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?