#myamurrricanmind

Some general random quirks/things that I’ve noticed around here that I feel the need to discuss.

1. Shorts/pants Mixup

Every time I go to the gym, I am usually the only girl wearing shorts. (If it’s a busy day, then maybe there’s 1-2 max other ones out there who are “taking their legs out” as well.) The others are wearing leggings. Okay, fair enough, it’s a cold walk over to the gym. But this is what I don’t understand–when walking around town at night, girls are wearing shorts or dresses now! Or, the hybrids: booty shorts with tights (something I will never quite adapt to). I just don’t get it. Working out-sweaty, need space for legs to breathe–>shorts key. At night-freezing, probably also raining–>someone get me a snuggie. These girls are just very dedicated to looking good I guess. Maybe they don’t find our beloved “norts” (Nike shorts) as attractive as Americans.

2. Traffic lights

So obviously we know driving is on the other side of the road yadda yadda BUT what I really find odd is that after the light goes red, it doesn’t turn to green next. It goes yellow first. It’s like it’s warning the driver–getting him ready and exciting..slightly teasing though. “We’re almost there! …But not quite yet….just a couple more seconds now until blast off.” It kind of reminds me of drag racing, even though I’m not even sure if the lights would go yellow first there. I like how in the states we get less warning–just see the light and boom we’re off. Or maybe I would like this too. I could find out (the lacrosse girls asked if I would drive the van because you need to be licensed for three years and so the freshers aren’t) but thinking about the whole opposite side thing and the fact that EVERY car here is manual, I think I would crash within the first turn, if I make it there first.

3. Crutches

Well first I’ll try to paint the picture before I post one. They are not the crutches we are all used to. I don’t even know what they’re called here, but it’s probably something as bizarre as the way they look. On the first sighting, I thought the poor girl using them had a rare degenerative disease. Then I kept seeing them everywhere I went. The man with greying hair taking a long time to the bus, another girl walking slowly out of class, etc. I was beginning to worry if it was okay for me to be drinking the tap water here. But then on one fateful day in the physics building, I saw a jock using them. This seemed to be a strange juxtaposition: someone so healthy appearing sickly (although I know for a lot of diseases such may be the case). However, my gaze quickly fell on the cast he was using. LIGHTBUILB. These are not just walking aids everyone is using, they are CRUTCHES. So I can go back to hydration and the Brits are healthy (although maybe a tad clumsy). Now, your mind must be burning with what these actually look like, so here you go:

Now try and tell me you wouldn’t have the same reaction…

4. Toilets

Which is, by the way, what they call them instead of saying “loo” as one would expect. This is slightly cruder than the American term, “bathroom,” which is kind of surprising. I’ve become accustomed to saying toilet, or else they kind of give me a weird look and probably think I’m about to go shower. But that’s not even where #myamurricanmind is confused. It is in the location of the flusher. It is NEVER in the same spot. Sometimes at the top where you’d open the toilet if you’re having plumbing problems. A lot of the times it’s on the wall about a foot above the toilet–a knob kind of floating in midair randomly against the wall. It can also be a button or level. You never really know what to expect. In my flat it’s on the left side, and it is a level at least, but my right arm still automatically twitches to the normal flushing location. Same place everywhere in the states, aside from maybe automatic ones. Here it’s like a “where’s Waldo” every time you go; a mission to find the flusher. And when we went to Spain, it was the same exact thing. So maybe this is a European, or perhaps anywhere-but-America thing. I guess there’s only one way to find out…