It's a British Thing

I'm not really sure if this is an American thing or just a 'me' thing, but before I met my hubs I never really realized how different British and American cultures are. This probably sounds dumb, but I always just thought, 'Oh, we speak the same language, so it must be pretty similar.' (I also had never been to the U.K. before meeting Hubs, so that may have contributed to my naivete.)

When we started dating, I began noticing tons of ways in which we were different. Certain things would come up in conversation, and he would say, 'Oh, that's a British thing.' But it's really hard to know what traits are specific to an individual and what traits are more representative of a culture.

But after being here awhile, there are definitely some things I'm noticing that are starting to make sense. For one, Americans are much more direct about everything. I remember shortly after I met Hubs' mom for the first time, I sent her an email about something and copied him on it. He wrote back to just me and admitted that he thought my email was a bit rude. I was completely shocked (and embarrassed) because I thought it was a very generic email, and I was definitely not trying to be rude -- but apparently something about the way I asked questions wasn't polite enough.

Now fast-forward a few years, and I can finally see where he's coming from. It seems no one can just ask a direct question here. For example, instead of saying 'Do you want to go to dinner on Saturday?' you might say: 'Well I was thinking of eating dinner on Saturday night... and I didn't know if maybe you were also going to be eating dinner that night, and if you're not too busy... but I completely understand if you can't make it...'

And the same goes with confronting people. Whether it's due to bad customer service or just a rude stranger, Brits will rarely admit when they're displeased. I had noticed this about my hubs when we first started dating -- although he's actually become much more outspoken since then. But it's become clear that this is a trend. Case in point: We went to the Kensington Roof Gardens last Saturday night, and we ended up waiting in a massive queue. (Brits love a good queue.) After about 20 minutes of waiting, another couple got out of a taxi, walked up to the line and just casually slipped in ahead of the couple right in front of us. And what did they do? Yep. Nothing. That would definitely not fly in New York.

A Long Hiatus

So it turns out living in a new city and starting a new job at the same time tends to make a person very busy. Also very stressed. But either way, I've pretty much been shit at this whole blogging thing. But hey, better late than never.

Another handy excuse for my complete abandonment of Streaky Bacon Struggles? It's actually been a gorgeous summer here. I've learned very quickly that English people love talking about the weather, so I've had tons of conversations about the lovely sunshine. I've also learned that English people have no idea what a real heat wave is. I mean, they issued actual heat warnings when the temperatures teetered around 85 degrees -- a perfect summer's day, if you ask me.

But enough about the weather. (God, I'm British already.) It feels very strange that we've been here nearly 3 months already. I do feel much more settled: We've moved into our new flat. I have a pretty strong grasp on public transportation. (I've even gotten over my New York-bred hatred of buses.) Things are (sort of) working out with my job. And I'm really enjoying exploring our new neighborhood on the weekends.

But in some ways, I still feel very unsettled. There are plenty of things left on our admin To-Do list: register for a doctor (apparently that's a thing here), finish hanging our pictures, find a house cleaner, etc. And I'm yet to master the time difference when it comes to keeping in touch with my family. But the hardest adjustment has definitely been on a social level. In New York, I had a ton of close friends, which meant there was always someone around to get lunch with or meet for happy hour. Here, not so much.

Don't get me wrong: The few people we know here are being so wonderful and introducing us to their friends and setting me up on girl dates, but it's almost like going on job interviews. I just want to be with people I already know, and sit on the couch and watch trashy TV while we each drink our own bottle of wine. Is that too much to ask?

But overall, I feel like I'm in a pretty good place for the 3-month mark. I knew coming into this that it wasn't going to be a super easy transition and that it be several months before I felt at home. And as my friend's English husband told me, 'London is not a city that's just going to open her legs for you right away. It takes time.'