Just grab a tenner and your jumper and head to the tube!

London is definitely familiar.

The people speak the same language, thankfully, though with varying degrees of understandability.

As a city it has a nice mix of buildings, monuments, tourist attractions and homey instances of everyday life.

There's a free morning paper, Metro, just as there is in Chicago (The Red Eye) and New York (also Metro and one other I can't remember at the moment).

And of course the public transportation, which indeed works and gets you from A to B.

But just as London warms up to you it blows a few stray oddities to send you a kilter. Though it's the English language they use, it's Londonese they speak. There are all these words, words you'd know but are all topsy turvey here.

For example:
Jumper (sweater)
Pudding (dessert)
Uni (college)
Flat (apartment)
Trousers (pants)
Knickers (underwear)

There's also phrases. At work I'm surrounded by 50 or so Brits buzzing about, catching up on their weekend activities, chatting about projects or just trying to get their work done. When, for example, they ring (another word, meaning 'to call') someone up the first thing they say is "You alright?" as though the person on the other end is suffering from an unexpected tragedy or is caught under a rock, trapped in a closet or has fallen down a short flight of stairs. But of course everyone seems to get over said tragedy quickly and they move on to business.

It's our equivalent of "How you doing?" but the "You alright?" seems to imply that you're not, in fact, alright. That things are going quite badly and that this phone call is only aggravating said state of not alrightness.

I've been asked this a few times myself. Monday morning, with still the better part of 8 o'clock to get through and the girl behind me perks up "You alright?" and considering my transient life, luckless apartment search, frustrating internship, lack of funds, and withering job prospects in an increasingly dire economy I thought she knows! a friend! But turned around to a pleasant but indifferent face and quickly recovered 'good, good, and you?'

In turn I tried the next day to ask of the guy sitting to my right, "are you alright?" but I didn't say it with enough nonchalance or maybe my American accent suddenly made they're introductory phrase seem thick with concern. He looked at me quizzically, mid chew, and said, "pardon?" I recovered again with a "how was your, er, Monday night?"

There's also a funny thing about pronunciation. Obviously if you have a British accent there is no concern about muddling up words and halting conversation. But with this sticky American accent water cooler chats are a little more arduous. Names, also, fall into this category. My computer trainer's name is Bernard. Which I would want to pronounce ber-NARD with the ber running quickly into the nard. But, he introduced himself as BEHHR-nehd, with really very little room for a consonant for me to grab a hold of. The solution, of course, was to not call him anything at all. If I needed help I sort of appeared behind him or asked the Canadian to my right. In the meantime I practiced the sound of this familiar-yet-foreign name as it escaped my mouth - while in the bathroom, on my way out of the tube, during a run (bhr-ned....BUR-nad....brnd, etc. etc.). But when I finally said his name out loud, during class, it sounded riDICulous. All American and then this one British word invasion? I cut it off halfway through and so Bernard didn't respond. I've just reverted to the not calling him anything at all.

But I do love the accent. And it really does vary from person to person not to mention the whole lot of kiwis and Aussies thrown in their for good flavor. It's a roller coaster of linguistics and i can dig. My American one is terribly bland so I'm trying to spice it up with a Canadian 'eh' every now and again but, let's be honest, that's a weak little spice. Slowly but surely I'll work some words into my repertoire. I've ousted bathroom (they don't seem to like that). I can't jump on the Loo bandwagon just yet so I've settled for 'toilet' as in, do you know where the toilets are? Also flat. This seems easy enough. I'm not looking for an apartment, I'm looking for a flat with some lovely flatmates. The flatmates is a little put on but I'm sure if I try it out long enough it'll become second nature.

I ought to throw some photes in, eh? These are taken in walking distance to London flat #1 in south west London.

i have many more from my weekend adventures but those will come momentatiously.

Looking across the Thames


The Hammersmith Bridge (painted Harrods green)


East view down the Thames


Oh and whaduknow...Lola. muffin!


Stay alright, people.

xoxoL