Wednesday 23 March 2011

Things that make people go 'huh?'

I've been living in England for almost two years now. You would think that, coming from a country with quite strong ties to 'the mother country,' people could understand the words/phrases that I use and things that I do....right?

Um, nope.

Since I arrived here, there have been a few things I've said/done that have made people go 'huh?!?!?' The current list includes:


  • Keeping my chocolate in the fridge - in Australia, we add an extra additive (I think) to help stop it from melting. I still kept mine in the fridge though. Tastes better (I think), and also stops it from melting approximately 5 seconds after you open the wrapper and stick hot, sweaty fingers on it.
  • Pronunciation of certain words - the main two that spring to mind are 'pasta' and 'yoghurt.' All the British people I've met pronounce both words with a short vowel sound, I say both words with a long vowel sound. Makes people look at me funny every time I say either word.
  • Different words for the same thing - again, there have been two main ones that I learnt pretty quickly: thongs (flip flops to the British), and pants (trousers to the British). For any Aussies who may read this; I don't recommend using either thongs or pants to refer to what we understand them to mean....over here both words refer to a type of undergarment.
  • Sports terminology - what I know as soccer, the Brits know as football. What I know as football (Australian Rules football), the Brits look at me and go 'huh?'
That's all I can think of for now. For however long I remain living here, I'm sure other things will pop up.....I'll try and remember and blog about them.

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