Things British People Say (Part Two)

Here are more things that British people say!!! Sorry if any of these are repeat! I don't think they are but who knows.

• Dodgems = Bumper Cars
• Crumpet = this thing that is KIND OF like an english muffin but not really, and is made differently and isn't flaky. English muffins don't really exist here. 
• crimbo = christmas
• biscuit = cookie. regular american flaky biscuits don't exist here.
• stag do = bachelor party
• hen party = bachelorette party
• drink driving = drunk driving
• fortnight = 2 weeks
• plaster = bandaid
• diary = calendar
• take away = take out
• rocket = Arugula, I think
• inverted commas = quotation marks. This one bothers me. They are not inverted commas in any way shape or form. Not only do they look different on the keyboard but a comma is singular and only goes one direction. That is why they have their own name, because they are nothing like inverted commas.

Other things:

Ranch dressing is not a thing here. Anywhere. Which means they are really missing out on "Ranch and chips" and by chips I mean fries :)

Flapjacks. Delicious little oat bar thingies. I could eat them always and forever if they are made right. The ones from Graze are especially delicious (note: you can get those from US Graze I believe).

The "V Hand Symbol," basically meaning a peace sign but palm facing you, is an insult to some people. I think that's going out of style but it's basically like "screw you."

Silver Linings!

So, life is better when you have things to look forward to. It really is. January was a really depressing month for me, probably because a) I had come back here to terrible weather from beautiful, sunny, warm Arizona, and without my closest friends and family and b) because WORK. SO MUCH WORK.

Credit: Allie Brosh, Hyperbole and a Half

I literally did not even leave my house in January except to go to school and like get groceries.

Every single weekend I stayed home.

It was awful.









BUT then I was like...hey maybe I should DO SOMETHING. Or at least set up something to go do and say I'm going to do it and then eventually do that thing. I was really keen to get some photographing of the city done but the weather, up until this last week has been HORRENDOUS.

Even the British people are up in arms about the amount of rain (so it especially annoys me when people are like "YOU MOVED TO LONDON WUT DID YOU EXPECT LOLOLOL!" NO. IT IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE THIS. /end rant)

Like seriously do you think this is normal? People riding their bikes through a flood every year? No. No it is not.

I digress. So anyway, I wanted to do something but people have a tendency to flake (no big deal, it happens, I do it to sometimes) and also have a SERIOUS lack of commitment up in this place, so I decided to just plan things on my own and enjoy being with myself, and if other people are around or join me then the more the merrier.

SO, I booked a ticket to Wicked. I immediately felt better, because I realized that having something to look forward to just makes all the hard things so much easier to deal with, because you can say "Well at least when this shit is over, I get to go to Wicked!" or something like that.

And so I went, and it was PHENOMENAL. Oh my goodness. So now of course I have the theatre bug. Which I always kind of had but nobody had lit a little fire under its little bug butt. UNTIL NOW. Seriously, Wicked was wonderful. I got a cheap seat, 2nd to last row in fact, for only £17.50+fees, and it was great. I couldn't see detail but I could see everything and didn't miss a thing. I really enjoyed myself and had no problem being alone at all (though truth be told if I had to choose to see it alone or with my friend Jenn who JUST LOVES Wicked, I would OBVIOUSLY pick Jenn.)

So now that my bug butt is on fire, I have also booked a ticket to...

The LION KING!!!! At the Lyceum. I got the cheapest seat I could get, which is not as cheap as Wicked but still not too bad. But hey, beggars can't be choosers, eh? I'm seeing it by myself again because I am super cool to hang out with.

And then I am seeing Titus at, I kid you not, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre!!! How surreal to see a Shakespeare play at his very own theatre. Yes, yes, the first one burned down in a fire and the second one was destroyed BUT they rebuilt this third one to look like the original and I'm going to pretend that's what it is. But who cares. It looks and feels like the original and you probably wouldn't have known if I didn't tell you that! I'm seeing it at night, in the summer, after exams are over in early June. By myself, but I am not bothered at all.

Yes, exams....ugggggggghhhhh. Let's not even go there. Again, my point about silver linings, they make everything better. Yes I have exams from May to June but AFTER THAT I get to see Titus. So whatevs. 

ALSO I have this horrible essay due very soon and I am working on it again tomorrow (in fact I must finish it tomorrow), but the silver lining there is I'M GOING TO DUBLIN ON WEDNESDAY!!! 

