Theme Song: "Les Poissons" - The Little Mermaid (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuuEDDyvzuE). I think of this song everytime I'm in France
Not having working internet at home is really putting a dent in my blogging life. I have so many things that I have been wanting to share but its really hard to get internet access outside of work. Because there is so much and its so varied, I'm just going to bullet point my observations below:
- English roads are madness at night. I now know why they are so uber-strict on "drink driving". There are no streetlights on the roads! Driving down an English road at night is a bit like entering your own version of Sleepy Hollow. It's sort of okay if you can use your high beams, but if there is oncoming traffic, then prepare to be confused, disoriented, blinded and half in the grass on the side of the road. I asked at work how people manage this and the general response was "We don't know. We just drive and hope for the best." Brilliant.
- Yesterday, on my way to the train station, the main road I was on was closed. Thank god for my GPS system which directed me to "turn left at The Road" (it literally said "The Road"). Fearing I was about to enter some post-apocalyptic madness (but hoping to see a dirty Viggo Mortenson that I could possibly bathe), I entered "The Road". Which turned out to be a meandering country lane. That was fine, except for there was either a wall on the side of the road, or pens filled with sheep. And the road was only big enough technically for 1.5 small British cars. But there was 2-way traffic. Now THAT was fun. I used up all my known British curse words either telling the sheep to back off, and stop eyeballing me - or yelling at the British drivers going 40-50mph down a country lane designed for a horse and buggy. By the time I turned back onto the main road, I was grateful to see the normal roundabouts. Which is saying something.
- Dry cleaning here is a rip-off. Two shirts (laundered), a sweater and a suit. Guess how much? 20 GBP (or basically about $35 USD). I am thinking of setting up my own dry cleaning business in my spare bedroom. I can offer better prices and probably marginally cleaner clothes if I could smuggle in an American washing machine and dryer... and Dryel. Oh, Dryel, how I miss thee...
- The grocery store is weird. Maybe it was just the three I've been in so far (Ashford Sainsbury's and Canterbury Morrison's and Canterbury ASDA) but nothing is where it should be! Rather, its not where I'm used to it being. So while I have a shopping list, it takes me ages to get everything into the damn trolley (cart). I spent a good 15 min trying to find peanut butter, only to be sorely disappointed by the offerings. I have heard that if I go to Waitrose, which is an upscale grocery store, I can get "American food". Which to me means the following food that I could not find:
- Newman's Own Light balsamic vinaigrette (they had Newman's Italian, but no BV)
- Black beans
- That cool mix of black beans and rice that costs about $2 and feeds you for about a week
- Chunky peanut butter
- Real popping corn (you know, for the stove)
- Corn in a can that is not "sweet" or "salted"
- Amy's Black Bean Soup (yeah, I'm pushing it here I know)
- Crest toothpaste (seems they have every brand but Crest)
I've had a crazy time just finding necessary things for my apartment - like storage containers and toilet paper holders. It's weird. In the US, I'd just go to Target and have at it. Not so much over here.
I'm looking forward to a weekend in town where I'm not unpacking or trying to exorcise demons from a washer/dryer. My planned adventures include:
- Getting spare keys made. This is done at the shoe repair shop. So while I'm there, I have a pair of shoes to get fixed that I'm going to take. Lets see what British cobblers are made of!
- Figuring out how to transfer money from my UK bank account to my U.S. bank account to pay my credit card and student loan bills. It's supposed to be easy, but I'm not convinced.
- Hoping the PIN number for my UK debit card has arrived. All the cards here have this weird chip thingy. In order to use them, you insert into a machine and enter a PIN. Even the credit cards have this. Well, I got my actual card, but the PIN is sent separately "for my security". I don't see the problem in giving my PIN to me directly but the Brits are super security conscious.
- Ordering my spare bed and associated stuff from Argos (check it out at http://www.argos.co.uk/). They have a big sale on and I want to make sure I take advantage.
- Figuring out how to program my Universal Remote Control. Super easy, my arse. Been messing with that "Magic" button for 4 days now!!!
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