ukdesperatehousewifeusa

Desperate English Housewife in Washington, chapter 173

Posted on July 11, 2013 by ukdesperatehousewifeusa

Brits in the USA

There are a lot of us Brits in the USA. It’s funny how our paths cross, either in person or online. And we do drink tea at every opportunity, that is certainly correct. A girl also smirked at me the other day when I asked for a tea. It amused her that I was conforming to the British stereotype. I’m actually surprised that she didn’t ask me if I knew One Direction or Prince Harry. (For the record, I don’t know either of them, sadly.)

One Direction – nope, don’t know them

What fascinates me is not only the unique journey and experience had by each Brit out here, but also the common thread of acknowledgement about the differences between the UK and the USA. We speak to each other; we get it. But it’s all still full of surprises.

This is Andy’s story.

Hi, my name is Andy Kay and I was born and raised in the East End of London although I’ve never appeared on EastEnders. We are currently living in beautiful Colorado Springs at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, but for the first 20-odd years in the USA we lived in Stafford, Virginia about 30 miles south of Washington DC. I met my wife Karen in London when I worked at the American Embassy in Grosvenor Square. She was in the US Navy stationed at the Embassy and as they say love blossomed and we got married in the US Navy Chapel in West Ruislip, London (now closed, however I don’t think that was anything to do with us). When her time in the UK was up we decided it would probably be a good idea if I came here with her, and to this day she still refers to me as “her souvenir of England” – of course working at the Embassy smoothed my journey to the States and I didn’t have to endure some of the problems that I have read about others having….

Karen and Andy at one of Colorado’s major and most important landmarks, the Coors brewery (!)

Apart from two and a half years in Iceland on another Navy tour of duty, we lived for many years in Virginia until my job called me out to Colorado about 18 months ago. We hadn’t really planned on coming here, but you go where the work is and as it turns out we really like it here as the style of living is totally different from living and working in the metro DC area – I no longer have the 90 minute commutes that I had to endure for many years in Virginia. We have one son away at college in Kentucky who makes the journey out to Colorado to visit whenever he can, mostly in the winter as he enjoys snowboarding and we are surrounded by ski resorts. He used to board in Virginia but the elevation in our living room is higher than the highest ski spot in Virginia, so it’s a different game!

So I’ve been here for 24 years and if that sounds a long time, it is. I am a naturalized US Citizen now, but I consider myself to be English first and foremost and still hold a UK passport. Also I’m glad to report my London accent is as strong as it ever was.

What do you enjoy most about living in the USA?
I honestly think the standard of living is better here than I remember it being in the UK. When we have friends come over they tell me stories of how much gas (petrol) is over there and there is always somewhere new to go or see just because of the sheer size of the USA.

At the top of Pikes Peak which is the mountain we see from anywhere in Colorado Springs

What do you miss about the UK?
Seriously, a lot of things. I miss some stupid foods you just can’t get over here (well you can although usually not easily): English bacon, pork sausages, pork pies, fish ‘n’ chips, a good pint of real beer, oh and Jaffa Cakes. I miss football (I’m a bloke after all) although now it can be watched on the internet albeit somewhat illegally. Being a Londoner I really miss walking around the streets of what I consider to be the best city in the world, nobody walks here unless it’s just walking the dog. I miss decent reliable public transportation as outside large cities it really doesn’t exist.

Much-missed Jaffa cakes

What differences do you still encounter?
Even after all this time I still have people that really don’t understand what I am saying and look at me as if I am speaking another language, luckily that’s made up by those that say “I love your accent”. One thing that I still notice is that Americans are quite happy to talk to complete strangers and discuss all sorts of incredibly personal details without a second thought, something that would never happen in the land of my birth. In England, if you are in a bus queue, sitting on the tube or whatever, people studiously ignore each other and well, just mind their own business. If I get caught in that particular situation my English side kicks in big time and I just try and look away and mumble something non-committal and really (really) hope the torture ends soon!

The best thing about being a Brit in the USA?
It’s still fun being just being a little different even after 24 years. I love to “show off “ my Britishness by flying the Union Jack flag on high days and holidays, teaching people about the joys of football, reveling in things like the London Olympics and Andy Murray. Just dumb stuff really.

What a great event it was!