Then I get back and have another essay and then CLASSES ARE OVER FOREVER!!! Other than a few review sessions, but classes are over, thank goodness. I am so tired of them. Seriously, no academic classes ever again in my life. 

AND THEN, my darling BFF Sara (who, p.s., I talked to a psychic and that psychic said that Sara was my mom in a past life. It all makes sense now.) arrives on April 1st and then on April 3rd we are going to...

MILAN, ITALY!!!

I seriously can't wait for classes to be over, my best friend to arrive and my first trip to Italy to begin! I don't even know what to do with myself. In fact maybe my silver lining is shining a bit too bright and I will be blind to all the word I really need to do...woops!?

Honestly though, I've really worked my ass off and planned things quite well so that I get things done early in order to make these plans, so I think I deserve it. 

Anyway, what I'm saying with all this, that probably seems like bragging but I swear it isn't, is if you hate everything and just want to crawl into bed and never leave, like I sometimes do thanks to how awful graduate school is, make plans! They don't have to be really big plans like Italy, or even theatre plans...but make plans and DO something. Force yourself to. It seriously helps. I feel so much better. Not that I don't have my moments (I have them daily) but silver linings are really the best thing you can create for yourself to bring yourself out of a slump...and sometimes to another country!

You knew this was coming: A Graze Fan blog post.

GRAZE. I LOVE IT. Everyone knows this, at least if we are friends on Facebook. I make a weekly graze post about my box, with photos, and pimp out my friend code (AUBRIE35B) so that my friends can get 3 free boxes (your 1st, 5th and 10th box). I think 10 of my friends have done this so far, which is awesome, because it saves me £1 per box. And I am a grad student, so we all know that £1 is a lot of money to me.

Anyway, I decided to make a blog post about why I love it so much. And no, I (SADLY) do not work for Graze. Everyone keeps asking if I do or saying I should, but alas, I am just an obsessed consumer of delicious goodies.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages (seriously, there's a kids box!), I bring you

THE REASONS I LOVE GRAZE:

1) Options

The main thing I love is that there's so many options. On the UK website there are 144 different little boxes of deliciousness. You can search and sort them by key words like "peanuts" or use their handy-dandy dietary requirement thingy if you are more serious about your wants, needs and allergies.

With 144 options, if you get the once weekly box, it would still take 36 weeks to try all of them, which is brilliant because every box is JUST SO EXCITING.

Also, you have options about how often your box comes: 1x/week, 1x/2 weeks or once a month. I believe the US only has 1box/2weeks, whereas in the UK, we can get once weekly, and even a "one-off" box to be delivered whenever, if we want. I will weep tears of horrendous sadness if and when I move back to the US. I will weep even more tears if and when I ship off to a far away land with the Peace Corps. I highly doubt they have Graze in Namibia.

There are also different kinds of boxes, such as low calorie, breakfast, and kids!

Plus you can select items based on your preferences, after viewing photos and ingredients, and mark it so that they either send it to you often or NEVER EVER SEND IT (looking at you, spicy pistachios. YUCK.)

Here is what it looks like!

2) Great Customer Service

Seriously. WOW. The first (of 3?) times I wrote to Graze was to ask if they had considered a sort of box re-use or re-claim project. The boxes are recyclable (which I will talk more about below) but I wondered if they couldn't just re-use them and pick them up when they drop off the next week's box. They replied to me the same day. Apparently people like the idea of recycling but don't want someone's used box. Which is silly, but it's not Graze's fault people are dumb.

The third and most adorable time I messaged them was when my lovely grandma informed me that she was trying to buy me 3 boxes as a gift (they have that option!) but it wasn't taking her info, and that they didn't have a phone number. So I contacted them, gave them her email and asked that they contact her. And they did! And they CC'd me! AND they found a solution to the issue, and now I have 3 free Graze boxes from my grandma (shout out to the Notorious P.O.G!). How sweet are they to do that? I love it.

3) The Website/Easy and Awesome UI (send soon, bin/try/like/love, it's beautiful, selection, holiday)

Ahhhh the website. It is BEAUTIFUL. You can find it here. Seriously, it's the most user-friendly, visually simplistic and lovely website ever. It's better than Zappos (sorry Zappos). I love everything about the UI. Check out my latest box, which is a cool option as well!

I love that you can BIN/TRY/LIKE/LOVE things (as seen above), and it remembers your preferences. I love that you can click on the date the box was delivered and immediately see the contents. It even allows you to see the FULL ingredients of each packet they send you (and the box comes with the nutrition facts).

