English Word of the Day...

Fortnight...

Now, I know this a word we've all heard before, but when saying your doing something in two weeks or for two weeks, do you really say that "I'm going on holiday for a fortnight." or "In a fortnight's time we'll be in the new year"? As it seems, the words that we've adopted from the British but dropped in the days of Lincoln, are still alive and well here in the mother country.

Okay, okay we were struggling for a word of the day...

Tomorrow we leave for Helsinki, Finland and I promise to have more interesting things to blog about on Tuesday when we get back!

Scarves--What are they good for?

So, one thing that is very noticeable in the limited wardrobe of the Brit is the scarf. Young or old, male or female, it is a staple. The thing we find strangest about it is the men that wear scarves without a coat, looped around their neck in a rather feminine fashion whilst being INSIDE. For instance, tonight we were at a sushi restaurant INSIDE the mall our tube stop is at. The manager of the restaurant was running around, making sure all of the patrons were happy wearing a HUGE wool scarf around his neck wrapped tight--as if he were wearing a neck brace. C'mon, he's got to be hot! This is not an isolated incident, we see it all the time--the British obsession with scarves! I must admit, in my efforts to 'fit in' and 'look like a brit' I have tried to wear a scarf and I just get hot and itchy. Truthfully, I don't even zip my coat here because it's just not that cold! Yesterday was the first frost for God's sake! It's JUST NOT THAT COLD! In relation to the scarf is the is female's wearing the pashmina. They wear it much like a scarf, but again, they're all wrapped up in it, and it's JUST NOT COLD! Maybe they have some kind of iron deficiency or something that causes them to be cold, but frankly at the quick pace that these people walk at, they should be breaking a sweat!

English Word of the Day...

The English Word for the Day is PUDDING...

Now, you may know what you think is pudding--the chocolate or vanilla, tapioca or my favorite rice variety. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to pudding here. They call dessert pudding--most every dessert is called pudding. There is a "Pudding Table" at a buffet, or you get pudding with your coffee after a meal. This time of year, especially, there are lots of different puddings out, most notably he Christmas Pudding, which, though I haven't tried it yet, seems to me to be a cross between a fruit cake and spice cake.

Socialized Medicine is the DEVIL!

Last weekend, some of our expat friends told us their woes of getting a General Practitioner (GP) so I decided before we actually get sick, I should sign up with one. How it works here, in the land of socialized medicine, is that you have to sign up with a GP within a 2 miles zone of where you live. Then, that's the doctor you go to for everything. There's no Ear, Nose, and Throat Guy, or an OB/GYN or an orthopedic. So I went on the NHS (National Health Services) website and found a doctor in my zone. Called, and they told me I couldn't register because I hadn't been in the country yet for 6 months. I didn't think that was right, so I called the NHS...yep, I went right to the top! They told me that there was no such rule, and to call back the doctor. Well, after trying to impose my English politeness and later my American pushiness, I still wasn't registered. I then called the local Hammersmith and Fulham Health Authority and reported them. They suggested I try another doctor, which I did and they said I could CERTAINLY come in to register, and that the were open from 2-7 that day. I went at about 10 after 2 and was told that the office manager, the only person in the whole practice that can register someone was out that day. Wouldn't that have been some good information to tell me over the phone? So, now I'm going to try again today to get registered. We'll see how that goes...All I know is that I get strep throat at least once per year, and I better be registered by the time that hits me!

You know, people rave about this socialized medical system they have over here, and I suppose it is okay once you're in, but all I know is that in the states I wasn't limited geographically, and I could go to any doctor I wanted as long as they were covered under my policy. And even if they weren't covered under my policy, I could still go, I'd just have to pay for it! Honestly, I feel like it's almost like communist Russia, having to wait in line for a loaf of bread or something...

English Word of the Day...

I realize I have been slacking on my English Word of the Day since Thanksgiving. Many apologies as I'm sure you've all been anxiously anticipating the next ridiculous phrase that we hear every day coming out of these Brits' mouths. Today's is a "Phrase of the Day":

You 'LOOK LIKE DOGS BREAKFAST'. This phrase basically refers to something being bad. In the example, the person is probably referring to someone who looks ill. It can also refer to an inanimate object such as a report or spreadsheet that is poorly done.

It may seem as though this is a one off, and perhaps it's just someone's thing to say. Maybe you're thinking of Paris Hilton's "That's Hot", but we've both heard this phrase on several occasions in different company.

Ah, The Laundry Crisis

As you know, if you've either read my blog or spoken to me, we bring our laundry out to get cleaned. Well, right now, we probably have more laundry than we ever have at the cleaners and it won't be ready until Saturday. I think it was the combo of being in Berlin and having lots of wet, gross clothes that caused the overload. Nonetheless, we have now run into somewhat of a laundry crisis. Mike is quickly running out of pants (underwear) and I am down to one pair of jeans--I'm good in the pants department. The clothes won't be ready until Saturday. Herein the problem lies! We leave for Helsinki at 5AM on Saturday and will be gone until Tuesday! Those who knew me in college remember that I also refused to do laundry there and would adopt a policy when I ran out of underwear (pants)--just buy more! Some I'm headed out today to get Mike some underwear. I know what you're thinking, wouldn't it be better to just do the laundry yourself so you always have your clothes in your house? NO! It's still better this way, and Mike makes out like a bandit and gets new stuff! Everyone's happy in the Racano house!

Springsteen Live!

The other day, Mike found out that Springsteen tickets were going on sale yesterday at 9AM for this show at the O2 Arena here in London. O2 is a mobile phone company here, and their customers get first dibs at tickets, so we weren't sure what would be available come 9AM, but we were able to get them! We're so excited to get to see all of these "American" things while over here. All we need in BonJovi to tour over here between now and July '09 and we'll be all set!

In other news, the countdown is on--14 days until we come home for Christmas! We've got pretty hectic lives until then, so it will be a welcome break to get to see everyone!