Have a Ball Busting Good Time

This is another one of the many Englishisms I come across in my daily life. However, today's doesn't involve me getting confused, but rather an American friend of mine.

I decorated my ceiling and tree with Christmas balls, and one of my housemates kept repeating that he wants to buy 200 more "baubles" to round out our hanging Christmas look. American 2 (that is what she shall be called as I am American 1 in my house) was continually confused, until she finally worked up the courage to ask me

"What are Christmas baubles?"

An added side note is that she is Jewish and from Boston. Anyway, I explained they were the same thing as Christmas balls, then proceeded to say Christmas BAHBLES in a Boston accent.

A look of understanding dawned on her face our American British confusion was solved.

Christmas baubles=Christmas balls, or bahbles

Odd Holiday Treats and Where to Find Them

Parsnip chips?!!!!

Walking into any American supermarket in mid-November or December, customers are welcomed with a bombardment of "limited edition" special, seasonal flavors on their favorite food. We offer Candy Cane ice cream (which should be no different than peppermint flavor but somehow is), eggnog (a mysterious thing unheard of in the UK), Holiday M&M's, and so many other wonderful food options designed to get us in the holiday spirit. I always LOVED December grocery shopping because I could get so many of my favorite things in new flavors.

Living in the UK is not exactly the same thing....somehow...holidays are dialed down here. In America we celebrate Christmas like there will never be another, whereas the British observe it more quietly as just a semi special day out of the year. The stores do not go all out in decorations like Walmart or Kohls in the U.S. They do not offer eggnog (heartbreak!), and their holiday food specialities are rather limited.

Surprisingly tasted ok.......

In America, I would say our Christmas food centers around sweet things. In the UK they actually offer seasonal, Brie and Cranberry flavored chips/crisps. Or gingerbread popcorn?! As a country the British lean more towards the savory than sweet. I will allow that they seem to become possessed with the idea of eating mince pies and christmas puddings...which are really just like fruit cake and not all that unhealthy...If I am going to eat a dessert I want it to be smothered in chocolate and drowned in carmel...not baked with raisins and sultanas with a dash of custard like a Christmas pudding.

But to each their own and, by now I shouldn't be shocked that I prefer the American way of having holiday food.






Here is a link listing this year's truly desirable American treats
http://www.people.com/people/greatideas/gallery/0,,20964493,00.html#30422731

Personally I am a fan of all the hot chocolate flavored things! Hot chocolate is a staple in my beverage diet.

Tongue Twisters and Mispronunciations in England

I have known two British Craig's for over a year now. We met in our sport and have been spending time together on a regular basis for over 12 months. So imagine my surprise when a few weeks ago, when discussing one of the Craig's, my housemates corrected my pronunciation.

I was saying "Craig" like Craigslist or Greg with a C.

Apparently it is meant to be "Craig" like Craaaag, a hard A.

I didn't believe them, how could I have possible been mispronouncing multiple people's name for over 365 days?? There is no way that the Craig's and all of my friends would allow me to say someone's name wrong for that long!

So next time I saw a Craig, I asked. "Have I been saying your name wrong?" He looked at me with an...obviously....face and said "Yea you have".

Talk about awkward, I probably turned several shades of red and maroon, then finally sputtered an apology out.

I've tried to correct my pronunciation, but in the American way...I still mostly say Craig like Greg...and I guess the Craigs and I will have to learn to deal with it.

Still it was not a proud moment for me :/

Wearing My Big Girl Pants

In honor of Guy Fawkes Day, which is kind of a big holiday in the UK, I will be posting about yet another mistranslation in English.

In America we call underwear...underwear or panties. We call the things we wear on the lower half of our body like jeans or sweats our "pants".

That is apparently not universal. Everytime I referred to my pants being dirty or needing to wash them, or shopping, people around seemed awkward and embarrassed. I couldn't understand why. Nothing strange to discussing the need to shop or do laundry.

Then someone finally explained that in the UK to say "pants" meant underwear and if I wanted to refer to the jeans I was wearing, I needed to call them trousers.

So every time I said "My pants are dirty now!" the English heard "My underwear are dirty"

I felt like such an idiot and slightly creepy. And it is still not a switch in language I have mastered.

So USA=pants=the jeans, sweats, dress bottoms or anything we wear on our legs
 UK=pants=underwear

The Day Halloween Died

My 2014 UK costume

I was quite disappointed to learn that Halloween is not a big celebration in the UK, as it is in the USA. I found it somewhat shocking and ironic, because the historical tradition of All Hallow's Eve originates in England.

In America, we very much love Halloween. As a child I can recall driving around Georgian neighborhoods to see the spookily decorated laws. As a university student in New Orleans entire streets would decorate their houses and lawns with the most expensive over the top themes. One house did giant spiders crawling up the walls, another had a yard full of mesh ghost figures. It was wonderful. My family and I always decorated for Halloween and would usually attend multiple parties with bespoke costumes (my favorite was when my entire family dressed up as characters from "The Grinch who Stole Christmas).

This year I carved a sugar skull

But none of that happened in the UK. My housemates seemed genuinely annoyed that I decorated our living room for Halloween a whole 2 weeks early. (Even going so far as to pull down my faux spider webs!) And some of them had never carved a pumpkin before! To top all that off, on Halloween night, I only got 2 trick-or-treaters....despite buying 8 bags of candy. I was largely  disappointed.

Our marzipan spooky cake

Last Halloween I didn't notice the lack of holiday spirit, because I was tipsy/drunk most of the time. But this year I definitely felt the void. I think that, like the pumpkin spice latte, Halloween needs to come to the UK. Imagine if the old manor houses did special haunted themes for the month of October, there is a gold mine right there.

A witch, a skull and Darth Vader 

My festivities this year did include carving pumpkins with my best friend and my partner, watching horror films and making a very elaborate Halloween themed cake. I'm hoping next year to throw my own big Halloween party to contribute to the addition of the All Hallow's Eve spirit in the UK.

