An American in Britain

My favourite season has always been fall, followed by spring. I love the changes that come with these two seasons. In the fall, nature winds down in preparation for the winter slumber. In the spring, nature reawakens and preens herself for the magnificent festival that is summer. Of course, all of nature does not follow this pattern, but for the most part, the trees and flowers do. The weather is relatively temperate compared to the extremes of the other two seasons.

I decided long ago that I could only live in four seasons. Having grown up in it, I could not give it up. I don’t think I could ever be induced to live in a place where it is practically one season, with some variations. Even if that season was either fall or spring. It just doesn’t work.

The places that I have lived in the US had satisfied my need for the four seasons, though some not as dramatic as others. I loved the autumnal colour changes, especially in New England. It was always the highlight of the fall, of course. But the smells of the autumn harvest were also extremely pleasant. Then when spring came, I looked forward to seeing the flowers pushing through the ground, the buds on the trees and bushes opening up.

I am very glad that England has four seasons, though the fall had not been very dramatic this year. Also, it was so short-lived. Perhaps, it was because we had so much on our minds that we could not fully enjoy the change in the season. However, this spring has proven to be quite wonderful. The daffodils that are spread everywhere provide such a beautiful landscape. Add to that the rustic scene of sheep grazing and lambs bleating.

But the scene I will probably always remember as being uniquely English in my experience is the blooming of the gorse bushes through the Ashdown Forest. The gorse is really an evergreen as it thrives, even in the winter. It even has flowers in the winter, but not to the extent that it does in the spring. Driving through the Ashdown Forest every day, I have noticed that the rich golden colours of the blooms rival those of the forsythia and daffodils, both of which are abundant in neighbourhoods around here.

I have never seen gorse bushes anywhere I’ve lived until now. They are not well-known for being pleasant because of their prickly nature and the fact that they are highly flammable. But I’ve learned that they are good for land reclamation. So, it has its uses. More importantly, I love viewing the splashes of colour that it provides to the forest.

I may not know the first thing about horse-racing, but I do know that it is extremely popular in the UK. I also know that my two daughters are horse lovers. So what better than to plan a family outing to see a horse race. There are racecourses a-plenty, and so many that are well-known. But which should we go to?

I saw an ad today for the Royal Ascot in June. The image of a socialite at the Ascot is what Americans often see and it is what we associate with British horse-racing. However, if you watch the regular horse races, that is not the case. The Epsom Downs racecourse is another very famous racecourse, which hosts several prestigious races in the year. The advantage is that you can watch this for free.

We’ll have to decide which event to attend, for the kids would love to see a horse race in person. Unfortunately, we will not be able to see the Grand National as it is this weekend and we have other commitments. Having seen National Velvet, we definitely want to be able to see this race at some point in the future.

I know many readers of this blog find their way here via search engines and often arrive at the small series of posts about acquiring a UK driving license. In order to keep the information complete and up to date, I’d like to add a note about the upcoming price changes I saw mentioned in last Friday’s Daily Telegraph newspaper.

From April 1st 2009, the fee for the theory test will rise to GBP 31 (from GBP 30), and the fee for the practical section of the test will rise to GBP 62 (from GBP 56.60).

As always, be sure to check the DSA web site for  the definitive answer to driving test related questions.

At first, I thought it would not be much different from the US, that it would not be too difficult to adjust. It has only been six months, so some may forgive us for not having completely settled. But we are finding some aspects very frustrating.

The language has not been a major obstacle, obviously; but at certain moments it does present a problem. There are all the colloquialisms, the jargon, pejoratives, etc., that I have never heard of. Sometimes it is the phrasing that confuses me. Another thing I have found is that the way a Briton answers questions is very different. In the US, you present a problem and even before you can frame a question, the other person delves into an answer that is all encompassing, even if the information may be superfluous. Here, the person will wait until you have asked your question and then attempt to answer it. If you have difficulty framing your question or if you think your question is implicit in your presentation of a problem, your listener may choose to look blankly at you. I don’t know if the person is purposely being obtuse or just does not want to appear foolish by answering a question that was not asked.

