Hello Everyone!
It's been a bit since I've posted, so I have used this time to reflect a bit on my experiences at home and abroad.
Here are some interesting things I learned about America through the eyes of the British.
- Guns. Well, with Sandy Hook still fresh in the minds of everyone, the topic of guns did come up on occasion. And since I was the resident American for most of this, I got asked a lot of questions. As fate would have it, I learned the basics of pistol shooting from a family friend (who's also a WWII veteran). I also wrote a paper about the historical and legal context of the Second Amendment when I was a senior in high-school. This lead to some very spirited debates.
- Accents. I started learning to place people based on accents. I'm pretty good at picking out whether someone has a Northern vs Southern Welsh accent. I also have gotten better about picking out Northern and Southern English accents. Beyond that, unless your region is very obvious to my ear like Essex or Scouse, that's the extent of my knowledge. So please don't ask me if you sound "posh" to my ear. Ask my friend Olivia, she's much better at that sort of thing! I discovered that the British people I talked to seemed to be about as knowledgeable about American accents as I am about British ones (maybe even less so on their part!). It was always fun asking people where they thought I was from. I think the best answer was "Miami" (yes, he narrowed it down to a specific city). Hahaha, sometimes I wish that, buddy! Is this because of "Newscaster English" leading to the die-off of native accents? Is is because America is an younger country and therefore hasn't had enough time for the differences in regional accents to become more dramatic? I am not one to speculate on this. I did have some fun listening to my generic-y North-Eastern US accent ebb and flow during my time abroad. I normally soften my T's so that the words "Vermont", "Water" and "Twenty" sound like "Vermon", "Wah-der" and "Twenny" (An Essex accent would say "Wa'er" and have a small stop in between the syllables). As I lived in Cardiff and interacted with the British, I started picking up those T's that I dropped.
- History. I had some Welsh friends who didn't know what Americans celebrated on July 4th. I had the feeling that the American Revolution was not as important topic to them as it was to us (I learned about it in three separate years, 6th grade, 8th grade and 11th grade). Not only that, but all the World History I'd learned in school seemed to culminate with the rise of the United States. First was Classical Greece, birthplace of democracy and Western Civ. Then came Rome, another cornerstone of Western Civ. Next were the Middle Ages, a rather brutal and backwards time of inquisitions, crusades, divine right and Christendom (This view wasn't rectified until I was in University. Also, notice a common theme here? Little bit of Catholic bashing going on). Next was the glorious Renaissance, which sprung forth from the minds of Italians fully-formed like Athena from Zeus' skull. Then, America. That's history, folks! *Eagle Screech*
- Britain ≠ America. As a globally-conscious American individual, I have gotten used to not being able to have all the products/food items/brands I've grown up with at home (although globalisation seems keen on changing that). I'm not sure if the British at large have had the same experience. I continually astounded them with tales of a land where an electric kettle was not a household fixture, Ribena is unheard of, Tex-Mex food abounds while Indian takeaway is slim-to-none, and the closest Nando's is in Washington DC. I remember seeing the shock on a girl's face when I told her that there are no such thing are cheddar and onion crisps in America. Cheddar and Onion crisps are the most British-y of British crisp tastes. On a different note, what is with the meat-flavoured crisps, UK? I know the USA gets a lot of stick for our questionable choice in food (to which I say, we learned from the best). If I wanted a steak or a prawn cocktail, I'd eat a real one.
- Heritage. Genealogy is trendy in America. Everyone wants to know where they came from. This is because we are a country of immigrants. Probably also because everyone wants to be related to royalty in some way (Good news! If you're of Western European heritage, you're probably descended from Charlemagne. Tell someone that the next time they disrespect you!). Personally, I am a mish-mash of Irish, English and Welsh, with a possible touch of Scots thrown in for good measure. My name, however, is probably one of the most aggressively Irish names you could encounter. It was entertaining to hear people speculate about where I was from. Quite a few people said "Irish", I'm guessing just based on the name. One guy attempted to convince me that I was the posterchild of an "American" face. What does that even mean?? Did my straight nose tell him that I have Mayflower-colonist blood? My lips that another ancestor fought in the American Revolution? I don't think that knowing where your ancestors came from is as important a topic to the average Brit. I talked to a boy whose mother's family had pretty much remained in one village in Yorkshire.
What do I miss from Cardiff?
- My awesome friends. This is a given. All of you are lovely and wonderful people who made my time away from America so memorable. I can't thank you enough.
- Certain food/drink items. Black currants are my faves. This all started with my trip to Burgundy last summer, where they are the regional fruit. Sadly, they are next to unknown back in America (for some more info on this, click here). I have also fallen in love with toffee waffles. My flatmate Adeline introduced me to them. They are perfectly sized to sit on top of a cup of tea. This gently warms them and gets the toffee in the middle all gooey. Yum. I also grew to love chorizo (Spanish Sausage) and Peri-peri (an Afro-Portuguese spice blend). I have brought back a taste for making curries though (Thai-style ones). Yummy, spicy and easy to make with what's on hand? Don't mind if I do! And I know that the UK is known for tea, but I couldn't get enough of flat whites. I think of coffee as a necessary evil (when you need something stronger than tea), but flat whites are absolutely lovely and sadly have not reached America en masse.
- An appreciation for Accents. I don't think the Southern/Midland English can quite understand how charming, cultured and sophisticated they sound to the American ear. I soon learned that not everything sounds awesome (try listening to them say fillet as "fill-it", mocha as 'mock-ah", or pasta as "paast-ah"). Also, not all English accents sound awesome to American ears either (I hate to keep harping on Scousers...). Well, what about Welsh accents? I think they are adorable. Whether you're a Gog or a Hwntw, I will give you accent-compliments. I love how the Welsh say "work". It sounds like "wehrk" to my ears. Also, Welsh accents are criminally underrepresented in North American media. I think the only time I'd heard a Welsh accent before Cardiff was in a video game (Eve Myles voiced a character).
- Public Transportation. America is largely a car culture. I feel incredibly independent when I hop in my car and drive myself somewhere. However, it's also nice to have options. I embraced the long trainrides through the Welsh countryside. I had some insightful conversations with cab drivers. I rode a bus right to my terminal at Heathrow. No parking worries, no need to stress about driving on the opposite side of the road.
- Tea culture. I'd gotten used to doing everything one-handed in Cardiff, because the other hand was holding either an umbrella or a cup of tea (why, how did you think that was going to end?). I was a devo-tea long before my arrival in the UK, but there's just something comforting about filling the electric kettle and getting a cup of Earl Grey. Also, nothing chases away the damp chill of Welsh rain better than tea. Nothing.
- Welsh Language. Don't ask me to sight-read any Welsh. You'll get a mangled pronunciation (and possibly a shower. Those LL's are killer!). It was kinda cool to try and decipher it though. I saw that Welsh had 'welsh-ified" some Latin words. I also saw some "welsh-ified" English words too! I think I picked up some meanings just from being exposed to them on all the signs like "Ffordd Allan" under all the Exit signs. I also enjoyed seeing the Welsh appear above the English when I was in North Wales. I didn't hear Welsh spoken that often though (the only times I heard it were when I was in the Welsh Studies department of Cardiff Uni, announcements at the Millennium Centre and the National Anthem).
That's only a little bit of what's been kicking around in my mind. It's nice to have a place to let it see the light!
I miss my time in Cardiff so much. It was an awesome experience for me to go abroad and be welcomed so openly.
Cheers!