P.S. In the UK sugar skulls and anything Day of the Dead theme is totally unknown. Literally none of my friends were aware of the sugar skull until I carved one. I chalk this up to the fact that in the USA we are neighbors with a country that celebrates it and we have many immigrants that do as well. But I think this is yet another loss for the UK

The Tale of the White Girl and the Pumpkin Spice Latte

Campaign to Bring Pumpkin Spice to the United Kingdom
WE alllll know the common joke about how in the US white girls (and honestly everyone) get's excited for pumpkin spice lattes and other assorted foods flavored like pumpkin spice. It has gone so crazy that all kinds of things are pumpkin spice flavor, we have perfume, cookies, milk, anything and everything. In my humble (white girl) opinion, IT IS AWESOME! I like that pumpkin spice is to fall/autumn the way that eggnog is to Christmas. 

So while in America, the pumpkin spice craze is EVERYWHERE, it hardly exists in the UK. I find it heartbreaking and like it is a possibly gold mine waiting to happen. After two fall/autumn seasons in England, I have only come across two things flavored with pumpkin spice. Obviously Starbucks has the pumpkin spice coffee (but it isn't super popular as far as I can tell) and in Tesco I found a special offer for Ben and Jerry's pumpkin cheesecake ice cream. So far in two weeks I have bought four pints of this stuff! (I love ice cream).

Why the difference? Two reasons I think, Halloween isn't very popular over here, nor are pumpkins in general. For Thanksgiving American have pumpkin pie, therefore the taste for pumpkinny things is bred into us by our culture. But in England there is no pumpkin pie. And carving pumpkin's isn't a common tradition, so the need to use all those extra pumpkin guts doesn't exist.

If anyone is looking to start the latest UK trend, they should start selling pumpkin spice/pumpkin flavored candy and drinks and desserts during the autumn season. I've attempted to do my part my introducing my partner to the Ben and Jerry's ice cream and I've shared a pumpkin spice hot chocolate from Starbucks with my best friend (yes hot chocolate, it is amazing!!!). So hopefully this post will also promote pumpkin spice, and when next fall rolls around I get to be inundated with all the pumpkin spice products I have grown accustomed to in America.

Should We Use Rubbers or Condoms?

A funny mid-week pick me up for all of us. Yet another one of those scenarios where the differences in the English language can be astounding!

As I have mentioned, one of my 5 housemates is a maths teacher at a UK school. One night whilst discussing our days he mentioned

"throwing some rubbers at the children"

Imagine my shock! Because as an American, rubber almost always is said in reference to one thing, and one thing only. Condoms.

So here is my close friend telling me he threw condoms at children. My jaw dropped and I started to stutter and blubber about how he shouldn't just throw condoms at children when he burst into laughter.

In the UK....rubbers means erasers...... Like the thing you use to erase pencil marks....not condoms...

Imagine just how stupid I felt. Lesson learned.

England=Rubbers=Erasers (something appropriate to daily divy out to children)

America=Rubbers=Condoms (definitely not something that should be handed out publically in the middle of class to high school students)

Bullying in British Education

Because I live with a teacher, I have become obsessed with Educating Cardiff, Educating Essex, Educating East End and Educating Yorkshire. (Yes, more reality TV). Currently I am watching Educating Cardiff. I’m not sure why I enjoy these shows so much, honestly they can get a bit repetitive, because there are a limited number of teenage problems the schools are prepared to air on national TV. But I do enjoy learning about what high school/ secondary school is like for children in the UK. (America would never ever allow a show to film the kids and staff in school)

I admit my education experience is far from the typical American’s, but I still know how it works. And one thing that most impresses me about the “Educating” series is how the schools make an obvious concerted effort to tackle bullying. They don’t tolerate students swearing to teachers or any sort of meanness towards other students. On one episode, I witnessed a boy get in trouble for merely intimidating a younger classmate. I think that UK is really getting this right!

In America, I know schools are attempting to target bullying, and cyber bullying more, but I can say they haven’t succeeded. When I was a teenager I was constantly bullied via texts or social media or in person. In my year 6 (I was 11-12) I actually had a boy physically spit on me. And never once did the bullies get in trouble. Despite the school being aware of the issues. Similar issues happened to my sister last year in a rural Missouri school. Girls picked on her and were mean. Again, the schools made no effort to stop it. I think it is because American adults attribute it all to “kids just being kids”.

But, I think it is this very mentality of kids behaving naturally and bullying is why a lot of American adults are mean and cruel in the workplace. I would have to say overall, we are just a nastier group of people. (Which is sad)

But in the UK the teachers and school staff fight bullying in all of its forms. They are much stricter about mobile phones in school, and as soon as a child is mean towards another it is dealt with. The USA and UK both experience a bullying problem. But from what my teacher housemate and the Educating series have told me, the UK is actually attempting to manage the issue. (Not to imply that America ignores the problem, it has just yet to find a method of managing the situation.)

The Best Way To Make S'mores in Britain [Recipe]

For my one year anniversary in England my partner bought me a bag of giant marshmallows from the American food section at Tesco. I was very excited, and decided that last night I would make S'mores! A classic American campfire food, and so beloved that we have ice cream and poptarts flavored after the treat.

As I am living in England...there are no graham crackers. Heartbreaking, I know! I had to substitute for Digestive biscuits (cookies) that are kind of like sugar cookies but with a bit of graham cracker vibe to them. I also realized (and this was a shock) my candy hoard didn't have any plain chocolate bars in it, so I had to use chocolate sauce. But no matter! I was making s'mores anyways!

The first British attempt at marshmallow taffy

As many American's may be aware, s'more without an actual fire is a bit of a challenge. My solution was to use candles. The small kind that you use to scent a room. I admit....because the marshmallows were giant and the candle flame was small...it took me ages to actual get the marshmallow to desired gooeyness but I got there eventually.

My first taste of a "proper" s'mores in a year was like heaven! I immediately went back to Girl Scout camping trips and family bonfires. For four of my housemates, it was their first time sampling this American delicacy. And it was well liked!

Candle campfire

So my report this Tuesday morning is that I, Indigo Ferra, an American living in the UK am fulfilling my endeavor to bring a bit of the USA to England! First step s'mores...next step..who knows? 4th of July party?












