Since
I have been pestered by a certain someone, I'm posting in english for all my
friends who find themselves more fluent in english than the wonderful
language of Winland (I like to call it... winnish).
I have been planning on doing these updates so that I'll be
stretching my english a little and also to appear more
international!
Oh God, how depressing! You're meant to think I'm an international woman of mystery. I'm working on it like mad.
- Sally Bowles
So,
I'm sure it's been easy enough to pick up that I'm in Plymouth,
England, for the last part of my internship. I've now starting my
second full week here, and I've got quite a lot left, too – I'm
only flying back to the motherland of Winners at the 13th
of December! This practically means that a) I get to have a British
birthday, b) I'm going to have a British student Halloween and c) I'm
gonna be here for the Bonfire night!
Remember, remember, the fifth of November, the gunpowder, treason and plot. I know of no reason why the gunpowder treason should ever be forgot.
I'm
quite enthusiastic to see how the day is for the english, as they're
the only one who celebrate it (obviously...), and I honestly didn't
realise that it'd create any kind of a fuss. I happened to mention it
and everyone's just been reacting to it like it's one of the best
days ever! Apparently they're going to celebrate it at the Hoe, which
is a breathtakingly gorgeus place for any kind of celebration, tbh,
so I'm quite looking forward to it! But there's plenty to happen
before that as well.
- There's plenty of puzzlement in the english ways here. We can start from the fact that everyone calls dinner ”tea”, which makes me proper confused at times. You go to school and study english and it's the small things that are different in formal english compared to the one that's being spoken. I've heard tea being used before instead of dinner, because I love to argue about it with Bobby, but I always thought it was a niche word that was only used in his Norf England-area. Then I heard it from another english friend just before I came to Plymouth, and I was instantly nagging at it, ”It's not called tea, it's bloody dinner ok?!” And now I'm here, in Plymouth, and heck. Tea it is apparently. Here I thought that the only meaning for the word tea is a posh english afternoon tea with crumpets! I have been proven wrong, alright...
Other things like the tea is the use of quid instead of pound. Now, take me who talks practically daily with english people, I've kind of taken that to my vocabulary, and it was one of the things that people in here were really confused at. They thought that quid was one of the words that wouldn't be known and definitely not used by anyone except an english person, which I've now proven wrong. Have at it!
All of that has really made me think of the way things are being taught at schools in Finland. We put a lot of time in learning what preposition goes where and all that jazz, but we rarely, I dare say, focus on conversations and learning to actually speak the language properly instead of constantly fussing how the language is correctly lined. I know so many people who yes, know english, but are timid to speak because they're afraid they'll say something wrong. It's definitely a hinderance, as you'll only learn to become better if you go out there and get speaking.
- Now's also the moment that I put a disclaimer here – people learn in different ways, for some reading in the books is better, for some speaking aloud is better, for some something else works better. People, we are different, and that is fine! As long as we can have some kind of variation in our teaching and accomodate more needs than what I think is being accommodated, I'd be quite happy.
One of the dangers of England is the well known wrong-way-traffic. I've honestly lost count how many times I've almost been run over by a car, or that I've walked on the road, a car has stopped in front of me and neither have moved until I realise that I'm standing in front of another car who has the right to go before me. That's when I slip back to my side of the road and let the cars past (*shakes fist*). In Helsinki I'm more than confident enough to get myself in the middle of traffic and cross even really active roads if I need to get over in a hurry or whatnot. I also have the kind of mentality that ”I'm sure the cars will stop/pass me”, and yes, indeed, if you walk onto a road, they will. They might cuss at you, but he-hey, that's their patience gone, not mine! Here at Plymouth I'm practically sure that the cars would just run over me, simply out of making me an example. They might even come back and just secure the fact that I'd be a proper bloody pulp on the pavement, and then say something utterly british, like: ”Tally-ho, you sniveling piece of horse's arse!” (...what? My ideas of the english villain are fantastic stereotypes, don't take them away from me!)
- One of the things that I've also noticed is everyone calling you ”love” or ”darling”, which I kind of knew were stereotypic british things, but gods, I was not prepared. It does stop me on my tracks when I'm in the midst of something and I get called ”love” by some sales person for example right out of the blue. Like, wait, what, who, oh you mean, oh, yeah... okay. It's proper confusing, I'm telling you. That also makes me think that it'd be hard to understand when would english people really mean those words then, like if someone actually wanted to call you darling cause you are a darling. If you catch my drift? I guess it's just one of those things that you'd know.
…
Or you'd think you'd know. I might as well be bonked on the head with a club and not understand what had just happened.
Hello, yes, I'm blonde, yes, I often get made fun at due to it but it certainly doesn't make me stopping from making fun of myself! Though I don't know if anyone found that particularly funny. At least I'm entertaining myself (which isn't too big of a task tbh...)!
What else, what else? The english houses - they're incredibly cold! You'd think that a Winlander would be right at home in these kinds of enviroments, but oh, my goodness, no no. While my english flatmates are walking around in shorts and barefeet, I'm shivering in my long sweater, hoodie, woolly socks and long pants and more than certainly my hands are abslutely freezing half the time, which in turn makes me want to spook all of my flatmates by placing cold hands on their neck/face. I only realised that my radiator wasn't on a couple of days after I had moved into my student accommodation, so that also enhanced my idea of thinking that english people would probably prefer sleeping in an igloo if they'd have the chance... I personally enjoy the Winland's luxurious heating system, thank you very much. I'm picturing my sister dressed up in her wintercoat in this house, and the idea not only makes me giggle a bit, it also makes me miss her, bless her face.