What myths, stereotypes and preconceptions about the USA do you think do exist or are just a load of nonsense?!
Well I think a lot of the myths, stereotypes and preconceptions are actually true. People do consider cowboy hats as every day wear here. Americans do drive everywhere, even if it’s only to the grocery store which might be just around the corner and they will drive around a mall parking lot for 20 minutes looking for a spot close to the door. A lot (not all) of Americans seem to be totally unconcerned with what’s going on in the rest of the world, the TV news broadcasts are mainly only concerned with what’s happening here. As someone brought up watching the good old BBC I still find that a little disconcerting.

PS.
I feel a little guilty that it is a long time since we’ve been back to the UK and as time goes by I miss it more even though this is now my home. Maybe I’m more in love with the picture I still have in my head of England, however we plan on taking a trip there in the next year so maybe I’ll be able to confirm that!

Posted in Travel | Tagged accents, America, American, Americans, Andy Murray, beer, Blog, British, Colorado Springs, Coors, cowboys hats, Culture, cup of tea, driving, Embassy, England, expat, expats, food, hocoblogs@@@, Jaffa Cakes, London, Navy, Olympics, One Direction, pork pies, Prince Harry, Ruislip, Thoughts, UK, USA, Virginia | 13 Comments

Desperate English Housewife in Washington, chapter 172

Posted on July 11, 2013 by ukdesperatehousewifeusa

American bands

In the UK I haven’t seen many bands with the enthusiasm of this teenage band that I saw outside the Howard County Library Miller Branch (the celebrations were about the Howard County Library System winning Library of the Year 2013 – a rather excellent feat).

Check these kids out! Yeah!

Love those kids and their enthusiasm. I have a feeling that the UK version would be a tad more sombre…….there would be no jumping – it would be prohibited to jump – and the band would be playing, without doubt, When the Saints Go Marching in. Fact.

And – ladies and gents (you know who I’m talking about chaps!) – I got a hug from the one and only Howard County Executive Ken Ulman at this event. Yes, I jolly well did! 🙂

Interview with expat Brit in the USA, Emma Kaufmann

Want to find out what this Brit, who’s been in the country for 13 years, thinks about driving and teeth in the USA? Read on!

About Emma
After hopping the pond from London thirteen years ago I found myself in Baltimore because my boyfriend wanted to go to grad school here. First we lived with many creepy critters in a dodgy apartment, until the collection of cockroaches, rats and ants became too much and we eventually scraped together the money to buy a house. Next I popped out a couple of kids and wrote a book about trying not to go mad after giving birth called Cocktails at Naptime. I also wrote a lot about my life in my blog Mommy Has a Headache and banged out some novels. For the last few years I also managed to get back to painting portraits of animals and kids as well as to start crocheting animals. As for the future … the sky’s the limit!

What do you enjoy most about living in the USA?
Well the weather is pretty fantastic. In the summer you can loll by the pool for at least three months of scorching weather. The fall has many red leaves and many evenings roasting marshmallows over a fire pit. The winter has tons of snow and you can laugh at people trying to drive in deep snow and getting stuck when really they should have stayed home!

Also the property prices are very cheap compared to the UK which makes it a great place to raise a family.

Emma in stocks at the Maryland Renaissance Festival

What do you miss about the UK?
Well, I lived for most of the time in the UK in London, much of it in Central London so I’m afraid I was well and truly spoilt. I would stagger home after pubbing and clubbing or if necessary board the night bus. I did not appreciate the convenience of the public transport or being able to walk to many places at the time. I didn’t even have a driver’s license in the UK so I have still not got used to having to plan ahead when you are going out here in the US and driving everywhere. Also I have a lousy sense of direction so if Sat Nav hadn’t been invented I would never find my way from A to B in Baltimore and would probably have spent my days in laybys looking at crumpled maps and shouting expletives like a madwoman.

I do miss UK pubs a great deal, especially ones with pub gardens. I have not really found a pub I like here although there probably are some in Fell’s Point but I don’t get down there as often as I like. Although Ryan’s Daughter in Belvedere Square is a pretty nice for a fake Irish pub!

Emma covered in Cocktails at Naptime books – her funny book for new mums

What differences do you still encounter?
Well the amount of commercials on US TV used to drive me demented so I switched to just watching streaming TV like Hulu and Netflix. So when I have to watch someone’s regular TV it is a real assault on the senses. To me there just seems to be so much more adverts of every kind in the US – more billboards, more sponsored radio shows, more internet adverts. It is really bloody annoying and harder and harder to escape from.

