Browsing Category

Expat Life

Expat Life

Welcome to the Olympics

The Olympics have finally arrived in London. And I have to say, even though I won’t be making it to any events, I will enjoy being part of the overall celebration here in England. It’s really been a summer full of national pride that began with the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations.

I’ve also realized that the summer Olympics now represent a significant milestone for me as some of my first memories when I moved to the UK were of watching the Beijing Olympics. I’d moved here just a week or so before they began. This year I will once again appreciate watching the Olympics through a different lens, one not edited by the American media machine. The BBC in fact will be providing the most comprehensive Olympic coverage ever, broadcasting all 2500 hours of competition. All without commercials.

And I’ll appreciate that I now have two countries to cheer for. Go team USA! Go team GB!

July 27, 2012

Expat Life

Getting to Know the UK: Lost in Translation

When I talk to my family in America these days, they marvel at what they describe as my “British accent.” Me, I don’t think I have a British accent, certainly not compared to born and bred Brits. But what I do think I’ve developed is a way of speaking more British and maybe that comes across as an accent.

I can understand why people might have thought Madonna was trying on a fake British accent while she lived here. But now that I’ve been here several years myself, I don’t think she was intentionally faking anything. When you live somewhere long enough, you just instinctively pick up the language and start to sound a little more like the locals. (And trust me, British English and American English are not the same language).

When I speak now I do emphasize different syllables. But it’s really in the vocabulary that I think I’m becoming British. Initially, I found myself translating on the fly to ensure that whoever I was talking to understood what I meant. Like when I called to book my car in for service because the hood wouldn’t shut. The hood? Oh, I mean the bonnet. But now those words have become second nature.

A Bit of the Lingo I’ve Picked Up

I’ll ask where the lift is instead of the elevator.

I say “to be fair” all the time now. As in “That was the worst movie ever. But, to be fair, it starred Channing Tatum so I should have known better.”

I’ve learned that you’ve got be very careful when using the word pants. It’s OK to compliment someone on their trousers, but their pants (underpants), well that’s a little too intimate.

Spell check on my corporate laptop, set to use UK English, was forever reminding me of my inappropriate use of the letter “z” (realise, virtualise, capitalise) or the ending “er” (centre).

I make great use of the word bloody. I feel like I’m cursing without actually cursing. Like when I went to pull a weed and found out it was a bloody stinging nettle. Ouch.

My son and I walk down the pavement (sidewalk) to get to the playground. Once we get there, he loves a go on the roundabout.

Transportation is full new words. I put the groceries in the boot (trunk), fill-up with petrol (gas), and wash the windscreen (windshield). When I’m not on the motorway (interstate), I’m thankful to come across a section of dual carriageway (4-lane road) where I can pass muppets (idiots) driving caravans (RVs). Once in the car park (parking lot), I’ll take a twenty point turn to negotiate into a parking space that was never intended to fit an actual car.

Any my son’s favorite transport word, lorry (truck). We are always drawing big lorries, making big lorries, and spotting big lorries on the road.

It’s not ads that annoy me on the television anymore its adverts.

Aubergine (eggplant), courgette (zucchini), biscuit (cookie), and bap (sandwich roll) are all great examples words I’ve picked up at the grocery store. And when you head to the pie section in the shop you’ll be disappointed to find a selection of meat filled creations instead of confections to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Ask for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and you will get lots of funny looks. Because 1) why would you put peanut butter on a sandwich and 2) why on earth would you then top it with Jello? (Jelly = Jello). And even if you say peanut butter and jam you’ll still get a few funny looks as they don’t understand why you’d put those two things together.

And meal times, well, I’ve been caught in the lunch vs dinner vs tea triangle. When I tell my son, “you can watch some TV after dinner,” I mean in the evening, around six o’clock. He thinks this means he can watch TV after lunch. (Dinner = lunch; tea = dinner).

The rubbish (trash) goes in the bin (trash can). Or just use the word rubbish to describe something you don’t like. My son, he’s already happy to tell me that my clay creations are rubbish.

My first week at work someone asked me to meet with them in a fortnight. A fortnight? I didn’t think that word had been used since Shakespeare’s day. I immediately said, “sure, no problem. That time works for me.” Then I went to look up how long a fortnight was. Two weeks by the way.

I don’t vacuum around the house, I hoover.

I think whinge is far superior to whine. It just sounds more like what it means. Oh, stop whinging.

My son has several books that include the word titchy (small).

On a recent trip to America, a friend of mine bought some flashcards for her son and she asked me to translate the one with the word “bummed.” Oh, that means disappointed. Here it means, well, I’d rather not say.

And the one I struggle with the most, hands down, the letter “z”. Because how can I keep ending the Alphabet Song with “Zee” when my son is going to learn “Zed” in school. But “zed” just makes Dr. Seuss’s ABCs end on a really sour note.

