An American in Cambridge

Lessons Learned-Part 1

1. You must never refer to that material item that covers your legs as "pants." Ohhh no. Pants are underwear. That will certainly lead to some embarrassing conversations (i.e. My pants are soaked!) Trousers are that outer material item you wear. Chase Arnold (former Cambridge graduate student) will hound you about that until the day you die.

2. If you want to get even more confused: fries are chips, chips are crisps, and crisps... well luckily that word isn't used much in the United States. No chance getting confused there.

3. Do not say "WHAT?!" when you do not hear someone correctly. You say "Pardon?" or "Excuse me." You certainly do not say "WHAT?!" It was only when one of the PAs imitated Americans that I realized how incredibly embarrassing that is. I'm working on it.

4. The British are very serious about their lunch time. Every archive and library that I've tried to get access to always seems to take an hour and a half break (12-1:30 at King's, 12:30-2:00 at the UL). Guess those scones just can't wait!

5. Drinks are a way of life. In the morning, you drink tea. In the afternoon, you have high tea. At night, you have a spot of tea before bed. It's a tea party here.

6. You have to always assume that things will close early (5-7). I'm still trying to wrap my mind around why the University Library closes at 7 pm. So much for studying at night!

7. Sidewalk re-construction? Not even an option. The streets are far too historic. You will trip, trip, and probably trip some more as you rush to class. Guess people are going to start labeling you as the clumsy drunk.

8. The porters at the colleges are magical people. They will produce full length mirrors out of thin air, tell you the best place to eat, and make straight faced jokes when you get locked out about how they don't give out extra keys on the weekend, as you stand barefoot in front of them in your embarrassing mismatched pajama ensemble. They will then ask if you found somewhere else to stay. For the record, I didn't laugh. But nonetheless, they're comedians, magicians, and Olympic athletes (I hear they can chase down--with ease--someone who's dared to step on the beloved college's grass).

9. There's a common theme in British food: grease, bread, and chocolate. As long as you have one or all of those elements, you've successfully mastered the art of traditional British food.

10. There are no rules for parking bikes. In Cambridge, everywhere tends to be a parking spot for bikes. Chain your bike to a pole, a tree, a baby... it's all good. Seriously though, the bikes are everywhere and usually just chained to themselves. Its chaos.