I'm dead set on trying all sorts of english dishes as well – at my host Helen's place, where I stayed for around four night, she made Shephard's Pie and all that kind of incredibly good home-cooked food. Yesterday me and Sophie treated ourselves to Sunday Roast!
That was quite delicious, and Yorkshire pudding which was
particularly tasty, and all with the cost of £7.15! Including a
drink of your choice! Mad. Sophie's also been baking and made a gorgeus lemon
cheesecake and flap jacks, and I have a list to try an english pasty,
crisp butty (thanks, Bobby...), spotted dick and toad in a hole!
...I swear the english person who made up those names was drunk.
I'm looking forward to possibly meeting some old friends around here, so another thing to get excited about! Eek. So many things! So little time!
P.S. I thought only Americans needed these. - There's plenty of puzzlement in the english ways here. We can start from the fact that everyone calls dinner ”tea”, which makes me proper confused at times. You go to school and study english and it's the small things that are different in formal english compared to the one that's being spoken. I've heard tea being used before instead of dinner, because I love to argue about it with Bobby, but I always thought it was a niche word that was only used in his Norf England-area. Then I heard it from another english friend just before I came to Plymouth, and I was instantly nagging at it, ”It's not called tea, it's bloody dinner ok?!” And now I'm here, in Plymouth, and heck. Tea it is apparently. Here I thought that the only meaning for the word tea is a posh english afternoon tea with crumpets! I have been proven wrong, alright...
Other things like the tea is the use of quid instead of pound. Now, take me who talks practically daily with english people, I've kind of taken that to my vocabulary, and it was one of the things that people in here were really confused at. They thought that quid was one of the words that wouldn't be known and definitely not used by anyone except an english person, which I've now proven wrong. Have at it!
All of that has really made me think of the way things are being taught at schools in Finland. We put a lot of time in learning what preposition goes where and all that jazz, but we rarely, I dare say, focus on conversations and learning to actually speak the language properly instead of constantly fussing how the language is correctly lined. I know so many people who yes, know english, but are timid to speak because they're afraid they'll say something wrong. It's definitely a hinderance, as you'll only learn to become better if you go out there and get speaking.
- Now's also the moment that I put a disclaimer here – people learn in different ways, for some reading in the books is better, for some speaking aloud is better, for some something else works better. People, we are different, and that is fine! As long as we can have some kind of variation in our teaching and accomodate more needs than what I think is being accommodated, I'd be quite happy.
One of the dangers of England is the well known wrong-way-traffic. I've honestly lost count how many times I've almost been run over by a car, or that I've walked on the road, a car has stopped in front of me and neither have moved until I realise that I'm standing in front of another car who has the right to go before me. That's when I slip back to my side of the road and let the cars past (*shakes fist*). In Helsinki I'm more than confident enough to get myself in the middle of traffic and cross even really active roads if I need to get over in a hurry or whatnot. I also have the kind of mentality that ”I'm sure the cars will stop/pass me”, and yes, indeed, if you walk onto a road, they will. They might cuss at you, but he-hey, that's their patience gone, not mine! Here at Plymouth I'm practically sure that the cars would just run over me, simply out of making me an example. They might even come back and just secure the fact that I'd be a proper bloody pulp on the pavement, and then say something utterly british, like: ”Tally-ho, you sniveling piece of horse's arse!” (...what? My ideas of the english villain are fantastic stereotypes, don't take them away from me!)
- One of the things that I've also noticed is everyone calling you ”love” or ”darling”, which I kind of knew were stereotypic british things, but gods, I was not prepared. It does stop me on my tracks when I'm in the midst of something and I get called ”love” by some sales person for example right out of the blue. Like, wait, what, who, oh you mean, oh, yeah... okay. It's proper confusing, I'm telling you. That also makes me think that it'd be hard to understand when would english people really mean those words then, like if someone actually wanted to call you darling cause you are a darling. If you catch my drift? I guess it's just one of those things that you'd know.
…
Or you'd think you'd know. I might as well be bonked on the head with a club and not understand what had just happened.
Hello, yes, I'm blonde, yes, I often get made fun at due to it but it certainly doesn't make me stopping from making fun of myself! Though I don't know if anyone found that particularly funny. At least I'm entertaining myself (which isn't too big of a task tbh...)!
What else, what else? The english houses - they're incredibly cold! You'd think that a Winlander would be right at home in these kinds of enviroments, but oh, my goodness, no no. While my english flatmates are walking around in shorts and barefeet, I'm shivering in my long sweater, hoodie, woolly socks and long pants and more than certainly my hands are abslutely freezing half the time, which in turn makes me want to spook all of my flatmates by placing cold hands on their neck/face. I only realised that my radiator wasn't on a couple of days after I had moved into my student accommodation, so that also enhanced my idea of thinking that english people would probably prefer sleeping in an igloo if they'd have the chance... I personally enjoy the Winland's luxurious heating system, thank you very much. I'm picturing my sister dressed up in her wintercoat in this house, and the idea not only makes me giggle a bit, it also makes me miss her, bless her face.
I'm dead set on trying all sorts of english dishes as well – at my host Helen's place, where I stayed for around four night, she made Shephard's Pie and all that kind of incredibly good home-cooked food. Yesterday me and Sophie treated ourselves to Sunday Roast!
...I swear the english person who made up those names was drunk.
I'm looking forward to possibly meeting some old friends around here, so another thing to get excited about! Eek. So many things! So little time!
Ei kommentteja:
Lähetä kommentti