This is part of my ongoing series about understanding life in the UK, an exercise that’s helping me study for my Life in the UK test. Plus, I thought it would be interesting to share some facts and observations about this country I’m living in before it takes the world stage this month when the Olympics come to town.

Getting to Know the UK: Or Why Universal Health Care Isn’t Evil

The UK healthcare system was just a small paragraph or two in my Life in the UK studies (passed the test by the way!). But I have a lot to say on this topic so it gets its own post. You see I know a lot about health care systems. In university, I studied health care administration at both the Bachelors and Masters levels and I worked in the American health care industry for years at variety of insurance companies, hospital organizations, and physician practices. But more importantly than that, I use a lot of healthcare services. A lot. That what happens when you have a chronic disease.

And, for me, I prefer the UK system, a two tier system combining what I think is the best of public and private. Access to a standard of care for everyone and access to amenities for those willing and able to pay for them. Don’t get suckered into believing all the “socialist” propaganda you see in the American media. Unless you’ve experienced living in a country where they have public health system, you really don’t know. You’re speculating and speaking out of fear. I’m not saying the UK system is perfect, it’s not. But I left a full-time job to become a stay at home mother and did not worry that I’d become uninsured and lose access to doctors and medicine. What I do worry about is ever returning to the US where I would likely be uninsured or find myself paying exorbitant insurance premiums.

How a Public / Private Partnership Can Work

The National Health Service (NHS) has been in place since 1948 providing access to care for everyone, funded by taxes, and free to everyone at the point of use (except for prescriptions and dental care). But there is also a booming private healthcare industry in the UK. Private companies that provide health insurance and build their own hospitals and medical centers. But the important distinction is that this insurance is in addition to, not instead of. So for example, things like basic maternity care are typically not covered by private insurance (at least not by mine). These basic services fall squarely in the lap of the NHS.

Private health insurance is available to anyone with the means to pay for it privately and many employers now offer it as a perk, an enticement to come work for them in today’s competitive environment. I’ve had the luxury of having private health insurance, first through my employer and then on my own (and it’s affordable). But here’s the difference, I know that without this, I will still have access to all the care I need, still have access to the same doctors. So why even bother with private medical insurance?

Well, because I’m making a conscious decision to pay out-of-pocket for something which the NHS doesn’t offer, something that I value. Amenities. The biggest difference I see between the care in the US and the care in the UK, it’s all superficial. It’s in the aesthetics and the amenities. The waiting room chairs at NHS facilities are straight out of the 1970s, worn and tattered, and the decor plain and dull. There aren’t posh waiting rooms with aquariums and fancy maternity suites that serve you steak and champagne. But absolutely none of this relates to the quality of care I receive. In fact, I’ve been seeing doctors in America for years with my Crohn’s and it wasn’t until I moved here that I finally found one who genuinely took an interest in my health outcomes and me as a person. A doctor who is on the leading edge of Crohn’s research and treatment and one of the world’s leading experts on my disease, all on the NHS. But a stay in a private hospital, well, it’s admittedly a more pleasant experience. But it’s an experience for which I fully understand the premium I’m paying.

And here is fundamentally where I think the American system has gone wrong. Americans expect to have nice furnishings in the hospital, they want to feel nice and cozy as if they were at home. They want to sit in a doctor’s office surrounded by designer furniture. But how many people put two and two together to understand where the money comes from to pay for those amenities? Is free TV in every room really worth having people in society that have to make decisions around whether to buy medicine or food?

Follow the Money

The current debate in America around the Affordable Healthcare Act is frankly just partisan nonsense fueled by the influence of special interest groups. All you have to do is follow the money. Insurance companies, drug companies, and hospitals aren’t altruistic organizations. They are not in the business of making you healthy. Insurance companies in particular are in the business of figuring out how NOT to pay for your health care services because that’s how they make money. I once worked for a HMO and I left after a very short time. I watched decisions get made in the interest of profit and not in the interest of people’s health, and, well, it made my skin crawl. These organizations must be profitable in order to support the demands of their shareholders and American consumers that expect a Rolls Royce at Honda prices. And they have large influential interest groups that make sure politicians find it difficult, if not impossible, to make policies that restrict their ability to make money, especially in a political environment seemingly incapable rational bi-partisan compromise.

I’m certain that the Affordable Healthcare Act isn’t perfect and has many flaws. But it is a step towards making healthcare accessible to everyone within the constraints of the system that’s in place. Would it be better to start from the ground up creating something like the two tier system in the UK? I think so. Because in my opinion having so many intermediaries in between an individual and accessible healthcare is inescapable minefield. But you can’t just eliminate a $800 billion industry and the jobs it provides overnight.

