‘Americanisms’ the English didn’t know existed…

Where do I begin? Do you know how you’re doing a task and after some time you realise there would have been an easier way to do it, but because you are too stubborn and nearly done you continue to spend extra time struggling, doing something the harder way? Yeah, well that’s basically what it’s like to be an American in a nutshell. Seriously, why do we still think it’s better to measure in cups rather than in grams? Do we know there is a better way, or do we just delight in being different? I’m presuming the latter is true. Anyway it was to my surprise that in coming to England, I wasn’t going to discover the quirky habits of the English, instead I was the eccentric one with all my weird phrases and overly priced notions of healthcare insurance.

I’m exaggerating quite a bit, but given how my interactions have gone lately, Brits are more fascinated with America than what I was made aware of. Honestly, I assumed the Brits–just to be polite–would ask me a question or two about growing up in America and then we’d call it a day. To my surprise, I’ve had a lot of fun these past weeks having debates on the differences of English schooling systems and the debunking of these things I shall just categorise as “Americanisms”. My 101 course has led to many hours of being drilled on the “Do Americans [insert mad lib choice of verb or noun]?” They are quite easily shocked by these things I completely saw as generic and even mundane. My favourite inquiry was whether, “American high schools actually had lockers?” Yes, we do. And yes, there are those individuals who go the extra mile to decorate the insides of their lockers. Have I ever done that? No. Did I do half the things Americans do in high school, like go to dances? No. But yes, after an American football game, there is a popular dance called “homecoming.” And yes, people do get ‘hyped’ for them and go all out. Not as much as we do for prom, but our school dances are a rite of passage in many ways. Strangely, I also didn’t realise it was an American (and not a British tradition) to celebrate graduating high school. I no longer feel this is as grand of a feat to have achieved if apparently cap and gown ceremonies are only reserved for university level studies. I wonder, “Do Americans have fragile egos?” because we certainly need to be reminded of our achievements often and we have an odd sense of pride for being well, odd. I mean seriously, don’t get me started on why we are the only ones who measure in Fahrenheit. These kinds of queries are the ones that will help me unlearn my Americanism by the end of my studies.

Now don’t get me wrong, being an American is not all bad. In fact, when I was riding home on the bus the other evening, several passengers and myself were trying to get off, but the bus driver had not opened the doors. Unlike the London Tube, there is no button to encourage the doors open, so patiently and silently we all hoped the bus driver would realise their mistake. As I watched the last person board the bus and given the bus driver was still clueless, I quickly piped up and said, “Back door, please” and the disaster was averted… Okay yes, the bus stops are fairly close to each other, so had we all had to get off the next stop, we would have survived. But there is just such anxiety and annoyance when you end up at the wrong stop. There’s that extra walk you weren’t planning on and the reorienting yourself that no one likes to do even on a good day. So, in the nick of time we were all spared from that torment. And for the Londoners on the bus, they were especially relieved given they had just avoided the most traumatic experience of having to confront the driver about opening the doors. I mean really, what could be worse than having to tell a stranger how to do their job? (So many things, but this is up there.) People were supposed to just know what to do. The order of things must not be obstructed or changed, it was simply meant to run smoothly like clockwork without having to nudge a bus driver to open a (bloody) door. I may have a slightly sarcastic or teasing tone, but as I studied in the book, Watching the English by Kate Fox, this really is a concern British people have. And to be fair, it’s how I function too. The only times I see English people making eye contact with one other is when it happens accidentally and everyone just pretends to be staring off into space and acting as if it didn’t happen. In fact, the other day it was a complete anomaly to have a Tube conductor using the train speakers purely for entertaining commentary. And boy was she hilarious. Not so much laugh out loud, but the smiling and enjoying oneself that even Londoners were chuckling and acknowledging each other’s existence. It was a strange but beautiful day indeed.

So my dear readers, there you have it. I shall always be an American while I’m in England. I may even occasionally have to be the representative for an entire country, from time to time. Besides that pressure, all has been well while I have been here. I look forward to sharing a more in-depth experience of my studies and reflections in my next blog post. Cheers!