The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly...

A few days ago I promised you something. Things are very different here, and I am sure you want to know what I miss and what I don't. I thought about just posting a list, but I'm too verbose for something that simple.

The Good:

Biscuits
Even though I think I will never figure out what the difference is between a cookie and a biscuit, I find that there are biscuits here that are quite yummy. Garibaldi biscuits are nice, and there are these super nice crinkle top ones that go all creamy when you dip them in tea. Yum.

Public Transport
A maybe-friend and I were discussing the public transport system just yesterday. He was whinging (that means whining) about how bad the public transport system is here. Compared to the US, it is phenomenal. Trains and buses are available not only to take you across the city, but to other cities as well. Yes, it's a bit pricey... but London is only an hour and a half away, plus no driving on the wrong side of the road in traffic. Works for me.

Scenery
Not only are the natural bits, like trees and river, lovely, but so are the buildings. And the masses of people are so diverse, speak so many different languages, that sometimes I can close my eyes and just let the sounds of it wash over me. I imagine that is what a distant galactic airport would sound like. But this is much prettier than I imagine a galactic airport to be. Galactic airports would be far more smelly too, I think.

Lunch with Stephen
I have been the only one not at work/in school (I start tomorrow), and have thus had the fun of being able to go and have lunch with Stephen every day. It is a lovely walk (with the exception of the Hell-Hill, see The Bad) and the weather has been quite nice. Plus there is often one or two of his friends around, and they have made me feel very accepted, which was unexpected and is quite pleasant.

Curry
I love Indian food... and there are a lot of really awesome Indian restaurants to tempt me. Curry is a VERY popular food in England; chicken tikki masala is considered the national dish. every single one of you should go right now and have a curry. But I'm not buying.

Foot Cuddling
Having someone special to cuddle feet with me at night is awesome. I have had significantly fewer nightmares (2 weeks without even 1... yay!) and I feel like a weight is gone from my chest. Living alone was fun, I suppose... but not for me. I was scared a lot. Scared enough that I was so used to how it felt to be scared that I didn't notice the fear. I notice that it is gone, though.

Fast Food Franchises
There are hardly any, compared to the States, where fast food has invaded every corner and you can't go 100 feet before running into another fast food joint. Here, there is 1 McDonalds, 1 Burger King, and 1 Subway. And the buildings they are in are a bit less obtrusive. It is much easier to pretend that fast food doesn't exist here.

Gathering
I sometimes feel a little bit like a pre-historic woman in that there is food growing on the sides of roads all over the place. Brambles with blackberries, currents, apples, figs... all of them just grow wild. I walk along with a basket sometimes and just gather. I can't wait until the summer... blackberry jam and pudding and ice cream and pancakes... anything I can think of to do with the little buggers. I have already dried rosehips, and there is rosemary and lavender.. all wild.


The Bad:

Washing Machines
We have a washing machine, and it is an awesome little device designed to conserve electricity and use minimal water... but it takes 2 hours to wash. It is a washer/dryer combo, which in theory is nice... but it only dries 1/2 a load at a time, and takes another 2 hours to do it. So I hang laundry... in the house. That's what happens when you live in a flat. Someday I aspire to have a garden (that's a backyard to ya'll) with a line for hanging laundry. Lap of luxury.

Hell Hill
The walking path up to Stephen's work is lovely... except for this 1/2 mile stretch of hill. Straight line up the steep hill stretch. Oh-my-god-I-think-I-might-die-before-I-reach-the-top stretch. They say walking things like that are supposed to get easier with time. Well, I ask them... how much time? It's been 2 weeks already and I still feel like my calves are going to fall off! Walking down it is really nice, though.

Tomato Sauce
It is not the concept of tomato sauce that bothers me here... it is the fact that they are all so sweet. Perhaps they use different types of tomatoes, I don't know. But the sauce is so sweet that none of my internalized recipes for making tomato based things work. They all taste strangely like I have added a half cup of sugar.

Mexican Food
There is none. The 'mexican restaurant' that we have here has a name that is not even Spanish, and the only mexican items on the menu are fajitas and Dos Equis (which they do not even serve with lime). Their jalapeños are NOT hot. As a matter of fact, I ordered a habañero (hopefully hothothot, right?) and while it was hotter, it was not that hot either. They can't seem to get food hot enough for me. The grocery has 'Old El Paso' brand thingies (made in Sussex)... but the corn tortillas have flour in them, there are no green chilies, and the tostadas are the kind you wouldn't be caught dead buying in a grocery in the southwest. And I don't think there is a place to get masa, there is no hominy here, and the only place I have seen dried red chilies is in the Thai grocery. I think I am really going to miss decent Mexican food.


The Ugly:

Amy before she combs her hair right after she wakes up in the morning
Enough said. ;)

Well, there is a quick list off the top of my head. Remember that any references to people were purposefully left out, so don't be offended if you feel you have been slighted. Unless you are an appliance, in which case you might have a legitimate grievance, and you should promptly contact your solicitor (that's a lawyer).