So, when I decided to come to the UK a lot of people were like "Why go somewhere that speaks the same language?" Or "It's just like a better/worse (depending on the person) version of the US?" Or "You should go somewhere more interesting and/or exotic."
Well, I am officially here to say that the UK is plenty culturally dissimilar. I mean sure I am not becoming fluent in another language while abroad or sure it's more similar to the US than many parts of the globe, but its not like I'm just in a distant part of DC or anything. I mean I've only been here for about 3 weeks and I have already been introduced to 2 new languages (native to the UK), eaten a whole bunch of food I've never heard of or tasted, and learned a whole lotta history I didn't know before.
First for the languages:
Croeso i Gymru means "Welcome to Wales" in Welsh, which is one of the weirdest languages I've ever heard by the way. I went to Cardiff, Wales Friday and the language spoken sounds nothing like it looks written. In fact, written it looks completely unpronouncable. There are approximately 10 consonants per vowel (I reserve the right for artistic exaggeration). Well that is until you take into count that y's are always vowels and w's are also vowels. Millenium Stadium, where all the rugby and soccer matches are played, is spelled Stadiwm y Mileniwm. And Wales is spelled Cymru though you change it to Gymru in certain sentences. And Cardiff Castle is Castell Caerdydd. Don't try to pronounce these out loud unless you know Welsh because you will inevitably mispronounce.
Second language? None other than Cockney or Cockney Rhyming Slang or whatever you prefer to refer to it as. Granted, it's not a language proper and its kind of along the lines of pig latin or jibberish but its different in the fact that it holds cultural and historical value, oh and the fact that its way more fun to learn. I have recently been introduced to Cockney talk by a lovely Canadian who's been here since first term, a dapper young englishmen, and a few others along the way. Its now officially my goal to learn as much as possible and annoyingly speak it to everyone who won't understand when I return to the states.
Cockney lesson 101 (aka some of my favorite words I've learned): Rosie is tea, dog and bone is phone, ruby is curry, Anchor Spreadable is incredible, Alan is flu, and Antiseptic is Antiamerican. How do Cockney rhymes work you may ask? Well, they are like rhyming word associations, so some are obvious like dog and bone phone but others are more complicated antiseptic. Septic tank= yank so antiseptic means anti-yank or antiamerican. Apparently you just have to learn the vocab and while new words are occasionally made you can't really make it up as you go.
Ok, now for weird food:
Raclette- its a swiss dish I think. Its this cheese that heated and bubbled and then scraped over potatoes and pickles
Mulled Wine- ok this isn't that weird but I had never had it until I got here and here its everywhere, especially outdoor markets because its so cold and now I'm officially a fan
Pies- the British will put anything in a pie. Just think Sweeney Todd.
pickled everything- they seem to love pickles, and pickled sandwiches and museums have pickled animals...
Mayonnaise crazy- they love mayonnaise and not in moderation
Chips vs. Crisps- chips are french fries, crisps are potato chips
OK and I am not going into all of the European history I'm learning because that is both boring for me to write and boring for you to read. In summary, however, it involves art museums, bus tours, castle visits and the like.
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