So, I have passed what I consider to be my first holiday in England. And let me just say, I am not too impressed.
First off, let me say that my afternoon included a 2-hour visit to a bus depot that didn't end until after 6. Bus depots aren't fun.
After the field trip I went to a nearby pub which was 'celebrating'. The staff were all dressed up, with one guy dressed as a vampire and another guy for some reason covered in plastic bags. There was a themed quiz (we got 7th out of 12, it wasn't ideal. This one was a bit tricky, but free), were people got an extra point if everyone in the group was in 'fancy dress'. And by themed, I mean there were five questions on the quiz devoted to scary movies. Not saying much, I know.
So, why does England not care about Halloween? I came across two obvious reasons. A: Guy Fawkes day is less than a week away. Who can handle two holidays within a week of each other? B: They have costume parties all year round, so there is little novelty in dressing in costume. Additionally, trick-or-treating hasn't really caught on, so there's no real fun for the kids, and instead there are just a few trouble-makers that go along causing, well, trouble. They also seem to have little enthusiasm for a decent excuse to buy mass quantities of mini Snickers bars (but mind you, there were some free chippy buttys at the pub quiz, but they ran out before I could get one). Quite frankly, they just don't understand what they're missing.
P.S. Finally gave my presentation on compact cities and sustainable transport today. Professor: 'you're American, you must know blah blah blah' (no clue what he was talking about). Next thing you know someone will ask me, 'you're American, I met an American once, do you know them?' But who are we kidding, we pull that stuff with other countries all the time.
I might also add that one of the quiz questions was 'who won the world series last week?' and I totally got that one right.
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8 comments:
Well, at least you represented with the baseball.
St. Louis was voted most dangerous city this week! Another title stolen from Detroit, however more dubious in nature.
I'd like to think we at least narrow by school or at least city when we ask if someone knows someone we've met...
so chippy buddys are in higher demand than snickers? there is something wrong here...
Never underestimate the lure of the potato to the English.
Poor St Louis. Danger and all that humidity. Why does anyone live there, anyways?
I even tried it, and I can't answer that question.
When we lived briefly in Minnesota, the natives thought Oregon weather was just like Minnesota. So, perhaps the native St. Louis people think everywhere else is just the same as they are.
They probably also think the war in Iraq was in response to 9/11.
Right, because if everywhere is the same, then why leave where you are? That makes sense.
With regard to the Iraq and 9/11 issue, you are quite correct. I will not get into specifics, because I prefer to forget those conversations. All 500 of them.
I think Oregon is kind of this mysterious, wild place to a lot of people. They probably think Oregonians still drive around in covered wagons.
I actually did have to explain last week that not only are there no covered wagons, but we have electricity. Of course, that was because people were surprised that we had the board game clue and I was just being a smart ass.
The English think they're smarter than Americans, by the way. And St Louis sounds like its not helping matters.
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