The best thing about being a Brit in the USA?
This is straight up – often people I meet here ask me if I know someone in the royal family. To be honest, I get the impression that people I meet casually here think being British is classy and that I am someone straight out of a Jilly Cooper novel who has a stable full of horses back home. It is all rather flattering I must say. But suffice to say I was not brought up in a Downton Abbey environment although I suppose my accent is fairly middle class so maybe I could ham it up a bit for a laugh. I have been sorely tempted to say I am a minor member of the royal family and see if anyone believes me, that I hang out with Charles and talk to plants, but I think it would only make people think I am madder than they do already!

Emma and her daughters among the tulips at Sherwood Gardens, Baltimore

What myths, stereotypes and preconceptions about the USA do you think do exist or are just a load of nonsense?!
These stereotypes are true:
Many Americans – but not all- do not seem to understand irony or sarcasm. In the UK you just have to make a dry comment in a deadpan way and people will ‘get it’ whereas here you seem to have to SPELL IT OUT. For example, when Ricky Martin came out as gay I told an American friend in what I thought was a mindblowingly sarcastic way “Wow! I would never have believed that. I mean he’s so straight acting.” Well she raised her eyebrows and replied, “Really, because to me he always seemed totally gay.”

Secondly Americans have really amazingly straight teeth. You can tell someone is really poor if they have a mouth of snaggleteeth because they could not afford braces. I recently had to grab the bull by the horns because I was told my eight year old needed braces and $3000 dollars later here we are! My husband who has very crooked teeth was told by his dentist here quite seriously that his crooked teeth meant he would ‘never have a career in television’ and that to set them straight would require breaking his jaw and a $30,000 cost. People here take straight teeth very seriously indeed. Not to mention that my husband is an electrical engineer and has never harbored any ambitions to be on TV!

The preconception that Americans are, well, not very bright is not all that accurate I have found. There are morons everywhere, certainly, but generally I have found Americans to be pretty knowledgeable about world affairs etc. There does seem to be a bit of a ‘laissez faire’ attitude to spelling and grammar though which I find hard to deal with sometimes.

Posted in Travel | Tagged accents, America, American, Americans, Baltimore, Blog, British, Cocktails at Naptime, Columbia, Culture, driving, Ellicott City, Emma Kaufmann, expat, grammar, hocoblogs@@@, Howard County, Howard County Libraries, irony, Jilly Cooper, Ken Ulman, language, London, marching band, royal family, Ryans Daughter, teeth, UK, USA, weather, When the Saints go Marching in | 4 Comments

Desperate English Housewife in Washington, chapter 171

Posted on July 11, 2013 by ukdesperatehousewifeusa

A UK and USA perspective…..

Over the next few months, as well as writing this blog and taking everything ordinary in the USA and seeing how to make it extraordinary (and going back to the UK……yes, exactly how WILL that feel?!), I am running a series of interviews about the UK and the USA to get various thoughts, ideas and perspectives on the cultural differences with a host of blog readers, Facebook followers, friends and relatives.

So, if you are an Anglophile, Americanaphile, Brit in the USA, American in the UK, have lived in either country, married a Brit or American, or simply love the countries and would like to be part of the interview process email me on clairebolden@hotmail.com and we’ll chat!

My first interview is with USA gal Kirsten Coombs, whom I met through this very blog in Columbia.

About Kirsten
I was born and raised in the Washington DC area. I studied accountancy and medieval history at the University of Maryland and worked in corporate accounting until 2010 when I decided to “retire” to be a stay-at-home mom. I’ve been volunteering at my daughter’s school and picked up some accountancy hours. I love to travel. I prefer to travel outside the US because I’ve seen enough of the US. I love cruising too!

Kirsten, and her husband, Luke

1. What fascinates you most about the UK / what do you love about it?
The US has less documented history and places to visit and experience…and as beautiful as Monticello and Mount Vernon are, they’re only 250 years old. The UK is interesting to me politically as our laws are predicated on English law, our legislature has two chambers, etc. But it’s really the age of the civilization – that you can see Roman ruins around……Westminster Abbey is 1,000 years old, there are castles……There is a deeper sense of history all around you, even if you’re on the Eye, a crazily modern affair. I wrote my thesis on the Magna Carta and to go places I wrote about is pretty exciting. I’ve always loved reading about English history. Also, British people say my name correctly!

