Are you all right?

"Are you all right?" That's how people greet each other here...it's still pretty funny to me.  If some one were to greet me with those words in the States, I would think...."do I not look alright? Do I look like something is wrong?"  But here, it's the equivalent of "how are you?"  I'm still not able to say it the english way.

I'll never forget a conversation that we had with a family that we met at church.  They invited us over for coffee and we were talking about how we were lucky that we moved to England and not some other country where we don't know the language..."Avery at least speaks English."  Our friend said..."well eventually he will."  And we all just laughed.  There are definitely some language differences...so much so that I say that we speak "American" not "English."  Here's a list of a few that I've encountered.

"Sort it Out" = "figure it out" in American.
Going out for "coffee" = Going out for "tea" usually, coffee if you prefer
"Tea" = Dinner
"Dinner" = Lunch
"Pudding" = Dessert, not matter what the kind, cookies, cakes, custard, icecream
"Sweets" = Candy, most children have never heard of candy
"Cheers" = Thanks
Doing something "in anger" = Doing something excessively or repeatedly
"Trousers" = pants
"Pants" = underwear....THIS IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW
"Trainers" = sneakers
"Car Park" = parking lot
"Torch" = flashlight...love that one...it's like before batteries were invented!
"Dual Carriageway" = 4-lane highway, though we don't see too many carriages anymore
"Quid" = like a "buck" but for the British pound
"Half Five" = 5:30 and the same goes for the other half hours of the day
"Hire" = rent
"Garden" = yard
"bangers" = sausage, we've heard that they are called this because sausages used to have too much fat in them so when you would cook them they would explode!
"surgery" = doctors office
"petrol" = gas
"squash" = concentrated juice
"lorrie" = 18-wheeler truck
"boot" = the trunk of your car
"bonnet" = the hood of your car
"wind screen" = windshield of your car
"trolley" = shopping cart

So now you've all had a little "English" lesson!

Crisps

OK, let's get the lingo straight.  Fries in America are called Chips in England, so Chips in America are called Crisps in England....got it?  Can I just say it's hard for me to say the word crisps...oh well.  The interesting thing here is that you can't buy a big bag of crisps here to open up and pour into a bowl for a party.  A big bag of Crisps will have 12 little single serving size bags in it.  This is such a great way to help us regulate our consumption of really yummy but "bad for you" snack, though it's probably worse for the environment.  The only exception to this that I've found so far is Doritos and Pringles.  Doritos come in a medium size bag with just Doritos in it, no little bags. And Pringles come in tubes just like at home.

Let's talk about brands...does the brand logo on the Crisps on the left look familiar to you?  They're called Walkers, but the logo looks identical to Lays.  I've noticed that with several brands here...same logo, different name.  Walkers was a British Potato Crisp Company that arose during World War II, but it's now owned by Frito Lay.  The crisps are the same style as Lays, but the flavorings are very different.  It seems that almost every flavor of potato crisp has a vinegary taste to it.  The bag on the left side of the picture came with 4 kinds of crisps in it: Ready Salted, Cheese & Onion (which isn't really that cheesy), Salt & Vinegar, and Prawn Cocktail (also very vinegary). 

The bag in the middle of the picture, also a Walker product, contains 6 bags of "Sun Bites".  These are exactly like American "Sun Chips" with the exception of the seasoning.  I don't think that these ones have much of a vinegar taste, but they do come in a few different flavors.

Doritos are flavored differently as well.  There aren't as many varieties as in the States, and the basic Dorito appears to be the "Tangy Cheese" flavor which is a milder cheese taste than Doritos at home, less spicy.  I actually really like them, which makes it unfortunate that they're not individually portioned!

So far it looks like Pringles are exactly like American ones, same seasonings and everything...though probably less variety.

Well now you know a little about snack foods in England!

Cheers!

While "Cheers" is a word that we Americans use on occasion when sharing a drink or making a toast...it's used very differently here.  So far, what I've noticed is that people say "Cheers" when they are saying good-bye or thank you.  You hold the door open for someone, they say "cheers". You sign off on a phone call, you say "cheers".  You part ways with a friend, you say "Cheers." Kind of neat, I'm sure I'll pick it up soon and then have to break the habit when we return.

Cheers!