danon

How good it feels to speak the language of the country.
Of course, limited to only a few.

alya

Dukey, Jubliada

Facebook is what YOU make it - most of my family/school friends live in England, it's a very easy way for us to catch up in spite of the time difference. And no I don't have 9K friends.

However Facebook is not what the original post or it's resurrection was about.

GreenDragon

I just saw this thread for the first time, and spent a lovely time reading it.

One of the first things I realized when I traveled abroad (to London, Somerset and Ireland in 1996) was what has been mentioned above. Americans think 100 years is a long time, and Europeans think 100 miles is a long way.

Now, I am a researcher, and read a lot before I traveled. I am also a student of history. However, I learned, to my surprise:

That American standards of plumbing are NOT universal, and there are MANY ways a shower, a toilet or a sink may be engineered. I believe I have never encountered the same shower system twice in the UK or Ireland.

That the charming towns and villages of my dreams really do exist, and even when I try to rub off the rose-color from my glasses, they are lovely.

That Americans are tied to their clocks in a way that Europeans are most definitely not. If they say they are open at 7am, the American store is open at 6:58. An Irish or British store may be 8:30. Perhaps. And if it isn't, nobody truly cares.

That Americans are also truly tied to their cars. They don't walk a lot because the infrastructure is designed for people with cars. European cities are designed for walking. I prefer the latter.

That some people not only don't travel, but have been in that place for generations - millenia, even.

A few words in the local language really does raise eyebrows and estimations. Even in Ireland, where everyone does speak English well. They are truly surprised that Americans even know an Irish language exists, much less how to say 'hello, how are you, good bye, thank you.'

That London is a truly international city. My first day there, I sat in Hyde Park and watched all the people walk by. I was chatted up by an Algerian chef who had lived in France, and now worked at a restaurant in London. I was startled by a black man with a Scottish accent. And an Asian girl with an Australian accent.

That, while most Europeans I have spoken to have disdain for American politicians and government, they tend to love and become friends with the American travellers. They realize the difference between the two.

That, if I were to live in the UK or Ireland, I could actually take weekend trips to the continent. Having grown up in Miami, where it was a 6 hour drive just to get to another state, this was an odd concept for me.

That London drivers have NO concept of personal space as we know in the US. They drive RIGHT next to you, RIGHT behind you.

That driving on the left comes quite naturally to me, even after trying to shift with my right hand and hitting it against the window a few times.

That the beauty and desolation of the highlands in Scotland will never leave my heart, especially knowing I had ancestry from there, forced out in the Highland Clearances.

That I felt in NO danger whatsoever in Belfast.

That my favorite place in the world is a sea cliff. I grew up, as I said, in Miami - no cliffs at all. I now live in West Virginia - no sea. Standing near Kilt Rock in Skye, or Sliabh Liag cliffs in Ireland, is a dream, a love, and a sacred spot I long to return to.

That I felt truly at home in both the UK and Ireland, and have since been making plans to move there. It is always on my mind, and in my sights.

GreenDragon

I forgot:

I hadn't truly appreciated the beauty and grace of European cathedrals. The first one I visited was Wells Cathedral. What an epiphany! I was not and am not Christian, but I truly believe that these creations are as close as man can come to creating Perfect Beauty in the world.