2 posts tagged “america”
I didn’t intend for this to become a blog comparing the American way of life with the English, in fact, I didn’t expect there to be quite so many differences in lifestyle, language and cuisine choices. However, this seems to be the road that we’re gonna go down, at least for the next seven days…
Over the weekend we were treated to an evening dinner at the family home of some incredibly accommodating Americans. This family and their close friends have made our stay wonderful, and will no doubt continue to until our departure. Their home is very beautiful and spacious residing in the Pacific Heights part of town. Throughout the course of the evening a few vital differences became clear mainly that I was not previously aware of.
The best, and probably most amusing way for me to present this to you is to simply list key words, terms and phrases.
1. Chips. An amusing story was told by an American about a trip to England when they ordered chips and guacamole. They didn’t get quite what they expected. (Translation, chips = fries in the UK, chips = Tortilla crisps in US).
2. Along the same lines…Biscuit. The word in itself was entertaining to the Americans in our party. They call it a cookie, a biscuit is savoury in their world. English call that a cracker but don’t open that door.
3. Cable Car. I thought a cable car was the thing you took at a ski resort to get to the top of a mountain. Nope. It’s a tram here.
4. In regards to sport the English say, I support Chelsea/Liverpool/Man U etc. Americans would say, I am a fan of…Apparently support implies that we fund the team, which I suppose is true in many ways!
5. I was already aware that in London, ‘Mind the Gap’ was a great source of entertainment to tourists. Personally I also find it quite entertaining, I find it hard to believe that anybody could actually fall down the gap. Anyway, I had previously not before seen the amusement in ‘Look Left/Right’ which is written at road crossings across the UK!
On our return to the hotel, we ran in to a rather drunk young Englishman who was born in Ascot. Ascot proves how slightly lar-di-dar he was. Apart from claiming to be the distant relative of _______________ and shouting about doing business with United Airlines (an initially frightening revelation) he insisted on using strange phrases. These included, Hook a Brother Up, Honestly, if the Brits didn’t already have a bad reputation they certainly do now…
NB Normal British people do not use phrases such as ‘hook a brother up’.
Oh. We also had a fire alarm at 6am. Nice. Thanks to who ever set that off. Nothing better than seeing your fellow hotel guests in their pyjamas! Good to know who makes the most of the complimentary bathrobes!
Another slightly misleading title from myself, I am actually already here! Wooohooo. It's crazy to actually sit here and think, I'm in San Francisco, CA watching the Super Tuesday results roll in eating Mr Peanut honey roasted nuts. I arrived yesterday afternoon and was greeted at the airport by the *nicest* driver in the whole land. He was wearing a jaunty hat and was so polite (I realise he was paid to be) but then he actually took us the long way round to show us Twin Peaks. There were literally breath taking views of the city from up there. Everything was "his pleasure".
We're staying at a rather plush, trendy hotel in Tenderloin (heehee) and were greeted by the nicest doormen, porters and reception staff. (The porter was even sorta hot). The hotel is home to the famous Redwood Rooms which are pretty impressive (I am yet to check the price list!) But here's the thing, I know I'm about as English as people come but I really can't get used to all this niceness. I'm down with manners but people literally go out of their way to help you in San Francisco.
You don't *just* say Thank you, you have to say 'you're welcome' or 'it's my pleasure' and people are constantly asking you how you are. The doorman held the door open for me this morning and said, "Good morning madam, How are you?" I felt like responding with, "Well, actually I'm a bit shitty this morning because jet lag kept me awake from the early hours and I'm pretty hungry. There are also slight nerves about my first morning in a new job. Oh, and I've forgotten to pack my favourite black cardigan. But yeah, other than that I'm fine." Obviously I didn't, I simply walked on and mumbled 'Thank you' in true English slightly rude style.
My room is amazing (see right) and the bed is as comfortable as it looks. There is a Bose i-pod dock, doovde player, TV, wireless internet etc. It's super expensive and I'm still not convinced that it's worth *all* that money but hey, it's not like I'm paying!
San Francisco is amazingly clean. Everything about the whole city is so much calmer than anywhere in the UK. It's not that warm but it's definitely warmer than London/Paris. You can wear a jumper and not be too cold. I still haven't seen much of the city except for Union Square, Market Street and Twin Peaks. I'll keep you updated.
Oh, here is a Hilary campaigner especially for CupCate.
