Things I’ve learned…
26-Toilets don’t have lids. This is especially problematic for us, as Tucker loves to put things in the toilet. Tonight he dropped my OLD cell phone in it. Yesterday he threw Caroline’s glasses in, and this morning the sippy cup was the winner. You may be wondering why we don’t just close the bathroom door. We do and he pushes it open. It doesn’t close firmly so with a gentle push it opens just for him.
27-The toilets here are taller (at least in our flat). That makes it very difficult for Caroline to go to the bathroom by herself. A minor inconvenience, I know, but she was starting to get good at going without needing help.
28-A small, lukewarm glass of water is the drink of choice.
29-The co-op (aka grocery store) sells Pampers. This makes me very happy!
30-The bleu cheese is way yummy. This has been our afternoon snack.
31-It rains a lot. Again, I definitely knew this, but it leads me to wonder…how are clothes supposed to dry on the “wash line” if it rains all the time? On a side note, we do have a washer! I discovered that the double stroller doubles (no pun intended!) nicely as a drying rack.
32-High Tea doesn’t necessarily involve tea. Tonight we had “high tea” but actually it was quiche, salad (no dressing) and boiled potatoes. This was our dinner in the refectory. No tea in sight!
33-A large car in the UK is not so large. Gordon, a seminarian picked us up from the airport. We were told he would be there with a large car that would fit all of our bags. Well, he did arrive with a “large” car. We crammed our 3 bags, double stroller and 3 carry-on bags into his Peugot. It was a tight fit!
34-I can watch more old American reruns than I ever thought. We have a tv that has about 5 channels. It is better than nothing!
35-The double decker bus is more fun than a roller coaster ride. Caroline is a BIG fan!
36- Jeans take about 2 full days to completely dry. However, they are so stiff once they finally dry that you have to steam iron them so you don’t feel like you are wearing cardboard.
37- Thomas the Train yogurt doesn’t taste like strawberries, it tastes like Thomas. This is according to Caroline. Tucker must agree because he loves it.
38- Black pudding is not something I will ever even try. Chad and Caroline went to the co-op to pick up some dinner. They came home with spaghetti for dinner and black pudding for Chad. Looking at it is all I can do.
39- We buy a lot less at the grocery store because we have to carry it home. This is a great strategy for saving money and only buying what you need. Trust me, you will really think about what you can’t live without when are the one carrying the bags on the 15-20 minute walk home!
40- Coke tastes the same!! Last time we were in Europe the cokes did not taste like what we are used to in the States. This time around they taste the same. The M&M’s however, do NOT taste the same! The kids don’t seem to notice.
41-The paper towels are smaller. OK, so most everything is on a smaller scale. However, the paper towels are the perfect size for us. Rarely do we need an entire paper towel to wipe up the usual kid messes (the smaller ones, anyway).
42- It can be sunny and beautiful one minute and then rainy and dreary the next. This is what we have consistently experienced this far. It is day 5.
43-Never ask a monk how to work the washer. One of the Brothers came by to see how we were doing on Friday. I told him that we were doing well, but we did not know how to work the washing machine. After giving it a once over, he said he had no idea because he washed his clothes by hand. I felt like an idiot.
44-The rain doesn’t keep anyone at home. The city streets were full yesterday even as it rained and rained. We have noticed that people will wait in a store until the rain stops and then venture into the crowded streets. If we stayed at home when it rained then we would never go out!
45- Cars park on either side of the road. It doesn’t matter if the car is facing the wrong direction. Crazy!
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