Recipe for English S'more

Ingredients: 
Marshmallows, Digestive Biscuits, Plain Chocolate Bar

Step 1: Light something on fire (preferably a grill, candle, or campfire. See picture above)
Step 2: Find something pointy to stick your marshmallow on. A fork, knife, kebab stick, or tree branch are all appropriate
Step 3: Hold marshmallow over fire, cook until it is toasty brown all the way around (or burn it until it's black, that is my preferred taste)
Step 4: Place roasted marshmallow on digestive biscuit, add a piece of chocolate and enclose with another digestive biscuit.
Step 5: Enjoy!!

Stop Your Cock Right There

Just a funny thing I pass by everyday on my way to work.
Obviously it is a sewer cover, and this is referring to some sort of stopping method......

How Not To Confuse Sales Assistants in England

The USA and UK both speak English, right? But I swear sometimes, it is like I am learning a foreign language, because so many of our words for things, and their meanings are different. I find myself almost daily in a situation where I am talking about one thing, and they are talking about another, but we use the same word. I have decided to call these situations and mistranslations "Englishisms".

A particularly funny double incident of Englishisms happened recently when I went Hobby Craft with a friend. We were buying supplies for our new Girl Guiding troop. (For you American readers, Hobby Craft is like a Joanne's or Michaels) We filled a cart up on the first floor, but still had shopping to do on the second. (That is another common thing about life in the UK, because there is limited space, stores tend to go up rather than out like in America). 

Unsure of how to get our stuff to the second floor I asked a clerk

"Do you have an elevator we can put our cart in?"

The clerk looked at me flabbergasted and stuttered out 

"I'm sorry a what to put your car in?"

At this point my friend Maria stepped in and translated 

"She means do you have a LIFT we can use with our TROLLEY"

They both proceeded to burst out laughing at the silly American.

So my Englishism this Friday is that Elevator=Lift and Shopping Cart/ Cart=Trolley.

I would like to add that in New Orleans, a trolley refers to a tram or streetcar. A mode of public transportation that is quite popular in San Francisco. 

1 Year Anniversary in Britian

Today marks the day that I moved to the UK! It has officially been one year. This is the longest I have been away from America and my family. When I have lived abroad in the past, I always returned home within 9 months or so....but now it has been 365 days and I don't have a ticket booked back as of yet!!

It makes me really sad in some ways. I adore England, and I find that I fit in very well here with the people and culture. However, as many faults as I find in America, it is still my home. I miss the American style of dressing and how loud and vivacious everyone is. We have no qualms discussing awkward issues or sex, but here many things are sort of hush hush. The lack of sharing makes me feel more disconnected from my British friends than my American ones.

I also really miss American food. I love that in the USA I have access to so many different kinds of things, where as in the UK I feel like my palate is more limited, but healthier which is an upside!

The UK has been full of ups and downs. I have been lucky enough to meet my partner in crime and the love of my life. But I have also experienced the worst depression and severest case of my eating disorder since moving here. I think a lot of the set backs can be contributed to the fact that I am away from home. As welcome as my partner and friends make me feel, I still can't get 100% comfortable and happy in England. But that should come with more time.

Overall, I'm glad to be where I am in Britain but I'm still really homesick. However, I am making a resolution to blog more and try and make myself feel more connected to both my American and UK life by continuing to compare aspects of each.

Super Size Me or just Super Size America?

I was watching Super Size me on Netflix the other day, and I was suddenly struck by how different people in the UK and the US eat. Yes, the UK has fast food. Won't disagree there, and they even have this thing called chippies that are like local fast food restaurants that serve fish and chips/fries or kebabs and all sorts of other unhealthy things. But even including those chippies, the difference in how people eat astounds me!

I thought I was fairly healthy in America. I enjoyed salads, ate fresh meat, had some veggies and fruit, and my house didn't even have a microwave. So I thought that I was healthy. Then I moved to the UK. And it recently struck me how different I am here. I still don't microwave. And I still eat lots of healthy food, but the biggest difference is how much I eat out. I will go out to a proper pub restaurant or something about once a week with friends. And will order pizza probably once a week. But that is it. I eat McDonalds or KFC less than once a month! In fact, I have eaten that type of fast food less than 10 times since moving to England!

In America, because I worked three jobs all over the place, I would go through a drive-thru at least 2-3 times a week! And I thought that was still a fairly low amount. In the US it is, but in England, I couldn't imagine eating out that much!

I'm going to attribute the lack of fast food consumption to the fact that I don't drive everywhere in my car, and fast food simply isn't convenient for me. It takes more effort for me to get to a McDonalds than it does for me to walk to the grocery store and pick up meal I can cook. When fast food requires effort, I simply don't bother.

People are always talking about how fat the US is, and I largely attribute that to convenience and distance. We have large amounts of land, that allows us to spread everything out, but also have lots of space for fast food. So on the way to a grocery store, I could easily pass 5 fast food places. And fast food is quicker and cheaper to eat. So people go with that.

I don't blame them. I can honesty say that I really miss American fast food. Taco Bell, Wendy's and Arby's especially! They have nothing similar here. Even when I do go to a fast food place, it never has quite the same satisfactory fatty taste as in the US. Maybe I am just sentimental for my homeland type of cuisine. And I am probably insane for saying I miss US fast food, but I DO! However, I am grateful for my new healthier diet. I have definitely slimmed down, I went from a size 3/4 in the US to a size 0/2 in the UK. Still....wouldn't mind a Arby's mocha shake and curly fries right now....

Sharing Spaces

In America, people are constantly telling me that we do everything Super Sized. We have big portions, big people, and big amounts of land. Now I know they are right, but I didn't consider the implications until I moved off campus.

A yard I have had in U.S

In America, I haven't ever really had roommates before. Yes, at Loyola I shared a dorm room, but we all led separate lives, didn't share a cooking space and naturally cycled out of using the bathroom. It wasn't effort. Outside of a dorm, the only people I have lived with is my family. So, you might say I am used to having my own space and not needing to share or deal with other people. Now, I realize this is actually fairly standard for the U.S. It isn't a challenge for a person working a minimum wage job full time to afford a place on their own (unless they live in L.A or NYC). For the most part, everyone can find somewhere cheap to live. If you want a roommate, you can find one. But it isn't always a necessity.

Even when I lived in China, I didn't always feel like I was suffocating from human contact. I felt like I had space, I could be alone in my apartment and breathe. I could clean and it would stay tidy.

