Everyday Stranger

Re: bonding with strangers who are serving me in public places: Yes, I do it, my two teenage boys cringe while I do it, and usually I cringe too when I look back on it... Yet my brothers do it too and when I'm with them I watch in awe and think what great warm-hearted amusing guys they are. Why do I judge myself so much more harshly? And we're not American, we're Canadian.
Even while I'm doing it, I can clearly see whether the server is an extrovert who is totally enjoying the momentary connection with another human, or an introvert who just can't bear that I'm exposing a few passing thoughts and feelings in his/her presence.

Re: Macdonalds: I don't care for anything they serve after 11 a.m., but an Egg MacMuffin is a thing of beauty and the ultimate breakfast food for travellers. I think I enjoy it so much because I associate it with road trips when the boys were little and sitting down in a restaurant meant 90 minutes delay, whereas going through a drive-through got us on the road on time ...

Helen said:
"Are we always this loud in public? Do we always shout like that in public places?"

Ahhhh, you're starting to hear Americans with British ears, as I predicted. The answers are of course, "no, and no"

--but you really, really notice the people that are, and the ones that are are usually American, sometimes Spanish.

Hope you've been enjoying the hot, gorgeous weather over the past couple of days!

On a vaguely related breakfast note: have you noticed yet that the ketchup here is lots sweeter? And British breakfasts with their FRIED BREAD (yes, fried bread) and baked beans and everything swimming in butter: with all the extra fat and sugar in everying, it's amazing that the Americans are so much fatter.

Eye M embarASSed! =:-o

I just read my post. Sorry about the typo. Next time I'll proof read b4 I post :-p

Wow I can't believe no one's mentioned http://www.supersizeme.com/ yet! This is a documentary about what happens to a guy who, as an experiment, lives on McDonalds for a month.

BTW, did you here that Micky Dee's CEO just dies of a heart atack? They replaced him with an Ausy who now appears to have cancer!

I'm just back from the USA and found Americans very friendly, maybe not at all in NY but over-friendly and nice in Atlanta. It is sometimes pretty funny to see a group of Americans interact with a group of Europeans and you can make out instantly who is American and who isnt.

McMuffins and Americans...must be pretty depressing during a time of grieving. But if you go to McDonald's you're going to find this sort of thing. On the other hand, fuck it. Sometimes an Egg McMuffin is comfort food.

You will find happiness.

Helpful hint, fruitfly:

A pallet is the thing one puts under a crate or piece of cargo such that a forklift can transport it.

A palette is a selection of colors, or the thing upon which paint is mixed.

The palate is part of the mouth, or a taste for something.

The Palatine is a hill in Rome.

Does that help? If not, I could use smaller words.

(PS. I'm not very loud in shopping or dining establishments, myself. Unless it's a generally loud place.)

"Are we always this loud in public? Do we always shout like that in public places?"

Affirmative. :|

Soft-spoken by nature, I witnessed a number of well deserved British eye-rolls at *obnoxiously loud Yanx* expense within pubs.

I read you loud and clear on this 1ne.

Alas, a low-key Cali demeanor flew just fine.

They may not be what all americans are like, but they are very much the type of american that gets noticed, that becomes the stereotype, simply because they're so in-your-face.
And I can understand the food thing - maybe they're just doing what's familiar. But even if I'd have mcdonalds for breakfast, I doubt I could do it seven days in a row!
But I did eat McDonalds in the US, and I looked for it in Singapore (airport) too. I didn't recognise anything else, and back then, I didn't know I liked asian food! ;)

It sounds like my brother-in-law visited England:) He and my father-in-law both talk to cashiers and waitresses as though they're old friends.

But both are very friendly and kind hearted. It's quite the paradox: we want people to be kind and friendly, and then we're often put off by their friendliness. Or is it the volume? Sometimes it's both.

One thing you can be assured of: in four days we will still be here, ready to lend an ear, ready to give you what you need, ready to love you even more, yep that's every four days of your life.

PS. the sun will shine in four days but not until you post your list...........LOL :)

just some thoughts from an old.....

I don't drink tea.

You can sign me up for the crumpets, though.

Sorry-I am not going native. I just observe, get amazed, and observe some more.

thou thinks they self is so rightous - you're from america - why not be nice to people who are trying to see the world instead of behaving like they have a disease because - opps - they're in a mcdonalds and they're loud and they dress funny. not everyone has a pallet for tea and crumpits or casual wear - but then again you're in europe and you're drinking STARBUCKS! bahhhhhaaaaa

Well...er...uh...be Helen with out the...um...PMS!

It's always fun when you are observing humanity.

ilyka I'm waiting for the embarrassing Pizza Hut story...

He might have been a distant relative of my grandmother's, who has time and time again humiliated me with her need to share unsolicited personal details with store clerks. She would begin, and I would cringe, trying to make my small body already smaller, hiding behind the counter so the poor checkout person couldn't see me. And this would work, until the time in which she would say, "And this here is my granddaughter," grabbing my hand and dragging me back into sight. "She's in town, visiting me. We're going to head on over to the great-grandmother's house now."

I have died a thousand deaths over this.

I promise you, for all my obnoxiousness, I am not American in this way. Or a loud way, either.