2. Having visited or lived in the UK, what are your favorite areas/memories/traditions? I found a book about walking Charles Dickens’ London. After touring the Tower of London, we started a walk in the light drizzle as it grew dark. We went down narrow alleys, finding hidden pathways and it was like a treasure hunt. I loved the rainy spookiness. We also had a moment where I thought we were going to the Waterloo tube station. I asked for the particular line and the girl directed us down a corridor. Well, we ended up walking to Southwark tube station through the maze of corridors. I don’t know how it happened…But for the most part, I figure out the tube. Basingstoke gets bad press as kind of industrial and blah. I had a lovely lunch with co-workers at a pub on a little brook that was so stereotypically British. So I have fond memories of Basingstoke and the tennis club I stayed in. Wandering around Hampton Court Palace was also surreal, as I love Henry VIII and Elizabeth I.

3. What differences do you think really exist between our cultures?
Brits laugh more easily and are less restrained in giving opinions in the business world. Brits seem more practical. However, Americans are more expressive across the whole range of emotions – tears, laughter, anger. I think both cultures have elitism and judgment about different classes.

Kirsten on her hols / vacation

4. About the USA: which myths, stereotypes and preconceptions about the USA and its citizens do you think really exist or are just a load of nonsense?!
Everything is bigger here!
Americans are clueless about the rest of the world unless they’ve traveled. They care more about celebrities and pop culture than politics. But there are huge differences in our country – listening to the southern accents in the Zimmerman trial is somewhat surprising, even to me.

Posted in Travel | Tagged America, American, Americans, Anglophile, Blog, British, Charles Dickens London, Columbia, Culture, Elizabeth 1, expat, Henry VIII, history, hocoblogs@@@, Howard County, Magna Carta, maryland, Tower of London, UK, University of Maryland, USA, Washington DC, Westminster Abbey, Zimmerman | Leave a comment

Desperate English Housewife in Washington, chapter 170

Posted on July 10, 2013 by ukdesperatehousewifeusa

Shootings in Baltimore

Everyday at the moment my email pops up with another news notification that there has been another couple of shootings in Baltimore.

It’s a time of great sadness when this dominates the news of a city 😦

Edward Norton

The movie-star Edward Norton is from Columbia, I found out today. That is very exciting for movie-buffs and shallow celeb-lovers like me. He graduated from Wilde Lake and is the grandson of none other than Jim Rouse, the clever chap who planned and built Columbia. Well I never did! Ed, next time you’re in town, let me know and we’ll hook up for a cuppa 🙂

I love your work, especially Primal Fear and American History X

Martin O’Malley, Governor of Maryland

I got told today something that made me squeal with a) untold delight and then b) sadness and despair….

Martin ‘Muscles’ O’Malley (= squeal of untold delight) was in River Hill, that is in my neck of the woods, not a mile from my house (= double squeal of untold delight!).

But ‘was’ = ‘last winter’ = squeal of sadness and despair upon acknowledging the fact that we had been so, so close to each other and yet I was unable to meet him.

I was shown pictures of this event. He had his clothes on = squeal of sadness and despair…..

This is a better picture (squeal of delight) 🙂

Posted in Travel | Tagged America, American, American History X, Americans, Baltimore, British, Columbia, Culture, Edward Norton, expat, Governor of Maryland, hocoblogs@@@, Howard County, Jim Rouse, Martin O'Malley, Primal Fear, Shootings, UK, USA, Wilde Lake | Leave a comment

Desperate English Housewife in Washington, chapter 169

Posted on July 10, 2013 by ukdesperatehousewifeusa

American bumper stickers

American cars host a plethora of different bumper stickers, which tend to confuse and amuse me.

Many of them say how completely wonderful the driver’s children are, and that their various offspring have usually been one of the following: student of the month or week or day or half day or hour / played triangle in the marching band / led the football team to victory / completed nature camp with five gold stars for discovering a new species of otter faeces. You can tell I find them a teeny bit nauseating, perhaps?

Shouting about our children’s successes is just not something we’re overly comfortable with in the UK. If I had a bumper sticker it might say: Last Tuesday my son put his trousers (pants) on the right way round, for example 🙂

Such pride

American pronunciation

Last night my son corrected my British pronunciation and turned it into American pronunciation – that’s with a hard ‘a’, not a soft ‘a’……

This was the sentence: ‘I will show you the extent of my wrath’ (rest assured this was a SpongeBob Square Pants book – nothing too major – and the words were spoken by King Neptune, just so you get the context).