My yard in the UK

It was pointed out to me, that in the UK, unless you are making the big bucks, you almost always have to share your living space. Either people in their mid-twenties continue to live at home until they marry and move out, or they have to share places with friends or strangers just to afford a room. To me, it is insane! I had a college boyfriend who shared a top half of a house in uptown New Orleans, the kitchen, living room and bedrooms were all massive. People were not on top of each other in any way. Half the time it didn't even really feel like he didn't even share the house. But in the UK, it feels very much like people are cramped together.

This is because America practically has infinite space. Most cities or towns have the option to expand, so people are constantly building. That isn't the case in the UK. Here, building isn't easy, and land is priced astronomically high. So the side effect of this is that people are basically required to live together.

I always thought that moving in with a boyfriend for the first time would be hard. But I was wrong. Moving in with my partner has been a breeze, it is the 6 other people we share a house with that is a challenge. You read right, I share a house with 6 people!!!! Yes, the house is very large, but I still think it is way too many people! I  dated a guy in the UK who shared a huge home with 21 people! 21!

THIS IS SPACE

I honestly am unsure how the American in me will cope with this very British living arrangement. I like things cleaned a certain way, done a certain way, and I don't like feeling crowded in my own kitchen. And it has become increasingly clear to me in the last few days as allllllll the new housemates move in, that my way will not be how things are done. This house is likely going to always be a mess, there will be no peace and quiet and I will get no separation. But that is a fact of life I am going to be forced to adjust to. I'm just not sure if I can.

Does anyone have any advice or knowledge about sharing space they could give me?

Curvy is Better Across the Pond

I will probably blog further about this subject in the future, but today I wanted to post about the difference in body image in the UK. In America, I felt surrounded by men who wanted a girl to look like a Barbie, impossibly thin but still possessing big boobs and a round butt. I felt like I would never look good enough, that I was never thin enough. Shouldn't be surprising because I have an eating disorder.

But since moving to the UK, I have had my preconceived ideas of how I am supposed to look challenged by men. Here, my guy friends are constantly saying they want women with curves, who eat and who are voluptuous and sexy. In fact I'm often told I'm too thin. NEVER, EVER in America have I been told by a guy that I am TOO THIN. But when watching TV with guys, and I point out a skinny girl that I think fits the standards of attractiveness, the boys say "Eh she is too skinny". I love it! I love that here girls can eat ice cream without feeling guilty. I love that most of my girl friends will order a medium pizza just for themselves to eat at dinner. I love that women are expected to have curves here! The body image environment
in England seems much healthier. And I hope America will soon copy it.

I have attached a link to a commercial that I see constantly on British TV. I would never see something like this in America, but I wish I could. Because everytime this comes on, I feel empowered.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aN7lt0CYwHg

UK Alton Towers or American Six Flags

On Friday I took a day trip with a girl friend to visit Alton Towers. It was something we had been planning for over a month, so the anticipation was great! Many of you have probably heard about the Alton Tower's accident that recently took place. One of the theme parks "extreme rides", The Smiler, had a malfunction and caused to cars to collide injuring several people. One woman even had her leg amputated. Not too long after that accident, one of the parks monorails also had a break down, stranding people on it for over an hour. Needless to say, all of this press made people not too keen to visit. So even though we arrived at 1pm and the park closed at 5pm, we were able to go on all of the extreme rides, play a few games, and get a late lunch. The park was practically deserted! I blame the bad press, but it worked in my favor because I rarely waited in line for longer than a few minutes.

The biggest difference I noticed about this UK theme park and Six Flags in Georgia was prices. To play park games or eat park food in America is insanely expensive. So much so that I rarely actually did it. Usually my family and friends would bring along snacks and drinks and eat those rather than pay the insane park fee's. I remember a small soda costing $6! But the American theme park was much bigger and had more rides. It also had a lot of themed mascots running around and it felt more like an overall experience rather than justing going on rollercoasters. What I remember most from Six Flags is the Looney Tune theme area. Maybe Alton Towers has mascots and I just missed them because I avoided the children areas. But I really think that it is just more of an interactive park in America opposed to the UK.


That being said, I think I prefer the UK park. Not only was food infinitely cheaper (I got a jammed packed bean and cheese jacket potato and drink for less than $10), but I was also able to afford playing a few rounds of a toss-the-ball game (I didn't win ). AND the roller coasters were much much more exciting. This could be because I'm an adult and tall now, so I can go on all the scary rides, but I think that the rides in Alton Towers were designed to thrill. It seems like visits to places like Alton Towers are more rare in the UK, whereas I went to Six Flag's and theme parks all the time in America. So the rides have to be made to excite since attendance is such a rare experience.

I will say that my two favorite rides at Alton Towers was Thirteen and Oblivion. Not to give away too much, but Thirteen had me riding backwards in the dark for half the journey, and Oblivion was a sheer vertical drop into a concrete hole.

Independance Day in the UK, USA and China

I have now celebrated 4th of July on 3 continents, and I have to say the best ones by far are the ones I spend in America. For fun, today's blog will be a comparision of my Independence Day spent in America, England and China.

sparklers on Lummi Island

America: I have spent 18 of my 4th of July holidays in America. Something I have always done, every year, without fail, is sparklers. They are the least dangerous of the fireworks, and I am forever trying to capture on film me spelling my name. I have yet to succeed. The warning people see all over the internet about the danger of fireworks are true though, when I was about 12, I had a buffalo bomb go off in my hand. Luckily no fingers were lost, just a numbness for the rest of that night. 4th of July usually meant eating hot dogs or hamburgers at a BBQ and almost always included jello. I would watch a firework display over the ocean on Lummi Island, and it always meant spending time with my family. American 4th of July was full of food and fun! And it really made me homesick to not be there this year :/

Red, White and Blue me in England

My 4th of July feast 2015

England: I have spent 1 of my 4th of July's in the UK. This was the first time I haven't spent the 4th with my family. This year I didn't get a BBQ or hot dogs. Instead I went to an American food shop in Leamington, bought about twenty pounds worth of candy and made Kraft mac and cheese. I also went to see Jurassic World in 3D. There were no fireworks, and it wasn't really much of a celebration.