Helen-
Hey, I think you will need to buy a sunlamp if you are to continue living in the London area. And keep your chin up, the "official" divorce is really nothing. Your divorce was final when you moved on in your heart and then again when you moved out of Sweden. It is yet another contraction expelling you forward in the birth of your next life stage.
Take care!

Oh my God YES we are that freaking loud. Hands down the most annoying thing about my trip to London: Other Americans. Here I was trying to blend in (insofar as that's possible, and I guess really it isn't) and dropping my volume down several notches and learning to listen carefully to the soft-spoken natives . . . and then we get on the tube one day, my friend and I, and my friend who was not trying to adjust himself AT ALL turned to me and shouted, "Isn't this great?! I can't believe we're in ENGLAND! This is so awesome!!!" and I wanted to curl up in a corner of the car and DIE.

As for the McDonald's every day . . .

. . . uh . . .

. . . er . . .

I tried. God help me, I tried. But I think I wound up eating breakfast there five days out of the seven.

Our first English breakfast was like some creature from a B-horror movie: It Came From the Swamp of Oleomargarine. I swear the sausage McMuffins I switched to after that were actually less greasy, and no, I never used to think that was possible.

We weren't much better about lunch. We used to always grab that from a little cart in Victoria Station called Croissant! Croissant! (their exclamation marks, not mine). They were basically Hot Pockets, but since this was before the days of Hot Pockets we sort of considered it a novelty.

And one night for dinner I swear we had Kentucky Fried Chicken.

We were terrible. Terrible, terrible American tourists. But after I paid seven fucking pounds one day for a lunch of cream of celery soup and a sad little cup of dreadful coffee, I sort of forgave myself.

I haven't even got to the night we ate at Pizza Hut, have I? Oh well. Maybe I'll confess that embarrassment on my own blog.

It's funny, when I was in So. America, McDonalds somehow tasted good again. I had not eaten there for atleast a year before my trip, but once there, I could only eat so many Baggette (French for baseball bat I am sure) sandwiches before needing a fix of good ole' American flavored grease, and soft doughy bread. Even if it was just fry's and a shake it made all the difference.

As to the kids, keep in mind that you may not know in four days how they feel about you, those relationships can take much longer to develop. I have total faith in you though, you are way too likable for them to keep up any grudge they bring along for very long. =)

I'm so pleased to see that I'm not the only one who thinks Pret is shite. When I lived in London, I used to much prefer the local greasy caf foe lunch to Pret. Now, Pret has followed me to NY and I get to hear people exclaim over it again.

Although, you may be amused to hear, Helen that McDonald's has acquired a 33% minority interest in Pret for what one analyst believes to be about 25 million pounds. So, either place you went, some money is going back to McDonald's.

When I lived in Europe, and I wanted to try to fit in, I found it essential to lower my voice in restaurants. We Americans are simply more boisterous.

In four days time I'll be on a beach in Mexico. But, as always I'll be thinking of you. I don't know what I'm going to do without my morning ritual. Coffee and a stranger. I'll miss ya. Keep your chin up. Be happy and be yourself when the little ones arrive. Kids are amazing they can see through people being fake.

Just be Helen and they'll love you.

well, i can tell you right now that that American wasn't from Boston. people here are never EVER that friendly.

wish there were more people out there like him. At least friendly people.

McDonalds for seven days in a row? What? Y'all don't have Burger King over there? Gotta say though - there are way worse things to be than too friendly and outgoing. ;-)

Egg McMuffin and Starbucks- that's exactly what I had yesterday! I kind of like our loudness. When my cousin and I were in Paris, we were in an outdoor market and a lady came up, loudly informing her friend- "I'll ask this girl where it is.." Then she put herself about five inches from my face, asking hesitantly- "Do 'ya speak a little English?" Shoulda seen her face when I replied- "Yeah, I"m from Tulsa."

Speaking from someone that has spent most of their life in big (and sometimes very rude) cities, it sounds more like he's from a small town in the USA. Americans are alot of things and will continue to be alot of things because the country is so god damn big! ;)

lol...gotta give him credit with going with what he knows. I mean why stick to your local McD's when you could goto London and eat at one of there's

Things will go fine with the kids. Just be yourself and keep remind yourself that your not be asked to fill in as a parent. You a friend of there Dad's so all should be well. If nothing else you are considered "new blood" and someone for them to share all there stories and such with for the first time.

On a side note do you know of any programs to help you kick the Starbucks thing. I cant stop having Frap's from Starbucks.

*chuckle* Breathe deeply, hon.

Oh dear, Helen has just discovered the age old tactic of british weather-men ... it's a simple case of jam every other day. That way they can promise good weather and nobody really notices when it doesn't turn up.

My other favourite of the weather report is the ambiguous symbol - you know, the one with a cloud which has the sun peeking out from behind it whilst it rains, snows and thunders above certain parts of the country (normally the parts I'm in at the time) ... what is that supposed to tell you?

Unlike the Great English weather, your personal status is far from ambiguous. At the moment it may seem like you're chasing that moment when everything snaps into sunlight and it may also seem that it reamins just out of reach, four days away. But at some point you'll forget to chase it and that's when you'll be able to look around and see that actually, whilst it's not the burning desert sun you wanted ... it's turned out nice again.