So, I say ‘wrath’ as in ‘cloth’ – the UK pronunciation [albeit Southern UK!]. ‘It’s wrath (as in ‘bat’),’ speaks the five-year old.

I gasp. I beg your pardon?! 😉

So how will Harry pronounce this….?

I find this hard pronunciation of the ‘a’ sound occurs frequently in the USA and I have to repeat certain words that I pronounce with a soft British ‘a’ with a hard American ‘a’ so that people understand me. Ah, the confusion of accents!

Posted in Travel | Tagged America, American, Americans, British, bumper stickers, Culture, expat, Grapes of Wrath, hocoblogs@@@, pronunciation, SpongeBob Square Pants, UK, USA, wrath | 11 Comments

Desperate English Housewife in Washington, chapter 168

Posted on July 7, 2013 by ukdesperatehousewifeusa

Things I learned about America today

1. Cars with a white flag, bag or towel hanging from a closed window…I’ve seen a few of these recently. Cars that are parked up on the side of a highway or freeway and there is a white piece of clothing at the top of the closed window on the driver’s side.

What is this is all about, I ask?

Apparently it’s just to show that the car is abandoned or broken down, and….help yourselves if you want it! Apparently a lot of these cars have the plates taken off and the car is then someone else’s issue. How very kind.

I couldn’t find an image of a car with a white piece of clothing at the top of a closed window, but I liked this one of a broken-down car anyway, so here it is 🙂

2. Code red means it’s going to get v v hot… and it’s been bloomin’ hot these past few days. Like 98-100 degrees hot and I love the sun, but I’m struggling….and hey ho, perfect timing for the air conditioning to pack up, so it’s a hot sweaty mess of grumpiness in the UK Desperate Housewife USA household.

It’s getting hot in here!

In Baltimore they have declared a ‘code red’ because of the scorching temperatures. The ‘code red’ is a reminder for everyone to take precautions in the crazy heat.

Health leaders are telling people they should avoid caffeinated and alcoholic beverages while outside in the heat. But we’re British! We always go outside in the mid-day sun with a G&T!

3. Americans loved our tennis! Hurrah for Andy Murray – we Brits whooped and cheered and genuinely pumped our fists with high emotion in the air as he made history today.

Woopdeedoodeedoo!

We shared this momentous occasion with some Americans, who sampled cucumber sandwiches, scones, Pimms and strawberries and cream, of course.

Tradition!

Despite not having an avid interest in tennis, our American friends understood our enthusiasm for the final and got stuck in with watching the match.

Dear Americans: thank you for indulging in our Wimbledon tennis shenanigans, and our Pimms and scones, and cheering on a Scottish person whom we call British because he won for Great Britain (which also has England and Wales and Northern Ireland in it). (Sometimes we have to explain that bit.) 😉

Posted in Travel | Tagged America, American, Americans, Andy Murray, Baltimore, Blog, British, broken down car, cars, code red, G&T, heat, heateave, hocoblogs@@@, Pimms, scones, strawberries and cream, tennis, UK, USA, weather, Wimbledon | 3 Comments

Desperate English Housewife in Washington, chapter 167

Posted on July 6, 2013 by ukdesperatehousewifeusa

Amish Country

Visiting Amish Country was pretty much near to the top of my bucket list. I knew very little about these people, apart from the movie versions of Amish ways of life (and other complications!) like Witness and The Shunning (the made-for-TV movie, which we made ourselves watch only because it is about the Amish).

My preconceptions of the Amish community pretty much went like this: beards, hats, aprons, private, farming, religion, baked goods.

It was totally and utterly fascinating being in Amish Country – very much like entering another country altogether, and we immediately sensed the European undertones, which are obviously drawn from the Dutch and German heritage.

What I learned

1. There are two places very close by in Pennsylvania – York and Lancaster. Just like the War of the Roses, thought I.

2. Pennsylvania states it is a ‘state of independence’.

A state of independence indeed….

3. When you are in an Amish traffic jam, you go very, very slowly behind those horse and traps.

An Amish traffic jam 🙂

4. Their bikes have no pedals, which just looks like scooting to me.

A bike or a scooter?

5. The Amish don’t like having their picture taken. (I found this out on day two – oops).

Sorry gals.

As much as I admired the land, the farming, and how resolute they are at sticking to their rules and customs, I decided that there are many, many reasons why I could never, ever be Amish.