There's also a send soon option on the UK site (sorry, USA) which lets you get it in one of your next boxes if it's available (it's worked so far!). The selection of things is super easy and you can just click on a category ("flapjacks," "dips & dippers," etc.) and see all the wonderful treats that could soon be in your belly.

ALSO, and I love this especially, you can set when you're going to go on holiday and suspend your box for whatever amount of time. This is great especially because some items (like the olives) are perishable if not eaten in a timely manner. My box never lasts more than a day because I eat it so quickly, so I have yet to have this problem...but if I was gone for two weeks, it might lead to disappointment! This way, I don't have to worry.

The rewards program is also super simple. It even tells you who joined using your code. Then you can choose to get your £1 off or donate the £1. Sadly, I am not ready to donate my precious friend rewards, but maybe some day!

4) Accountability

My box is always on time. And only 1 time ever did they say they sent something and it turned out to be something else. No big deal. I wrote them and they said that item (Hello, Graze Brownie) would be in my next box. AND. IT. WAS.

5) Taste

Everything is so delicious. Nothing more needs to be said about this. And if I don't like it, I just bin it and never have to see the offending food ever again. But it's mostly because I'm picky, and not because Graze isn't tasty.

6) Health/Environment

So the cute brown box that fits perfectly in my mail slot is made form sustainable trees and is 100% recyclable! YEEEEE. And I clean out the plastic packs and recycle those as well. I wish they were made from something other than plastic, but I think Graze is doing as good a job as they can with it so far. I'd be interested to learn more about their sustainable practices, but for now that's all I know. Either way, I love it.

Also, most of the food is relatively or super healthy. You can choose what you get and how healthy YOU want to be. Also the ingredients are on everything. As a semi-paleo person, they use a bit more soy product than I prefer, but it's so low on the amount that it isn't too much of a concern. Also, there are PLENTY of options for me if I wanted to go completely soy-free. They list the ingredients of every single thing on the website, and send nutrition facts with your box. And of course there's the low calorie box I mentioned before. Also they label the different packets with symbols, letting you know what's low-cal, or a good source of vitamins or fibre!

So, in conclusion readers....get Graze. You will not be disappointed. And if you are, you can cancel at any time, even after your first free box! It's cost effective, at least in my opinion, at £3.89/each!

British Grading System: Confusing Americans Since 1776 (or something)

So. The British school system. I don't really understand it. I know that they call high school "college" and then college is called "university" or "uni" but other than that...it's complicated. Everything else I know comes from Harry Potter...they call math "maths"....there's people called "first years," which are like freshman but I think they are younger than our freshman in America. Also they have weird things like the "Head Girl/Boy" and "Class Prefect," whatever the hell that means. 

Here is a stock photo of some confused girl. 

When I taught school in Ghana, due to their previous British colonization, they had a school system somewhat like the UK. However, I only taught "Form 1" and "Form 2" students and they were all so mixed up and so behind for their age level that it didn't really mean much to me other than their general ages, which was mostly guessing on my part. I also had a class prefect who did my bidding, basically, which was lovely. His name was Ofeh and he was really smart and I miss that kid. He was my obvious favorite. Ah, memories.

But I digress. BACK TO BRITAIN!

So I didn't think much when I moved here about the differences in all this sort of thing. Who cared if I called it college or uni? But what I didn't think about was the grading system. It's such a mess. It defies mathematical logic, I tell you.

So I wrote my first essay, and it was 750 measly words (as it was supposed to be), which, let me tell you, is not enough words to make for a good an argument about international politics or international law. Anyway, I didn't put in a ton of effort as it wasn't going to count for anything and I had other things to do, so I didn't expect an A...probably a B. Well, I get the paper back with the comments and the grade and it says something like "58."

So of course, I FREAK THE @(#*$& OUT. 58?!??!?! I FAILED?! AN F?! I basically had a panic attack and momentarily died. I have never gotten anything less than a B except once, and I fixed that paper and turned it into a B+. Usually I get an A- on things (hello bane of my existence in undergrad), especially things I write because I am a good writer, and my mom is a brilliant woman who helps me edit all the time. (Thanks momma, love youuuuuuuuu!!! xoxo)

So I decide that maybe their system is weird, because one time on the bus a classmate of mine told me something about "nobody ever gets above a 70."

