Think Before You Speak
This past weekend, Meghan, myself and our friend from Canada named Kim went to Edinburgh for a little trip. It was our second time in Scotland, and we were really hoping not to have to stand on the train on the way up there. Unfortunately this was not to be. Yet again, we were forced to stand in the area between cars for a few hours. This time, however, there were a bunch of other Americans with railpasses who were stuck standing with us (as well as some other British people). We were chatting, and I was just starting to think that these Americans were way less silly than some of the others we have encountered, and then this happened...
Meg and I were mentioning how grateful we were that people had offered to help us with our luggage on the London Tube on the way home, and one of the Americans replied with "Wow, that's very un-British!" Out loud. In a British train. Surrounded by actual British people. Who could hear us. I think you get the point. Anyways, I tried to distance myself by making a "I-can't-believe-he-just-said-that" face to the British guy beside me, and Meg did a good job of explaining how we have always found British people to be helpful, but still. I know that I shouldn't always assume that American travellers will be silly (because they definitely aren't always, and there are some equally bad Canadians out there), but this situation didn't really help with the stereotypes.
Other than the awkward moment on the train, we had a great trip. The weather was actually nice all week-end ("Wow, that's very un-Scottish!") and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I will try to post pictures in the next couple of days so that you can join in the fun too.
As for every day life in England, we got a bit of snow last week. It wasn't nearly enough to warrant a snow day - it was, after all, on the ground for a grand total of one or two hours. It did remind me of home though. I am also excited to report that our days are now a whole hour longer than they were when we first got back. This means that it is usually somewhat light outside when we go to catch the bus. Which means that I am usually in a somewhat better mood in the morning. Hey, anything that makes mornings slightly better is a great thing!
This past weekend, Meghan, myself and our friend from Canada named Kim went to Edinburgh for a little trip. It was our second time in Scotland, and we were really hoping not to have to stand on the train on the way up there. Unfortunately this was not to be. Yet again, we were forced to stand in the area between cars for a few hours. This time, however, there were a bunch of other Americans with railpasses who were stuck standing with us (as well as some other British people). We were chatting, and I was just starting to think that these Americans were way less silly than some of the others we have encountered, and then this happened...
Meg and I were mentioning how grateful we were that people had offered to help us with our luggage on the London Tube on the way home, and one of the Americans replied with "Wow, that's very un-British!" Out loud. In a British train. Surrounded by actual British people. Who could hear us. I think you get the point. Anyways, I tried to distance myself by making a "I-can't-believe-he-just-said-that" face to the British guy beside me, and Meg did a good job of explaining how we have always found British people to be helpful, but still. I know that I shouldn't always assume that American travellers will be silly (because they definitely aren't always, and there are some equally bad Canadians out there), but this situation didn't really help with the stereotypes.
Other than the awkward moment on the train, we had a great trip. The weather was actually nice all week-end ("Wow, that's very un-Scottish!") and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I will try to post pictures in the next couple of days so that you can join in the fun too.
As for every day life in England, we got a bit of snow last week. It wasn't nearly enough to warrant a snow day - it was, after all, on the ground for a grand total of one or two hours. It did remind me of home though. I am also excited to report that our days are now a whole hour longer than they were when we first got back. This means that it is usually somewhat light outside when we go to catch the bus. Which means that I am usually in a somewhat better mood in the morning. Hey, anything that makes mornings slightly better is a great thing!
posted by Carley | 9:34 AM
1 Comments:
oooh, immediately free download!!
Oh, the silliness of silly travelers, American or otherwise.
I'm glad that the weather was nice in Edinburgh, that is very un-Scottish. Hopefully the Scottish weather doesn't read your blog or we might have another awkward situation on our hands. Awkward is an awkward word to spell.
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