Reasons I should/could/would not be Amish…

1. I cannot quilt. Actually, I cannot even sew. Quilting is a big Amish past-time. Sigh, I’d be bored after stitch four. But quilt those ladies do – and the results are really quite stunning, and if I’d had the odd $1000 I might have bought the Lone Star quilt, but I do not, so I did not.

It’s HANDMADE! Amazing.

2. You have to be a really good gardener. This has not passed down to me from my mother, who is a fantastic gardener. The Amish women are in charge of the gardens, and totally immaculate they are too. In fact, I was prepared for a more rustic way of living, but the houses and the gardens had a very modern feel to them. I’d say there is certainly more than a bit of competition between the ladies in the Amish community to make their gardens as perfect as possible (a touch of the Desperate Housewives creeping in, hey?!). We saw one lady trimming her edges in bare feet – apparently, they are allowed to take their shoes off in the summer. Wow.

3. Which leads me on to stockings. And clothing in general. The hats, the aprons, the stockings. That’s too many clothes for me in one short list. It’s so precise, so conformist, so particular. And so Amish. I loved to look at them in their clothing, but not for me. I felt completely under-dressed in my Daisy Dukes. To them, I was probably some harlot from the city…. 😉

I’d have customised mine into tank top and hot pants by now

4. Amish food is amazing, and they take such pride in it, and indulge we did for a weekend. But Shoo-Fly cake – it’s calorie-laden ladies! Baked goods galore adorned the shop shelves. It was their fields of organic vegetables that really struck me – it is all harvested (by hand) and laid out beautifully on the roadside or in shops and it just looks stunning. But with pot-pies and apple butter, I had indigestion after all those glorious samples!

5. Living arrangements…..so apparently the Amish all live together until they are about 21, and then generations move in with each other and even the community pops in to each other’s houses every weekend, so to my mind you HAVE NO SPACE AND FREEDOM! I tell you, I love my family, but if I lived with all of them day in and day out FOREVER I think I might go mad. There is a community feeling, which the Amish must love and enjoy, but for a modern-day gal, that creates a cloud of claustrophobia that envelops me.

6. No electricity. None. OMFG. Can’t cope at the thought of it! And no cars. Still, we loved this sight of the horse and buggys!

7. The Amish were pleasant and kind, and allowed us in to view various aspects of their life, but they are a shy bunch and didn’t really engage in conversation. For this very reason, I could not be Amish.

Overall, Amish land was an aesthetic wonderland for the few days we were there. But as idyllic as it looked in the sunshine, there must be some very harsh realities with their way of life. The culture is truly fascinating, and whilst their customs and traditions do not allow them to partake in certain aspects of modern life (like electricity), they still have links to modern society.

Our tour guide told us she had been Amish until she was 30 and then had decided to leave. She still lived in the area, quilted for the them and knew them all very well, but she told us she was in the 3% who make the decision to leave. I would so be in that 3% (make that 4% then). She would not be drawn on the reason why she decided to part ways with Amish lifestyle, but I have a feeling that a man might have been involved….

It would be remiss of me not to mention that, like every other tourist who goes to this area, how amusing I found the name of the town of Intercourse, home of the oldest Amish settlement in the country. Conveniently, and amusingly, across the field is Paradise, and over the mountain is Blue Ball. 😉

The farms are what really took my breath away. Lush, green and with endless crops that they farm and harvest by hand. I’ll leave all that shenanigans to the Amish – they seem to enjoy it, after all.

My only disappointment was that, owing to their shyness and private way of living, I was unable to talk properly with members of the Amish community. I had so many things to ask, and I wanted very much to hear their responses in their distinctive accents, but sadly that was not to be.

Until next time, Amish-land!

Posted in Travel | Tagged America, American, Americans, Amish, Blue Balls, British, Culture, expat, farming, food, hocoblogs@@@, Intercourse, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, religion, Shoo-Fly Pie, The Shunning, traditions, UK, USA, Witness | 12 Comments

Desperate English Housewife in Washington, chapter 166

Posted on July 5, 2013 by ukdesperatehousewifeusa

May the 4th be with you 🙂

The lakefront, Columbia – kind of crazy for 4th July. An ensemble of rugs out at 8am so keep your spot kind of crazy.

Marking your territory

People had gone out early-early to place their rugs down to get prime view of the fireworks. We, on the other hand, meandered through the throngs (the wonderfully eclectic throngs) and headed on up to a friend’s house where we didn’t have to queue for the loo or a drink to watch the evening celebrations.