China: I have spent 3 of my 4th of July's in China. When I celebrated in China I was always with my family. Buying American food was always a challenge, so on holidays (like Christmas) we would go to either a pizza buffet or KFC. I recall that on the 4th of July we usually had KFC because fried chicken is as American as you can get. We didn't do fireworks in China. But it felt much more like a holiday because I was with my family.

Chinese wish lantern that I let in Missouri 

The Traditional American BBQ compared to British Grilling

I have had the pleasure of participating in BBQing in both the U.S and U.K. And as is becoming a theme on this blog, they are very very different. Let us start first with an analysis of the American followed by the British grilling experience. This is on my mind because Saturday is the all important 4th of July (always the biggest BBQ of the year in the U.S) and I happen to be going to a British BBQ tonight

image taken from en.wikipedia.com

As everyone worldwide knows (and often mocks) America is a country that has food as an integral part of the culture. This could be why it is the fattest country. I think that food is so saturated into the culture because it is a country of a melting pot of nationalities and backgrounds, we don't all share a history or religion to unite us, but we can all share food. And we do that a lot! So at American BBQ, there is always an overabundance of food. The burger and hot dog are obviously the main attraction but if you have less than 3 optional sides to go with it, then the bbq is considered somewhat small....and who wants that? I can remember as a kid going to backyard bbq parties in the summer that had entire tables full of salads, chips/crisps (minimum of 3 different types), desserts and drinks. The grill was almost secondary in my mind because I had so many other things to eat. The side dishes offered in America are also quite different to the UK. In America we enjoy fruit salad, potato salad, devilled eggs, pasta salad, chicken salad, and all of these things are as packed with fat as possible. At my first British BBQ I made both the American fruit salad and deviled eggs. It shocked my friends that my fruit salad contained whip cream, yogurt and marshmallows. In their mind, a fruit salad should only have fruit. They thought it was a dessert (how very wrong they were).

While in America we have more options and food than anyone attending could possible eat, it is quite different in the UK. For one thing, everyone brought their own meat! Usually the host provides the meat and the guests provide sides in America.Side dishes weren't even thought of. Sure, a few people brought bags of chips/crisps. But there was no potato salad, no pasta salad, none of the traditional sides you would see in an American BBQ. My boyfriend explained that in England, the BBQ was all about the meat, and that is all you ate. I found it highly unappealing. I always have to have a side to a main dish otherwise my OCD/ED tendencies tend to go a little wonky.
Due to the focus on meat, I think that it is more appropriate to call the British experience "grilling" rather than a barbeque. The entire focus is on the grill and the meat it produces, rather than it being a whole edible experience like in the U.S

Naturally, I prefer the American BBQ. I like having multiple side dishes and one piece of meat. This could be because I grew up in America, or I'm just not that massive of a meat eater. Either way, I look forward to my next bbq on U.S soil because it will be up to my gluttonous standards.

Just for fun I am attaching some American BBQ recipes, hopefully I will start seeing them at British grilling!!
Marshmallow fruit salad: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/marshmallow-fruit-salad
Devilled Egg recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/classic-deviled-eggs-recipe.html
Loaded Baked Potato Salad: http://www.food.com/recipe/loaded-baked-potato-salad-29767
Coleslaw: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/peanutty-coleslaw
Hush puppies (just reading these recipes make me miss the U.S): http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/mississippi-hush-puppies
FINALLY American style Baked Beans: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/southern-baked-beans-recipe2.html

American British..Wedded Bliss

image taken from commons.wikipedia.com

I have previously admitted to being a fan of bad reality TV shows (obviously I don't think they are bad, I find them quite entertaining). One of my favorite shows to watch is anything bridal. No, I am no where near getting married (if only I was so lucky), but I enjoy viewing them so whenever I do get to plan my magical day, I am as prepared as possible. In America I watch "Say Yes to the Dress" and "Bridezilla's". In Britain my only real wedding option is "My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding" and "Don't Tell the Bride". I won't give a long summary about the shows, "Say Yes to the Dress" is about bridal dress shopping in a New York Store and "Bridezilla's" is about America's most demanding insane brides. "My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding" documents the extravaganza's that UK gypsy throw for their teenage daughters and "Don't Tell the Bride" is about having the groom plan the whole wedding on his own with a budget.

The differences in these shows is huge. American brides go for very showy, sexy, bold dresses while the British brides are more happy with simple demure, classic looks. American brides want weird outdoor locations while the British bride wants to get married in a manor house. Surprisingly, I would say that American brides and bridal shows more closely resemble the weddings thrown on "My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding" in that we like our nuptials to be show stoppers. The dress has to scream "look at the bride and only the bride!". In general..the wedding is all about the bride. Whereas in the UK on "Don't Tell the Bride" and even among my friends, the wedding is about both partners in the union. It is a lovely idea....but honestly I still think that I will want to be the center of attention on my wedding day. I'm attaching links to watch these American and British bridal shows, so you can see just how different they are.
Say Yes to the Dress: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WKFteSb5As
Bridezilla's: Netflix
Don't Tell the Bride: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00d7mtr
My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding:http://www.channel4.com/programmes/big-fat-gypsy-weddings

I'm not sure which I prefer...I think that even though I now live in England, will likely marry an Englishman, I am still going to want an American style wedding and dress. I don't want a simple wedding, I plan on having not only a massive wedding cake, but a full dessert bar. Best part about that will be that I keep all the leftovers! I love that I'm lucky enough to learn about all the cultural differences between the U.S and U.K. I didn't think there would be so many, but we differ on almost everything from liking soccer to football and simple chic wedding gowns to skin baring slinky bridal dresses.

I've attached links so you can view the difference in wedding dresses
American style: http://www.pninatornai.com/
British style: http://ellisbridals.co.uk/

Ikea

I have now been to Ikea in three countries, and I have to say....they are all the same. Which everyone knows, but I find very comforting. The Ikea in Seattle is located near the airport, so whenever my family had to do a pickup, we would go to Ikea before or after, have some meatballs and check the As Is sale corner to find some cool cheap Swedish stuff to fill our home with. My siblings always love the play area, and I am a huge fan of the desert section in the cafeteria.