Driving is probably the worst issue. After driving in the US for 25 years, I will have to relearn practically everything. My husband already got his license, but it’s easier for him since he is from here (though he only started driving when he was in the US). It’s not just the traffic laws, it’s the road and driving on the other side. We thought when we moved here that we would be living near school and work. It has not turned out that way and we are driving more now than we did in the States.

Cost of living is higher in the UK and I cringe every time we get a bill or go shopping. I also had to get used to the metric system (for some things). Buying gas (petrol) by the litre rather than the gallon – and the British gallon is larger than the US gallon. I still haven’t refreshed my memory for converting Celsius and Fahrenheit.

When we imagined coming to the UK, we had a totally different perception of what it would be like. Reality never measures up to fantasy. England is no longer quaint little villages, pubs, and cosy cottages. The British culture has changed so much with the rise in immigration. In the US, we had the Mexicans. Here it is much more diverse, but Indians, Pakistanis and Eastern Europeans are probably the largest migrant groups. Sometimes I feel as if I’m not in England at all, but stuck in the middle of Southern Asia.  And I find it funny that in Britain, people referred to as Asians are Indians or Pakistanis; whereas, Orientals are those from the Orient.  In the US, they are all called Asians now because at some point in the last 10-15 years, it was non-PC to call them Oriental.

The children have settled into school, but it was difficult because of two reasons. One, they were previously home-schooled, so now they have to adjust to going to school. The other, of course, is that they are in a new country. There were moments they had problems understanding their friends or teachers. They have not picked up on the accent in their speech, but they sure do very good imitations of their friends’ accents. Sometimes they like to pretend they are English and they will sing with British accents.

There have been minor obstacles that have caused major issues for us, but overall, life is not much different from the US. Because of the worldwide recession, we are facing much of the same problems we would have had, had we stayed in the US – with the exception that we might have had a steady income. As it is, we are struggling to find a job. This, of course, has tainted our view and turned our dream into something of a nightmare.

America to Britain does not sound like much of a difference, but America to the Orient must be a major cultural shock.  Our LadyExpat friend from Canada, now living in Korea, has a visually awesome website, which seems to suggest she is having a wonderful time:

http://ladyexpat.multiply.com/

I never thought there would come a day when I’d miss my gas stove. Yes, we call it a stove in the US, but the English like to call it a cooker. Even the electric cookers over here are not quite the same as in the US.

Growing up, we had gas stoves but I was always scared of them. There was that “pop” just before the fire was ignited and sometimes it seemed the “pop” was very loud and the flame was going to come at me. Of course, it would be terrifying to a latch-key kid of 8 or 9 who was also responsible for the care of her younger siblings. I eventually got used to it and sometimes would get a rush of anticipation for the “pop”.

Later, we had electric stoves and I used electric stoves pretty much up until my last house, when renewing my acquaintance with the gas stove caused a little anxiety. Not to mention frustrating. I worried about gas leaking. I hated lifting the top to clean underneath. We had had various styles of electric stoves – some with flat tops that were easy to clean, others with the coils over a metal dish that can be replaced if it could not be cleaned.

I’m no gourmet chef, and my dinners are unimaginative, but they are usually edible. In the US, I may have messed up on recipes and infrequently, I may have been distracted and allowed a dish to burn. But I am finding that with the electric cookers here, I am more often than not, burning everything. Is it the cooker? Is it the pots and pans I’m using? Is it because I am not vigilant? These cookers are like hot plates that heat up quick but do not cool very rapidly. So if the directions tell me to bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, I end up boiling and not simmering. So everything burns.

I know it will take some getting used to, trying to find the right setting to get the right temperature, knowing when to turn down the heat (before boiling), etc., but it is more frustrating than it should be. If I slowly heat, starting with the lower settings, it takes forever to get to boiling. If I start at a high temperature to reach boiling sooner, I can’t cool down fast enough. I will have to experiment with the different settings – perhaps start at a high point but quickly turn it down. I find that I am baking more – making casseroles and such, as I really can’t mess with the oven settings.

Should Britain join in fully with the EU? It’s a strange question to me, coming from America. I had never thought about a “United States of Europe“. But here, it is a contentious issue. Having lived in several states in the US, I never really thought of each state independently. Yes, each state was independent and had their own set of laws, including tax laws, traffic laws, etc. But they were bound by common laws as well. I was used to it and never gave it a second thought.

