PASSED AND NOW BECOMING A VAMPIRE

In case you were curious - I passed the "Life in the UK" test. phew!

It really wasn't bad but I did have to study and memorize lots of numbers and dates. I now know the populations of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (50mil, 5mil, 2.9mil, 1.7mil respectively) and dates like what year women were given the right to vote (1918) and when to celebrate St George's day (actually I've already forgotten this one).

There was a lot of literature about women's rights and children's rights, domestic violence, how to contact police and how to receive "benefits" (government aide). There were chapters devoted to explaining mortgages and credit cards and how to apply for social housing and register with a local NHS doctor's office. They even explained who to call when you don't feel well. I want to think these chapters are unnecessary but, instead I'm thinking about what it would be like for someone from a non-western or even just non-English speaking country to move to London how to move to London and... flip out?

So this weekend is a, "Bank Holiday Weekend," which means that Monday is, "Bank Holiday Monday," which means that it's a national holiday when the banks are closed. No specific reason, just a day the bank is closed and in what feels like a consequence of the banks being closed, schools and post offices are shut and most people get the day off. In the states we always seem to have a reason for bank holidays like Martin Luther King Day. Bank Holidays are always tacked on to a weekend, either on a Friday or a Monday which I think is a nice touch.

People ask each other, "what are you doing bank holiday?"

translation: "what are you doing on the long weekend?"

Hmmm not sure about my translation, maybe "what are your plans for the long weekend" is better?

This brings me to a troubling point. I've been living here for almost 6 years and I know that I have deeply integrated loads (lots) of English expressions and vocabulary into my daily language. Of course I've had to for the practicality of making myself understood but, sometimes I actually have to remember how we say things at home. I'll know I'm saying something very English but I'll have been saying it so much I can't remember any other way. And sometimes I use expressions unnecessarily. I use "get sorted," all the time. I'll tell my husband how, "I need to sort that out," when I should be saying "I need to figure that out." I'm American I shouldn't, "sort out my desk," I should organize it!

Ugh, this must be what its like to have just been bitten by a vampire. I'm probably in the early stages of denial; when you only just start to notice that the sun is slightly beginning to bug you and next thing you know, you're ordering a steak. rare. for breakfast.... drinking blood would the equivalent of adopting one of those english-but-american accents.