Yesterday I went for the first time without my family. I went with my boyfriend. Who I have just officially moved in with. The first boy I have ever lived with. It felt like a huge step and I admit to sort of freaking out about it. But then we went to Ikea to find some stuff to organise all of our stuff. And suddenly, moving in wasn't as scary. Because we had gone to this place that I had happy family memories, and we shopped for stuff that looked the same in Seattle or Coventry. It is strange that when you travel so much, move around every few years, that returning to a place that feels familiar can have such a calming effect.

Thank Gawd for Ikea! It is in most countries, and even though it is a Swedish store, it will always remind me of home in Washington and my family. I need to have a place like that. Plus you can't help but love their furniture and prices.

Same Sex Marriage Now Legal Nationwide in America

In a decision that was years, even decades in the making, finally the Supreme Court of the United States has ruled that same sex marriages are a constitutionally recognised right!! . It was a 5-4 decision, which is much too close for my personal liking but nonetheless this is most definitely a victory of gay activists and lobbyist. America has persecuted same sex couples for years unnecessarily, first allowing them to be attacked and beaten, then refusing their right to marriage and in many places their right to adopt or have children. Luckily now with the passing of this Supreme Court decision, gay couples will have a much better chance at gaining the same benefits that heterosexual couples get (tax break for being married), as well as being able to adopt much more easily.

 I don't doubt that many states will be extremely unsatisfied with this decision. However, thanks to the Constitution, a Supreme Court decision cannot be appealed. So the more conservative states such as Kentucky will just have to deal with it. The Obama administration must be doing backflips for joy because this will go down as a win of his presidency. Obama has been able to accomplish more in his last year as president than most, he recently was able to relax trade regulations and now he will be able to claim this victory as well.

The importance of this matter can not be underestimated. Same sex couples have been forced to exist for decades without the ability to marry the person they love, without the ability to make medical decisions for their significant other, and basically forced to reside in a state of perpetual "friendhood". Imagine if you were never allowed to marry your boyfriend or girlfriend. You could be 70 years old and unable to introduce people to them as your wife or husband because of some small difference that sets you apart from others. This is a massive decision and change the Supreme Court has made. I am immensely grateful and proud that it finally happened. I hope that this heralds a period of more liberal decisions made by the Court in the future.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/27/us/supreme-court-same-sex-marriage.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=span-ab-top-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

The abuse of statistics

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When you are watching an advert/commercial on TV and the company claims that 89% of woman saw an improvement in their skin within two weeks, it sounds great right? But in the subtext of some commercials, you can see that they product was tested on less than 100 people. Is that a reliable sample size? In addition, what counts for improvement? When products are being sold to us, companies constantly abuse their use of statistics, twisting them to sound better than they are in reality. I don't want to buy a mascara that only 20 woman have tried and 15 liked. The portion of sample is just too small.

Unfortunately this statistical abuse is not solely limited to product sales. I have also observed it (in growing amounts) within politics. Skimming the news the other day, I saw that it was claimed in America (by a reputable source) that terrorism was up 80%. Maybe that is true in one sense. But the way it was phrased implied that there was an 80% increase in terrorism towards America. The statistic could easily breed fear, hatred and obviously support all of the American anti-terrorism policies like monitoring, sending troop etc. I am not implying that the statistic isn't true. It could well be that globally terrorism is up 80%, this shouldn't come as a surprise because any attack, bombing, shooting by ISIS will count as a terrorist attack. So the statistic was somewhat twisted.

And again today, I saw the same thing. A global survey of 40 countries, it was claimed that 69% of people saw America in a positive light, including the American effort against ISIS. Having lived and travelled extensively abroad, I find this statistic very hard to believe. Maybe the people surveyed were all highly educated, working in government, and able to understand all the actions taken by the American government. But for the most part, I believe that average person tends to have a poor outlook on America. I know from experience that most people view the U.S as a country that is glutinous, violent, and has a very unequal treatment of people. In a lot of ways I agree. This is why I struggle to trust that 69% of people actually like America. Especially given that many find American war actions as over the top and violent, I doubt 69% agree with the US moves against ISIS. But perhaps I am wrong.

The point of this post was to highlight that when you read the news, or watch a commercial, don't trust every number. Statistics are abused, inflated, manipulated to support a point. In academics it is a common thing. If you find a statistic from one study that supports your own in some way, you use it. Does it convey a different point than the original statistic? If yes, than it is manipulating the numbers. I don't necessarily have strong feelings against it, I just think that more people should be aware that the numbers you hear can't always be trusted. Statistics sound lovely and nice, but often should be regarded with a hint of skepticism.

Puff Pastry magic

In my Girl Guide meeting on Thursday, I learned about the British ready made puff pastry invention. For some time now, I have been craving American Pillsbury cinnamon rolls or crescents. I always used to buy the tube of dough, and stick hot dogs in or nutella or a personal favorite, cream cheese. In my nine months in England, I had yet to find something similar. Then, like a lightening strike, my little girl guides taught me about puff pastry. We used it to make a traditional Coventry dish, "god cakes", which I'm told is basically a pastry form of the sweet mince pie. (Mince meat is also a new thing to me). While the god cakes were good, I was significantly more excited to discover the puff pastry that was basically like the dough in a can that I bought in America! Sure...the dough pastry dough is a lot thinner, not nearly as saturated in fatty goodness, and bakes lighter, it is still good to finally have the ability to play with easy (and cheap) dough again!! I immediately went out the next day and bought my own box of the stuff. (For other foreigners living in the UK this puff pastry magic lives in the Tesco butter aisle). I was tempted to make my version of a sausage roll, but elected that it was too dangerous for a first puff recipe. Instead I made what I now call "peach pockets".

The Blonde's Peach Pockets
You will need
-box of ready made puff pastry dough
-can of peaches
-brown sugar
-regular white sugar
-some milk

Open the peaches, drain the juice, then slice the peaches up so they are in small cube like shapes. Through the peaches, some brown and white sugar, into a pot. Put the pot on the stove until the mixture is boiling. While you wait for it to heat up, roll out the puff pastry until and divide it into 8 pieces (or however you want to). Once the peach mixture is hot, place a dollop in the middle of the puff pastry. Get a cooking brush or a spoon and lightly coat the edges around the peach with milk. Then fold the pastry over so the peaches are encased, and coat the top of the pastry with milk as well. Sprinkle the top with sugar, cut a few holes in the dough, and place it on a tray. I let mine bake for about 20-25 mins at 200 degree's celsius. When they are browned on the top, take them out, let em cool, and enjoy!