But in Europe, where each country had been independent for so long, establishing a new relationship, whereby all member states would be bound by new, common laws, it can become contentious. The EU has been in existence for a long time now, but not all European nations are in it, nor are all those in it fully integrated. Britain is one that is partially joined with the EU. Now there are debates about whether they should join fully or even if they should withdraw.

I may not understand fully the history of the EU or how it currently operates, but I do know that member states must comply with all EU laws, regardless of how fully they are joined. All citizens of this European community have the right to come and go as they please within the EU. They have full rights in all the EU countries.

The reason that the issue is so contentious in Britain is that it is one of the few countries that suffer more as a result of membership in the EU. Because they have not fully integrated, Britain still has its own monetary system, using the sterling, but they do accept euros here. Proponents of the EU would like to see the sterling disappear as they fear that it is a more volatile market than the euro. If they are not part of the EU, Britain may suffer from competition. The EU green laws have imposed many new laws and regulations regarding energy usage. I have always thought of England as a green country, but not in terms of energy. Now “green” has come to have a different meaning. Everywhere you turn, you see “green” advertisements.

One of the biggest disadvantages I have seen is that Britain offers much more social benefits, such as free healthcare, than most, if not all, of the EU countries. That means that those EU citizens coming to Britain are entitled to all those benefits, while Britons going abroad may not receive similar tokens of goodwill in exchange. Because of this, immigration into Britain has risen over the years.

Immigration issues have been highlighted in recent months, with much anger towards immigrants taking jobs away from British workers. However, because criticism cannot be directed towards EU citizens, since those citizens have every right to come here and work (some at very low pay), the anger has been turned towards those immigrants from Asia and Africa. New rules are being put in place to curb immigration from outside the EU, but it will not solve the problems of immigration from the EU.

What feels strange to me is that you have different countries, with different languages, different cultures, different governments and laws joining together under a unified government. They may have different states in the US, but they have basically the same language, culture, and laws. An analogy to the EU would be to have all the North and South American countries unite. In the US, you have state as well as federal taxation. Though the EU does not tax its member states’ citizens, will that come in the future?

Well, the summer fun-fairs have just started to kick off. This weekend we attended the year’s first fun-fair in the local town of Uckfield, East Sussex. I’ve been told that, normally, fun-fairs and fetes start around Easter, so this was a little early. Compared to the US, where fun-fairs usually start around the Memorial Day weekend (last weekend in May), this is exceptionally early.

(It’s funny that people disparage the British weather, when it actually is milder than many parts of the US where I’ve lived. This explains why fun-fairs and other summertime activities start earlier and end much later than they do in the US. Summer events in the US are usually held between Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day (first Monday in September), but here it happens between the middle of March and ends sometime in October.)

There were other differences in the way the fairs are managed. In the US, you will see ride operators going around to manually check that everyone is properly strapped in before they begin the machines. Here, they relied solely on the machine working properly and did a visual inspection to be sure everyone has their straps on. The fair was set up in the park and as usual, litter was all over the place. In the US, they provided extra waste bins, but they filled up so quickly, and no one was emptying them, so litter was everywhere but for a different reason. Here, the only waste bins you’d find were the ones lining the perimeter of the park, and people just can’t be bothered to walk that distance.

The other frustration was that the fair operators did not provide any toilet facilities. They served food and drink but offered nothing for excretion. We were forced to go to the adjoining supermarket (Tesco’s), but for whatever reason, this supermarket decided to close their restrooms every night starting at 7pm. Since it was after 7pm, we then had to walk further to McDonald’s, always a reliable standby for emergency services. As expected, the kids then wanted to eat at the old Mickey-D. It was a bad business plan for the fair operators not to provide any toilets because now they lost out on the food custom.

The kids had a blast.  Ticket prices were very low (6 GBP per person, though we were charged 5 GBP), compared to how much we used to pay in the US ($15).  We realised that as we got older, our stomachs could not handle all the dizzying rides like they used to.

I’ll be seeing how all the other fairs and fetes are run before making any other comparisons. I’m looking forward to it.