What Dentistry Tells Us

Interestingly, I think dentistry is a perfect example of how when you truly understand how much you’re paying for something, you reassess how important it really is. Unlike general health services, dental care is not a free service through the NHS, except for certain groups like kids under 18. But in America it’s very common for employers to offer dental insurance alongside general health insurance. So the dental industry is thriving in America, giving everyone hollywood teeth and outfitting dental offices with in chair TVs and aromatherapy. You might pay a few dollars a month in dental premiums and your employer subsidizes the rest. So you go to your swish dentist office and aren’t too concerned by how much it costs because your insurance pays for most of it.

But the Brits, well I’m sure you’ve heard of their stereotypically “bad teeth.” Because to get regular dental care as an adult, you have to pay for it with your own hard-earned money. So you think twice before going to the dentist for a regular checkup. You shop around and find a dental practice that provides the quality of care you want at a price that’s in your budget. And you don’t mind if the waiting room chairs aren’t the latest in modern furnishings as long as they’ve spent their money on the right things, the equipment and the staff.

Because after all, everything looks different when you’re spending your own money and not someone else’s.

Getting to Know the UK: The Government

One of the first outings I had the pleasure of going on when I moved to England was a personal tour of the Palace of Westminster, aka the Houses of Parliament. Getting a peek inside the magnificent chambers that house the government of the United Kingdom was truly a unique experience.

Like the US, the UK has two chambers that form its legislative body: The House of Commons and the House of Lords. And when you visit the Houses of Parliament, it’s striking how different their chambers are in terms of furnishings and details. Just looking at the rooms in which they each debate tells you everything you need to know about how they evolved. The House of Lords just oozes wealth and privilege. It’s all shiny, ornate, and golden. In contrast, the House of Commons looks like it was built on a very tight budget. It’s plain and ordinary, all the common man would ever need.

I’ve also toured, years and years ago, the US Capital Building and it’s interesting to ponder how something as simple as the layout of a room steers the political process. In the House of Representatives in the US Capital, the room is laid out in a classic lecture format with representatives wishing to express an opinion taking to the podium in front, talking AT the audience with little interaction. But in the House of Commons the benches are arranged so that the opposing parties sit directly facing each other. The room has more of an intimate feeling, one which encourages lively conversation and debate.

The House of Commons is composed of 650 elected Members of Parliament (MPs), each of whom represents the interests of their home constituency. What I didn’t really understand until I saw the last general election in 2010 (they happen every five years) is how these MPs actually form the government. During a general election, the political party that ends up with the most MPs forms the government. The MPs in that party will have elected a leader who then becomes the Prime Minister.

So the only people in the UK who actually voted for David Cameron, the current Prime Minister, are the people of Witney just down the road from me. This is largely why personality and image seem to play a smaller role in the political debate than what you’d find in the US. People aren’t voting for an individual personality to lead them as PM. They’re voting for local representatives that belong to the party whose policies they support. In fact the 2010 general election was the first time in British history they’d even had televised debates. The US has done that since 1960 when Richard Nixon learned all about the importance of a good shave.

Plus, these politicians don’t have time to craft campaigns based on polling numbers, negative attack ads, and pandering to special interests like you see in the years leading up to an American Presidential election. One week Gordon Brown asks the Queen to dissolve Parliament and to call for a general election and then a few weeks later it’s all over and there’s a new government in town. No need to drag the debate out for years. Just get it done and get back to governing.

The House of Lords, aka peers, are not elected and do not represent a constituency. Historically, members of the House of Lords were all hereditary, people of wealth and privilege whose titles have been passed down for generations. Now, however, the hereditary peers have largely lost the right to automatically attend the House of Lords. And since 1958, the PM can nominate people to be appointed Life Peers (their titles do not pass on to their descendents). Life Peers are usually people who have distinguished themselves in business and industry. For example, Alan Sugar and Andrew Lloyd Weber are both members of the House of Lords.

A couple other tidbits of note, Wales and Scotland both have their own governing bodies which have significant control over public services such as health, education, and transport. Policies around things like defense and taxation still remain under central UK government control. Interestingly, there is a movement in Scotland to once again become an independent country, separate from the UK. There will be a public referendum on this in 2014. And, as a member of the European Union, the UK is also governed by its policies particularly as they relate to trade, commerce, and employment.

Finally, if learning about the UK government is really your cup of tea, then head to Parliament’s official website for all detail you’d ever want.

Getting to Know the UK: People, Customs, and Traditions

Welcome to part 3 of my Life in the UK series. This week I’m learning more about what the population of the UK looks like. As in America, the UK completes a formal census every 10 years. The most recent one was in 2011 (which I’m included in and remember completing the form), however it’s data has not yet been released. So instead, statistics from the 2001 census are relied upon.