So I google, and I look on my schools website. It turns out this is basically true.

A 70, in this land of mathematical discord, is an A (in university, anyway). You can in fact get above a 70 (if you're a magical unicorn or Albert Einstein or just a super over-achiever who makes everyone else look bad - I'm looking at you, war studies guy who got a 90 something on his thesis last year!) but it's not likely. Basically anything above a 70 is exceptional and publishable, but anyone who gets close to a 70 should be overjoyed. (Why a 70 BASICALLY equals 100% instead of 100 equalling 100% is anyone's guess.)

So my 58, or whatever I got, is actually just fine. It's still a B, it's just some weird alien form of a B. (Like an old Cylon toaster model instead of a Caprica Six)

So in addition to this they have these weird grading scales, called like "a first" (a 1st) and "a second"(a 2:1) and "a third" (2:2) and after that there's some other things. Here's a chart comparing it to the American system:

Basically if you get anything less than a 2:1, places won't want to hire you. Which makes sense, because that would be a 2.5 GPA or less in America, which is horrible. It's like a bunch of C's. So, here's hoping I get a 2:1 and never ever go back to grad school ever again in my life. CHEERS TO THAT. And God save The Queen.

I know, wrong Queen.

P.S. I'm totally not trying to dump on the British system here but logically and mathmatically, the American one makes way more sense. There are plenty of British things that make more sense then American ones, but this, sorry, is not one of them. 

Tea...

I just realized British people put MILK in their TEA.

MILK IN TEA. WHO DOES THAT?!

More updates on British tea once I finally have High Tea some time in April. I probably won't be putting milk in it though...

Things British People Say (Part 1)

I am continuously compiling a list of things British people say that we (Americans) do not. Here is what I've got so far!

• Wellies = Rain Boots (I said "I need rain boots" the other day and a British person was like...you need what?!" They had no idea what I was talking about and didn't make the obvious connection until after I explained.)
• Pavement = Sidewalk
• Lorry = Truck (I had to google this one after seeing it in a local paper.)
• Coach = Bus that takes you a longer distance than a city bus
• Underground = Subway (if you say Subway they assume you mean the sandwich place, which apparently does exist here somewhere.)
• Pants = Underwear
• Trousers = Pants
• P&P = S&H (Their version stands for "postage and packaging")
• Jumper = Sweater
• Boot = Trunk of a car
• Fancy Dress = Costumes/themed outfit
• Half Ten/Half Twelve = 10:30/12:30. They don't say it like we do, "ten thirty" or "twelve thirty"
• "In a bad way" = not well, not feeling good, doing badly. Saw it in an article about a cyclist who got hit by a car. Also heard it being used to describe someone's drunken night out when they drank far too much. 
• Parcel = Package
• Post = Mail

Words they just say often:

• Proper
• Brilliant
• Lovely
• Quite
• Have a laugh/it was a laugh 

Music: A change of taste.

It's really interesting to me how my music tastes have shifted since I got here. I still like all the same bands (and some new ones) and music, but what I actually choose to listen to is different.

As you all know, because I repeatedly tell you without mercy, London is very loud. It's also very busy and there are just a metric crap-ton of people everywhere, all the time. The only time I get silence is if I come home from a late night, around 11pm, or 3am, or the like. I love and cherish those quiet, near silent walks home in the dark with just the streetlights to guide my way. Sometimes I see the city foxes running through the slats in the park fences and I say hello, but at those quiet hours in my neighborhood it's like no one else exists but me...and it's so enjoyable.

But that brings me to music. When I was at home in Arizona, up until I left I was enjoying quite a bit of electronic music, dub-step and music with a much more rapid pace to it. Also lots of pop music and catchy things that you might hear on the radio. But now that I am in London, a place so busy and fast and populated, all I want to do is have a peaceful melody with which to drown out all the other sounds.

And thus, I present to you a few songs from a few artists that I have been OBSESSIVELY listening to, on repeat: Ellie Goulding, The Oh Hello's, The Civil Wars, and Birdy. (And no, I have not stopped listening to Paramore, duhhhh).

I suggest is that you play these whilst browsing the internet, or browsing photos of rainy England or something. Or just press play, take a deep breath and close your eyes. Enjoy the quiet and the serenity!

Ellie Goulding - Explosions

The Oh Hello's - The Lament of Eustace Scrubb

The Civil Wars - Devil's Backbone

Birdy - Shelter

Paramore - Future