Heavenly Gluten Free Cake Balls [Recipe]

So, technically speaking, I have a gluten intolerance. Every dinner I eat gluten, I find myself ill the next morning. Not entirely pleasant. In America, it was a struggle to afford to eat gluten free, so I gave up trying. However, in the UK gluten free food is much more affordable. So I recently decided to try and be as gluten free as possible. I admit to still having my naan's or a baguette, but I have made an effort to buy gluten free bread, I rely on corn tortillas as a staple in my diet, and overall I am making more of an effort.

I've found myself in a baking mood lately, so I decided to try to make cake batter brownies. Never made them before, but on my pinterest the pictures always looked so yummy that I eventually had to make it. All I needed was a store bought cake mix and some extra sugar and milk. In an attempt to be gluten free, I bought a free from sponge cake because a plan gluten free vanilla cake was unavailable. Again, it has been a while since I've been on a gluten free diet, so I forgot how the change in ingredients can mess up a gluten containing recipe. I blame bad chemistry. My cake batter brownies were not a gluten free recipe, but my cake mix was. Unsurprisingly, the brownies did not work out. For some reason the batter just didn't stick together as I hoped it would.

I got upset and abandoned the cake in the kitchen for a few hours. It tasted great, but wasn't at all what I was trying to bake. My boyfriend took pity on me and said he would eat my crumbled, dry cake anyways. Luckily he avoided that fate, because on spur of the moment trip to Tesco I decided to try and make my first ever cake balls.

It was a resounding success! Cake balls always seemed so fancy in Starbucks or bakeries, I assumed they took a lot of effort to make. I was wrong, it was super easy!

All you need is cake (mine was pre-crumbled to save on time ;), a jar of store bought frosting and some baking chocolate. Mix 2/3 of the jar of frosting (less if you want more of a cake texture, more if you want it to be more like a truffle filling) in with your crumbled cake, then melt the chocolate. Take your cake mixture, roll it into balls, and roll it in the melted chocolate. It hardens within minutes and it tastes amazing.

My gluten free cake balls went over amazingly! No one could tell that they had no flour, and I wasn't ill the next day. I'm so obsessed
that I am making them again tonight with a chocolate cake mix. I'm sure it is possible to make the cake batter from scratch, but I admit to being lazy. In addition, I have US recipes memorized, which use cups. The UK uses grams and scales to measure out ingredients. This is a transition I haven't adjusted to yet, so until I do I will stick to my store bought ways. I suggest you ALL try to make cake balls next time you have a cake experiment gone wrong.

Cyber monitoring

Yesterday I attended a brief one day conference centered around security. The talks were wide ranging, from security and terrorism to security and science fiction to security and digital protection. It is this last subject that interested me most. Although I have been a blogger on and off for two years, I'm an avid Facebook user and I'm considering wandering over to Twitter, I confess that I am not the most tech savvy. So a talk on data protection and mass collection was entirely foreign territory. However, I think it warrants a blog post given the recent American upheaval over the expiration of the Patriot Act. Government surveillance is a big deal and touchy subject, but not something I have considered until my lecture yesterday.

The discussion began with an image of all the cable's connecting the world to the internet. While I understood that the internet was grounded in cables, to see a picture of it, and to see that someone could tap into one quite easily was a bit shocking. I was also surprised to learn that an email I send from the UK to China can bounce to hundreds of different computer serves across my campus and the country before it reaches it destination. The use of wifi and instant messaging makes it seem like the internet is a direct passage, but really its a convoluted maze. This maze is something that the government apparently takes a large interest in recording. As it stands its possible for the government to access and store the content of your messages, emails, what you watch, everything! Some techies didn't like this, and they began a cyber war against the government designing massive data encryption systems to protect information. Originally the government tried to ban this, but eventually learned it was a battle they would never win. Now most sites protect their users search history or personal information from data collection, but it isn't always successful. People can always find a way around the encryption.

My question for this post is, is internet monitoring/mass data collection something that should be allowed or not? I observe two sides to this issue. The first is that, people have the right to privacy. In the past it would be nearly impossible for the government to mass monitor peoples meetings and snail mail. So why should they be able to now just because the internet makes it easier? Why do governments feel it is necessary to watch everyone rather than the select few who are dangerous to national security? In addition, is it fair for them to save information about you and use it against you at a later date? The second side to this issue is what are we hiding that is so secret? If you are doing something the government shouldn't see, should you be doing it? I'm not referring to sending a naughty Snap Chat or sexting. But the purpose of the Patriot Act was to monitor people and prevent another 9/11 from happening. If the internet data collection is stopping terrorist attacks, can it be so bad?

As with any argument, their is validity to both sides. I think that I would prefer to know that what I do online is private and not being recorded by the big man. However that is a reality that doesn't exist. This blog post is being monitored, saved and probably archived into my file of internet info. Weird to think about. I don't like knowing everything I do is going into mass data collection, but I'm no so enraged over it that I will become an activist against it, nor will I learn better methods of encryption to hide my doings. I have nothing to hide. But I do believe it is somewhat a violation of rights.

Is It Better to Bite Your Tongue, Or Bite The Other Person?

I watched a new ITV show last night about American beauty pageants for woman of a more "mature" age. Think Honey Boo Boo but with the drama of The Real Housewives. I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!! But, I admit to being a bit of a reality tv addict. Go ahead and judge me. I still love to read a good novel, and maintain a highly academic life, but I just love the drama of reality shows. Anyway, at the end of the show there was of course a big blow out scene between two pageant ladies because they had worn the same outfit to the airport on their way to the Mrs. America contest. The more seasoned pageant competitor was furious that her underling had dared to copy her. My partners house mate made disparaging noises and kept giving me disgusted looks as I continued to watch. At the end he made a lame remark about how unnecessary the drama was.