I was initially very surprised to learn that 92% of the population is considered white. However once I thought about it (and how people would answer on a census form), I shouldn’t have been surprised. As I look around when I’m out and about I do see less diversity on the surface. Certainly compared to a life growing up in Virginia where only 66% of the population was white (followed by 19% Blacks and 7% Hispanic). My statistically insignificant sample at a restaurant I had lunch in the other day had about 45 people in total (including staff) that I could see. Of these, only 3 would have been classed as non-white. (Note: I don’t normally calculate the ethnic distribution in places I eat but these lessons have inspired me to be a little more observant, and curious). But “white” is actually its own melting pot of cultures. White could be Russian, Polish, French, German. I’ve had several lovely German women in my life here, most recently my hairstylist. Just a reminder never to judge a book by its cover.

And in a nod to differences in the English language, Asian here means people of Indian, Pakistani, or Bangladeshi decent. Not Chinese or Japanese which is how I would have used this term before. Not surprisingly, most ethnic groups live in urban areas and almost half are in London and its surrounding areas.

For as many people as live here, 60 million, the UK is a small nation. The UK has similar land mass to the US state of Oregon which has only 4 million people. In terms of population density, the US has 83 people per square mile, whereas the UK has 656 per square mile. No wonder they have amazingly tiny roads, parking spaces, and semi-detached houses! And no wonder public transportation doesn’t work in America outside urban areas. Too many wide open spaces.

What’s That You Say?

As an American when you travel to the UK, you think great they speak English this will be easy. (Cause we Americans generally don’t have second languages, I’m just sayin’). The Brits say everything in a way we can understand only in a way that makes it all sound so much more posh and elegant. But holy moly. For a country this small, there are an amazing number of dialects and accents, some of which I’ve really struggled to understand. When I first moved here and was working, most of the people I worked with were from “the North.” And I tell you what, I struggled everyday to catch everything they said, especially on conference calls. It took practice and lots of TV watching to start feeling like I could regularly understand people. I’ve said more “Pardons,” “What’s Thats,” and “Say Agains” then I ever remember. And the Scots, goodness. Many of the service centers for the large banks etc. are in Scotland and I know I struggle to communicate with them over the phone. To be fair, I think they struggle with my accent just as much as I do with theirs. I’ve resorted to spelling things on several occasions.

Some of the most common dialects:

Geordie (Newcastle) – Think Cheryl Cole
Scouse (Liverpool) – Think Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard (who by the way I challenge you to listen to in a post match interview to see if you can understand I word he’s saying)
Cockney (London) – Think Michael Caine, Russell Brand
Scottish – Think Sean Connery
Welsh – Think Tom Jones, Catherine Zeta-Jones

Religion and Other Traditions

The UK is still largely a Christian society, about 72% of all people. Muslims account for about 3% of the population. However, only around 10% of the population attends regular religious services. And, it’s certainly not for lack of churches. I think churches beat out even Starbucks for being on every corner.

In the UK, they celebrate largely the same festivals we’re familiar with in America, Christmas, Easter, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, etc. Some of these for obvious reasons, like Christmas, are on the same day. Others like Mother’s Day always confound me as I have to remember two different dates. Celebrating Boxing Day on December 26th is a nice new tradition making the loss of Thanksgiving a little less painful.

I now totally get the reference to “Bonfire Night” (aka Guy Fawkes night) in Bridget Jones’ Diary. Also if you’ve ever seen Brits on TV in early November you’ll see many wearing poppies on their lapels. This is in honor of Remembrance Day, November 11, which commemorates those who died WWI, WWII, and various other wars. On this day there is a national 2 minute silence at 11 am.

Sporting Traditions

The UK is certainly a sporting nation. Football (soccer), tennis, rugby, cricket, golf, and Formula 1 top the list. We’re a household of avid sports fans in general but football is definitely king. And I tell you what, football has the longest playing season of any sport I’ve known. Just when I think football is over (she says with relief), it’s on again (sigh).

And I’ve realized that in the run-up to the Olympics the British calendar is loaded with major sporting events. We’ve got the Euro 2012 football tournament now underway (come on England!), Wimbledon in just a couple of weeks, then the British Grand Prix, then the Open Championship. So between now and July 27th when the Olympics start, you’ve got plenty of opportunities to appreciate the great British sporting traditions.

So pour yourself a Pimms, have some strawberries and cream, and enjoy.

Expat Life

Welcome to the Olympics

Getting to Know the UK: Lost in Translation

A Bit of the Lingo I’ve Picked Up

Other Articles in the Series:

Getting to Know the UK: Or Why Universal Health Care Isn’t Evil

How a Public / Private Partnership Can Work

Follow the Money

What Dentistry Tells Us

Other Articles in the Series:

Getting to Know the UK: The Government

Other Articles in the Series:

Getting to Know the UK: People, Customs, and Traditions

What’s That You Say?

Religion and Other Traditions

Sporting Traditions

Other Articles in the Series: