Current Residence: London, UK

Adjusting to Life

As of Sunday, November 6th, 2011 I am not watching football (or 6/11/11 as they write in the UK). If I was in the states this would be extremely odd and I have been contemplating purchasing the NFL GamePass subscription to keep up with the games. Tonight my team, the Steelers, are playing Baltimore (HUGE rivalry) but the game is at 8PM which means it will be on at 1AM my time. I can watch the re-run via the gamepass but I must admit, watching the game live is really the only way I want to go. Maybe this will change over time.

Other interesting things that I have since learned/adapted to:

• In suburban ville I could drive up to an hour to visit my family and at least an 1.5 hour to go to my client's office. I don't have a car in London and travel by walking or public transportation. My morning route includes waiting at the bus stop for at least 10 minutes and then standing on an overpopulated bus for 25 minutes till my stop. It still beats route 1 in Princeton! Anecdotal story - my first bus was without an audio reference and I basically kept hopping on and off a couple of buses till I arrived at my destination. I was extremely jet-lagged and confused and since then have only encountered one other bus that didn't have audio support on the bus. Audio support = so much easier!
• The UK has significantly better commercials - much more entertaining and amusing
• Everything around you suddenly has an English accent. I remember listening to a couple of videos on Youtube and the commercials were with British-speakers. This was to be expected but suddenly I realized my world completely changed.
• It's not a "line" it is a que
• The Brits use quite a bit of slang - from the news to reality TV
• The UK has all of the same shows and movies (if only a tad delayed)
• Everyone (and every office) has a kettle - tea and instant coffee are automatic. (I love this change!)
• Fountain Soda is pretty much obsolete - I pretty much have eliminated Diet Coke from my diet. I miss it but tea is better!

UK News Items

The EU Budget crisis has been top of mind the last few weeks. Currently trying to determine how Greece will proceed and the impact on the rest of the EU

The other big item in the UK is Armistice day - the 11th hour of the 11th day of November signals remembrance of those who gave their lives in the war. Everyone from reporters to co-workers have been wearing a poppy flower as part of this remembrance. Apparently there is an appropriate etiquette associated with wearing this flower.