4th of July – exhausting, extraordinary and ever so American 🙂

Another first achieved in America….I wonder where we will celebrate it next year…?

Posted in Travel | Tagged America, American, Americans, Columbia, Columbia Lakefront, fireworks, UK, USA | Leave a comment

Desperate English Housewife in Washington, chapter 165

Posted on July 4, 2013 by ukdesperatehousewifeusa

Happy 4th July!

The day stuff…..

The River Hill parade! Fabulousness in American-style! Warm weather, community spirit, crowds, patriotism, politics, pride and pageantry…..

It was so very American, and so very non-British in how it all felt (I guess that has something to do with the fact it’s a celebration of kicking us out…!) 😉

[Cowboy] hats off to the organisers – as with most things in America it went so smoothly and was a bundle of fun!

It was in abundance, and what a special event for this expat Brit to be involved in (despite some American chums mocking this was the day for the Brits to lie low….!) As if I ever would lie low at anything!

There was more candy being passed out to the kids at this parade than Halloween….sugar rush!

Best of all…the ‘DeckChair Dads’…..they were so very, very funny 🙂

And this….

The day has only just started – more celebrations to come tonight. If you want to see more pics from the 4th July celebrations, see my Desperate English Housewife in Washington Facebook page.

As I stated this very morning: Living in the USA is like living with a slightly crazy uncle….You are funny, bizarre, welcoming, curious and sometimes I can’t believe we are related! But it’s still pretty damn awesome (even if you have funny rules about drinking). Thanks for having me to stay, Uncle Sam.

Posted in Travel | Tagged 4th July, America, American, Americans, British, celebrations, Culture, Deckchair dads, expat, Independence Day, maryland, pageantry, parade, Politics, pride, River Hill, UK, Uncle Sam, USA | 2 Comments

Desperate English Housewife in Washington, chapter 164

Posted on July 4, 2013 by ukdesperatehousewifeusa

Adult beverages

In the UK, we simply call it ‘booze’. In the USA, it’s called an ‘adult beverage’. I find that interesting.

An adult beverage 😉

Meeting British people

I have met some random Brits recently in the USA. Just like that – ‘Hello’ – ‘Oh you’re British, so am I’. There are a surprising number out here. I met a woman at the pool today. Her husband heard my accent – ‘You’re British!….So’s my wife.’ And we chat. She’s from the same place I went to school in the UK. What a small world. How funny to hear a West Country accent in Maryland (she still has it after 10 years).

Then a British guy in a band, playing in a bar just down the road from our house. He was from Wimbledon. Check out his band!

And, would you Adam and Eve (USA peeps: that is Cockney Rhyming Slang for ‘believe’) it, a British friend of mine from home, whom I played netball with, pops in for a cuppa on her way to New York, to get the cruise ship back to the UK. She’s been out in the West Coast for 18 months living it up.

We’re everywhere!

We British expats get everywhere! Ain’t that funny!?

Yes, America, yes!

I learned another valuable lesson tonight, which being in the USA has taught me, and it is this: if you are ever wondering ‘shall I, or shan’t I?’, the answer is ‘yes, you shall‘ – DO IT! Don’t doubt / carpe diem etc….it might just be brilliant!

I was asked out for a few drinks tonight by some people who follow this very blog…..shall I go? Yes, of course I shall! What have I got to lose? It will be awesome! And thus, I spent a few [too short] hours tonight in charming Ellicott City in the company of some equally charming chaps, who gave themselves the moniker ‘HocoHomos’. An excellent name, that, if they don’t buy as a blog name, I will! Top marks for the boys because when I unleashed my British innuendos (and they do come thick and fast – nod, nod, wink, wink) they totally got them!

They revealed a penchant for British comedy (Outnumbered, Keeping up Appearances and, of course, Ab Fab!), and it made me slightly homesick as they recounted a recent trip to Europe. It’s refreshing to get a different take on European culture – sometimes we forget what is on our doorstep, Brits…..

Ace.

There are only two of us without beards…or am I the beard (!)

Wimbledon jitters

I am finding getting up and heading straight for the tennis scores, owing to the time difference, something to get my head around. Still, at least I’m not watching Andy Murray’s painful attack on the semi-finals (and, please, the finals) in to the wee small hours like the UK audience is having to endure.

I watch it, it’s tense and gives me palpitations, and then I breathe a sigh of relief and can head to the pool (if this bloody rain will just stop!) because my afternoon is just starting 😉