You would think that moving to the United States from England wouldn’t be too much of a culture shock
right? After all, we share the same language.
But sometimes speaking English there can mean something completely different here.
Asking for ‘fairy’ lights at Christmas will get you the strangest looks, trust me.
Then there’s the American spelling of certain words.
Their frequent use of the letter z (organization, realize) and serious lack of u’s (color, favor etc.)
To save confusion, I’ll be using UK spellings in this blog. I’ll happily suffer the red, squiggly lines from my spell check because it’s what I’m use to and I’m not about to switch now.
But that’s not the only way we’re different.
There’s a whole host of Americanisms that have taken some getting use to. From remembering to add tax to the price of everything you buy to figuring out how much to tip.
That’s what this blog is all about. To point out the humourous, quirky and thought-provoking things I experience as a
British legal resident here.
To share my observations as a ‘foreigner’ trying to navigate my way through daily life in the US.
If you’re a Brit you may or may not find it amusing, it may well put you off coming here altogether! I hope not.
If you’re American it may interest you to see how your culture is viewed from an outsider, or not. Or you may wonder why I don’t just go back across the pond, if I find American’s so annoying.
The fact is I don’t. And I really hope my blog does not come across that way.
My intention is not to be over-critical or patronizing. I’m just sharing my experiences, having a little fun, and celebrating what makes us unique.
right? After all, we share the same language.
But sometimes speaking English there can mean something completely different here.
Asking for ‘fairy’ lights at Christmas will get you the strangest looks, trust me.
Then there’s the American spelling of certain words.
Their frequent use of the letter z (organization, realize) and serious lack of u’s (color, favor etc.)
To save confusion, I’ll be using UK spellings in this blog. I’ll happily suffer the red, squiggly lines from my spell check because it’s what I’m use to and I’m not about to switch now.
But that’s not the only way we’re different.
There’s a whole host of Americanisms that have taken some getting use to. From remembering to add tax to the price of everything you buy to figuring out how much to tip.
That’s what this blog is all about. To point out the humourous, quirky and thought-provoking things I experience as a
British legal resident here.
To share my observations as a ‘foreigner’ trying to navigate my way through daily life in the US.
If you’re a Brit you may or may not find it amusing, it may well put you off coming here altogether! I hope not.
If you’re American it may interest you to see how your culture is viewed from an outsider, or not. Or you may wonder why I don’t just go back across the pond, if I find American’s so annoying.
The fact is I don’t. And I really hope my blog does not come across that way.
My intention is not to be over-critical or patronizing. I’m just sharing my experiences, having a little fun, and celebrating what makes us unique.
RSS Feed