After becoming so used to the way the US holds elections, it is difficult for me to understand other countries, including England, choosing to call elections when they want. In the US, there are general elections every four years for the presidency and every two years for governor, senate and congressional seats. Those in-between general elections where the presidency is not determined are called mid-term elections. And the date chosen is always the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. However, there may be local elections that are called as needed by local councils.

Here, I have no idea when elections will be held. There is talk that it will be next year, but that it might be moved up to this year. Who decides? The PM? In the US, because there is a time-scale to the election process, you see advertisements for political candidates starting at a specific time in the year. Here, I would find it difficult for candidates to campaign and get their message out to the people in time for them to delve into the politician’s background and beliefs. Candidates would have to campaign continuously because they may not have time to mobilise their staff once they find out the election date. As it stands now, the election could be as early as 3 months or as late as 15 months. The British public must be extremely well-informed when it comes to politics, such that they have no problems going to the polls when elections are announced.

This realm. This majesty. This England. Words from a United Airlines advertisement to promote tourism in England from some years back. It conjures up many images from childhood of a land of enchantment, fairy tales and legends, quaint villages, grand palaces, strong fortresses, good kings and queens, wicked villains, valiant knights, and humble peasants. Stories from books and scenes from movies all add to this image. Sometimes, reality does not live up to these fantasies.

“This England” is not the land it once was. I have always been an Anglophile, but I can see the changes that have been wrought over the years. I do not only mean the ethnic make-up of this country, though that certainly has affected the character of this country in recent times. Immigration has led to expansion in housing and modernisation of many towns and villages. Though there are groups working hard to preserve Britain’s heritage and ancestry, it is impossible to save or recreate what England once was. That’s why it is such a joy to find hidden treasures, which are becoming more and more obsolete.

Unfortunately, it is not just the foreigners who are changing or want to change the face of England. Some native Britons appear to have become jaded with the English culture. Some have called for an end to the monarchy. I realise that in recession, people can become jealous of the monarchy’s wealth, especially if it appears that members of that monarchy are not living up to expectations. However, since tourism still depends on the image of “Old England”, I say, “Long live the queen!”

Then, recently, there are reports on “the real Robin Hood”, called “Robert Hodd”. Okay, so maybe Errol Flynn wasn’t such a good guy after all, but he did look good in tights. Why do we want to de-romanticise such a legend? I’m sure I wouldn’t want to find a real King Arthur who turned out to have devils around a square table.

Perhaps, I still view England with rose-coloured glasses. But I’d rather do that than point to all its negative aspects or to take a positive feature and make it sordid. It’s very deflating to be constantly barraged with pessimism.

The cup of tea is a British institution that transcends bounds of class, generation and all other societal distinctions.

It is remarkable how uniform the art of tea-making is among the British, almost as if they are taught from the same age-old textbook at an early age.

After much observation and empirical research, here are my recommendations on making the perfect British cuppa.

A clean kettle and fresh water are the first two ingredients. Much of our region of the southern British Isles sits atop substantial chalk deposits. This could create a little more limescale than in your region, but I always recommend flushing out the kettle then filling with fresh water as needed. The quality of water can influence the taste of the end result, so if you are unhappy with the taste of the water from the tap then I recommend trying still bottled water from a spring. Soft water is ideal.

While the kettle is boiling, warm the teapot. I use a John Sadler earthenware pot and usually warm it by filling it with hot water from the tap. You can also warm it on the stove, or even in the microwave. China pots are just as good. Stainless steel teapots seem to be popular as they are not breakable and are often easier to keep clean than their china or earthenware counterparts, but some claim they dull the taste.

After warming, add the tea to the teapot. The amount depends on how strong you like your tea. I generally use one heaped teaspoon of leaf tea per cup, plus one for the pot. If using teabags, one teabag per cup, plus one for the pot.

As soon as the kettle boils, pour the boiling water in to the teapot, stir, replace the teapot lid and cover with a tea cozy. Allow the tea to steep for up to 4 minutes.

While the tea steeps, prepare the cups by adding a small amount of milk to each.

When ready, pour the tea through a fine mesh strainer, aiming to achieve a rich, appetising colour.