety of cereal, tomato products, or world foods, you're going to be rather out of luck, but should you be interested in more flavors of digestives or honey than you knew existed, you'll be set.
-Single track roads are common when you get out into the countryside.  These roads are exactly as their name implies.  They're also often winding...so you have to watch out very carefully for oncoming traffic - since you're sharing a single lane after all.  Also, since Brits are more comfortable on these roads that we Americans, they are quite comfortable passing on single track roads without slowing down nearly as much as we would appreciate.
-On the topic of roads, and particularly curvy roads, center lines are really more guidelines.  Cars frequently stray from their own lane to take curves faster, so even if you're on a double track road (one lane for each direction), you still have to watch out around curves.  On either side of curves, there are often curved arrows in the center of the road, to remind drives to get back into their own lane after the curve.  Our favorite, however, is sometimes before these curves, there will be a sign warning drives of "Oncoming Traffic in Middle of Road."  We've yet to get a photo of this sign as they're never in a convenient spot to stop and snap a picture.