As we continued to talk about this, I remarked that while yes, the dramatic cat fights often witnessed on American TV are extremely over the top, we do tend to air our grievances and move on more quickly than those I have observed in the UK. In Britain, people tend to hold their anger towards others in. Obviously there exists exceptions to this (The Only Way is Essex for example), but for the most part among my friends and acquaintances I have witnessed a general lack of confrontation, even when extremely necessary.

For example, a group of my friends knows there is a lot of tension between two girls that are apart of our posse. A semi-fight over a guy. Everyone talks about it, we know that both girls talk about the others behind their backs, and most of us have taken sides. Now, among my American friends, I highly doubt we would have let things carry on like this for so long. In fact, I think a few weeks (if not days) in, the girls would have had a screaming match outside of a social or pub, we all would have stared, discussed it for a few days, and then had some manner of a resolution. More dramatic, emotional and scene causing, yes. But at least the issue would be over with. As it stands, our group still has to feel the awkwardness of the two girls, and them avoiding social interactions.

I'm left with the question of, which method is better? The ostentatious American way of battling it out quickly in public, or the British way of keeping things hush hush. Both have advantages. If I  had to pick, if I knew someone had an issue with me, I would rather the screaming death match instead of them skulking and hating my existence in silence. Perhaps this is the American in me. I'm not sure. Any thoughts?

Lindsey Graham for President?

This will be my first post about politics, on this blog at least. In my daily skimmings of BBC and other news sources, I stumbled upon the announcement of Lindsey Graham running for president in 2016. His reasoning? He will be the "best commander in chief". Lindsey has been a state senator for South Carolina since 2003, following a military career in the Air Force. Clearly, Lindsey has the proven time in politics to justify his bid for presidency. But my concern lies in what he plans to do if elected. Lindsey is avidly against Obama's foreign policy methods. And if he should take office, I believe he will probably lead America back into being heavily militarily involved in the Middle East. The same mistake our last Republican president made. Obama has strived to remove the U.S presence from that region, with good reason. America will never be able to bring about a full resolution to the numerous disputes that rage in the Middle East, because a large majority of the population in that area reject Westerners and Western ideas. In addition, America sustained heavy losses in the fights within Afghanistan. Getting involved in that territory again will not solve any of the underlying problems and it will simply lead to more deaths of Americans. I don't mean to suggest America should remove all aid from the area, I honestly don't know how to handle the situation in the Middle East. But I know that the path Lindsey Graham will take is not the correct one. Therefore, he most assuredly doesn't have my vote. If you would like to read more about this, follow the link below.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-32786233

Cadbury World

image taken from wikipedia Cadbury World page

I had the fortune to visit Cadbury World this weekend. I went as a chaperone to a Girl Guide group, a lucky chance for me as I have been angling to go since I discovered its existence in December. I easily could have made the track to chocolate heaven on my own, but what good is candy when you have no one to share it with? And because my partner and friends have archery competitions nearly every weekend, I had to wait until May to finally get my visit in. In the end, the wait proved to be in my favor as I didn't have to pay. I counted down the days until Saturday all week, I was so excited that I didn't even mind waking earlier on a Saturday. 

However, while I adored Cadbury World and plan to go again during Halloween season, I am unsure if it lived up to my expectations. Perhaps if I hadn't been chasing after hyper seven year olds, and had time to linger at displays I would have found the experience more enjoyable. But, overall I believe the flaw with Cadbury World was that I didn't get to see much of the factories workings. I know from the informational cinema that the chocolate was made in the building, but I only had a brief glimpse in the viewing gallery. For my 21st Birthday, I went in a tour of the Budweiser brewing factory, and found it extremely educational and enjoyable because it had booze. I imagined that Cadbury World would be like my beer tour, but with chocolate(something I infinitely prefer to beer). But I had no tour guide, didn't get to see the cocoa beans turned into chocolate, and I honestly think I needed more free samples. It was down right cruel to be surrounded by the smell of melted chocolate but only being able to taste 1 small melted cup.

 One attraction stands out as the highlight of my chocolate adventure. On the upper floor of Cadbury World is a small train ride that takes riders through forest, town, and iceberg themed rooms filled with dancing "chuckle beans". Being from America, I had no clue what a chuckle bean was, this caused the Girl Guides to dissolve into a fit of giggles over my ignorance. Chuckle beans are small egg shaped chocolate people. They are the Cadbury version of Oompa Loompas. I fell in love with their adorable ness. The train ride through the chuckle bean world was absolutely enchanting. 

Another attraction worth mentioning is the 4D theater bits. It is something I have noticed growing increasingly popular in all tourist type places. The moving chairs, blowing air and bubbles really do enhance the experience. I really hope it becomes a trend that transfers into the regular movie cinema, I will no longer be satisfied with just 3D glasses, I want my chair to shake if a movie depicts an earthquake! It would be worth the money.

Overall, I would give Cadbury World a 6 out of 10 on a scale of awesomeness. I recommend going when you have plenty of time to explore and enjoy all the extra bits like the green screen photo studio and face painting. Don't be fooled into thinking this chocolate wonderland is a place for parents and their children, I saw plenty of adult couples going in on their own. 

A Problem with constant Travelling

        One thing I have noticed as a person who moves around a lot, is that I never seem to have all of the clothing I recall buying with me. I secretly believe that there is a black hole that appears every time I begin the arduous process of moving, and all of my favorite funky pieces of clothing disappear. I unfortunately only realise their absence from my suitcases when I arrive at my destination and can't go back. When moving to the UK I noticed that a large majority of my shoes and jackets had been left in America, in a mad packing dash I forgot them all. So, I asked my mother to search my boxes at home to see if they were there. Oddly enough, they weren't. The black hole strikes again!
         Is this a common problem? It shouldn't be. When moving out of a dorm or rented house you are required to pack everything. So, where does the stuff go? I know when I left America, my closet was empty. My favorite things hadn't been given away. I blame the black hole.

Items lost to the black hole of moving:

• 1 pair of pink glow in the dark Converses
• 1 pair of blue heeled boots
• 1 pair of studded shredded jeans
• 1 copy of The Princess Bride
• 1 denim jacket
• 1 black and nude tuelle cocktail dress
• Sooooo many tank tops/vests
• More purses than I can count