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