Wednesday, August 21, 2013

UK 2013 - What is in a word? Try asking me for my age.

On this trip we have both learned something new. Here are the British words we've learned:
  1. Satnav - GPS
  2. Bap - a bread roll
  3. cam - mashed potato with scallion or something.
There is also holiday and toilet.
I am still trying to say holiday instead of vacation.
And I have made quite a lot of progress with the word toilet (it sounds so crude) for bathroom. Toilet has been a huge mind battle for me since last time we were here. It just sounds wrong. For the whole 16 days we stayed in the UK in 2011 I just could not utter that word. I always went to a British person decided to overcome my awkwardness and ask in their dialect, "Where are the toilets, please?" But as soon as I opened my mouth, my brain said, "No you're not saying that." And I would say the word restroom instead.
The word toilet was just too crude - my rational side said yes, and that is about it. Every other part of me said, "are you crazy?" This is comparable only to the answer to question "How old are you?" I also can't say those words.  ... I hate when I go to the doctor and I see my chart on her hands, and those numbers are staring back at me... I know what they are, and in a normal situation I can most definitely say them. I just can't pronounce them as a reply to the "How old are you?" question. The reply to that question is 21. Or, if I am really pissed off, I just say something rude like, "What kind of a question is that?"


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