Living in the UN

Nope, it's not a typo - you read the title of this post correctly.  I meant to say "UN"" because I've come to realize (after a friend pointed it out to me) that it's more fitting to say I live among the United Nations than in the United Kingdom.

A few examples to illustrate my point:

- The other day I sat between Zimbabwe and the Gambia in class.  I had lunch with Vietnam and then stopped to chat with Pakistan, Scotland, and Austria.  I share a flat with Taiwan, Ireland, and Scotland and have Bible Study with Germany, India, Singapore, and Tanzania.

- I met Iceland on the bus while heading into town.

- My last group assignment for class was working with Japan, Italy, Malawi, and Scotland.

- That doesn't even count the other classmates I have from Canada, the Netherlands, Ghana, Greece, Brazil, Eqypt, and Nepal - to name a few.  The professors come from all over too - South Africa, the Netherlands, UK, and Canada.

Waverly Station

The most interesting thing is how I am adapting to being in an international environment (now, and the past 4 years).

1.  I talk much slower and enunciate when speaking to people here because many of them are non-native English speakers.  I especially  notice this contrast when I am on the phone with my friends from the US and I can hardly keep up with myself to tell them my adventures over here.

2.  My "accent" is all mixed up.  No really, it is.  I find myself saying something with using a "British vowel sound" and think "did I honestly just say the word like that?"  

                      Example:  "The data (dah-tah) shows that......"
                                      "I'm looking for vitamin (vit-ah-min) B......"
                                      "Where are the herbs (that's "herbs" with an "H" sound) in this store?"
                                     "Do you want to get a cart.....uhm,...buggy, I mean, trolley????"  (That time I couldn't for the life of me remember the word used here since I always get it mixed up with the word used in the Southern US!)

3.  I go around the grocery store muttering about where to find the "tin tomatoes."  [that means canned, by the way]

4.  I asked my friend if she was going to "move house" and then stopped myself later in the conversation to say - "wait a minute, that's not what we normally say.......oh my word, it just came out like that!"

5.  My "comfort foods" have changed from being a grilled cheese to rice and beans or peanut sauce.

6.  I use the word "hot drinks" with other Americans and they give me a blank stare.  (That means anything like tea, coffee, hot chocolate, etc)

7.  I cannot live without an electric hot water maker.  (Not even sure what they are really called?)

8.  I realize that M&M's do taste different depending on which country they were made in.

9.  I prefer UHT (shelf-stable) milk because it lasts longer and is much cheaper than "fresh" milk.  (This probably stems from being in countries where that was my only option - I've never seen this in the States.)

10.  Lastly, the one that bugs me the most is that I now cannot remember how to spell the word 'medecine' or is it 'medicine?'  You'd think a word that was so vital to my profession would stick in my head......that's the problem, they are both in my head - just one in French and one in English, two different meanings.  Ugh!  I rely on spell check to correct that one for me.

Time to get back to my essay.

Ciao
Doei
A+
Later