Although I have now had McDonald's, I still have not succumbed to the doorways of Subway, KFC, or Starbucks. While I love these American staples, I am not feeling the pull to have them here. There's so many other new choices in London. I do REALLY miss Tex-Mex though.
As I'm continuing to learn about the British culture, I've made note of some observations:
- They love crisps! (potato chips) and eat them at all times of the day
- Many men here wear Levi's jeans
- They seem to like velcro on their shoes...all ages
- They love Kit Kats and they make many different kinds
- They're good about taking time for tea/coffee. I was surprised to find out that they drink coffee as much as tea in England- and it's always offered together ("Would you like some tea or coffee?"). I mentioned this to someone a few weeks ago and they said drinking as much coffee as tea had become a trend here about 10 years ago. All the high schools I work at have a morning "Break time" where the students can eat a snack and are free to walk around campus for about 30 minutes, usually around 10:30am. This is the adults' time for tea or coffee! And I loved it all Half Term in October (student holiday) when I was working all week at the hospital, and about 2:00pm each day, another Speech and Language Therapist would ask, "Anyone for tea/coffee?"
In the last 2 weeks, I've observed some of my students in their lessons and have enjoyed some of the lectures. One History lesson's objective was "Elizabeth I- Finding a 'Middle Way' for England". The History teacher was talking about Queen Elizabeth's struggle to find middle ground for the Catholics and Protestants. And in another lesson, I heard the English teacher referencing the "I Have a Dream Speech" from MLK. In one lesson I was learning about the Tudors (which I LOVE), and in another at the same school I was listening to the teacher talk about a famous American while she taught about the literary devices of his speech.
Here are some recent pics:
The Crown Pub
Piccadilly Circus
Rosie, Trish, Vicky
Outside the Crown Pub
Friday, November 14th
Native Americans (?)A singing group at Harrow Town Centre
Saturday, November 15th
A gallery inside the Victoria & Albert MuseumSunday, November 16th
I only got through 4 rooms in the "England 1600-1800" section...
I look at and read everything
I had to take a picture of this Fish Shop. I thought, "How ironic. A Chinese fish and chip shop!?!" Later someone told me it's well-known and very good. Huh. Who knew?(Near one of my high schools in Harrow)
This picture was taken outside the Whole Foods on Kensington High Street. I had heard that some places here help us ex-pats celebrate Thanksgiving!! And I found the genuine Libbey's pumpkin puree there. My flatmate, Elizabeth-Anne, and I are having some Americans over for Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday...since we'll be working Thursday. We're both going to attempt to cook a turkey (a first for us both), and I'm baking a pumpkin pie. We've ordered the turkey from Whole Foods, and we've asked everyone to chip in on that and bring a side. Elizabeth-Anne and I went shopping yesterday (to 3 different grocery stores!) to try to find things to make our American recipes, which is difficult. We finally found a store we had heard about, Partridge's, that sells American foods. I wish I had had my camera to video how excited we were when we saw all they had: Jif Peanut Butter, canned yams, Wheat Thins, Ro-tel, Pop-Tarts, and a lot more. Anyone that knows me well, knows I bought the peanut butter on the spot. I just can't do the English version or organic kind. And it's a small miracle that I've made it 6 weeks without peanut butter!!! I did pay 4.45 pounds for it ($6.75) for a small 18-oz jar, but it will be worth it. Elizabeth-Anne's mom will probably be happy to hear that she can now get Ro-tel here because she was shipping a few cans every so often.
Happy Thanksgiving!
(Here's hoping our North American Sports Association channel- really ESPN- will show the OSU/OU football game Saturday. GO POKES!!!)
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