Things we have observed and heard.
A racoon crossed the road in front of us one night, it's bandit eyes lit up in our headlights as it slowly and self consciously side stepped out of our way. Later that night we were woken by a loud crash - our racoon had found our bin! Luckily there were no goodies in there for him, so no mess to clear up.
Americans don't seem to have electric kettles or toasters. In both our last two houses we have found an ancient contraption like a small oven/grill but neither of them have worked. We have toasted under the top element of the oven, which does not appear to be called a grill. (Possibly a broiler?) Kettles are stove top and quaint. But they do have good coffee machines that we can't get to grips with! I suppose because they are not tea drinkers an electric kettle is not necessary.
They love our accent and I love their speech. 'Gotten' instead of got. 'Beautiful' to describe anything nice. 'Folks', not people. A sign in a bear hunting area saying 'Got bears? We do!' - most peculiar English! 'Not the bathroom' sign in a bar above a stairway that looked as if it could lead to the toilets. 'Not the exit' another one. Everything shortened where it can be:
" he was hiking in the whites" (white mountains). Sign outside a cafe: soup? it's on bro.
Our waitress in Portsmouth restaurant asked what we thought of their 'shit shows' (the Tump/Clinton debates) , we were tactfully non committal, but she wasn't holding back ' they both suck' she said and she added she was worried, and how was it possible they had ended up with such lame choices. I don't blame her.
They can't eat a plate of food without adding things; 'you want some protein with that?' Said to Pete when he asked for spinach and cheese ravioli. Lasagne is offered with sweet Italian sausage or meatballs?! Build your own pizzas from an enormous list of ingredients. Salads almost always have to have something sweet in them, but we've had some great ones.
Everyone is so polite and helpful. Smiles and 'how are you?' as you enter every establishment. "You're welcome" in response to every thank you. Glasses of water automatically with every meal. People stop and offer help if you look lost. People offer suggestions of where to go and what to see and will strike up a friendly conversation at any time and tell their life story if you're interested.
Their school buses have not changed from every film I have ever seen them in. They have a very sensible rule that says when the hazard lights are blinking on the stationary school bus, you must stop in case a child runs out from behind it. The gas station's owner in Rangeley said his wife was a school bus driver and I think I have just found my new vocation..... the roads are so easy to drive around here it could be a very pleasant job.
Give way signs are triangles like ours, but with 'yield' and drivers yield to pedestrians even if they are not on marked crossings.
A racoon crossed the road in front of us one night, it's bandit eyes lit up in our headlights as it slowly and self consciously side stepped out of our way. Later that night we were woken by a loud crash - our racoon had found our bin! Luckily there were no goodies in there for him, so no mess to clear up.
Americans don't seem to have electric kettles or toasters. In both our last two houses we have found an ancient contraption like a small oven/grill but neither of them have worked. We have toasted under the top element of the oven, which does not appear to be called a grill. (Possibly a broiler?) Kettles are stove top and quaint. But they do have good coffee machines that we can't get to grips with! I suppose because they are not tea drinkers an electric kettle is not necessary.
They love our accent and I love their speech. 'Gotten' instead of got. 'Beautiful' to describe anything nice. 'Folks', not people. A sign in a bear hunting area saying 'Got bears? We do!' - most peculiar English! 'Not the bathroom' sign in a bar above a stairway that looked as if it could lead to the toilets. 'Not the exit' another one. Everything shortened where it can be:
" he was hiking in the whites" (white mountains). Sign outside a cafe: soup? it's on bro.
Our waitress in Portsmouth restaurant asked what we thought of their 'shit shows' (the Tump/Clinton debates) , we were tactfully non committal, but she wasn't holding back ' they both suck' she said and she added she was worried, and how was it possible they had ended up with such lame choices. I don't blame her.
They can't eat a plate of food without adding things; 'you want some protein with that?' Said to Pete when he asked for spinach and cheese ravioli. Lasagne is offered with sweet Italian sausage or meatballs?! Build your own pizzas from an enormous list of ingredients. Salads almost always have to have something sweet in them, but we've had some great ones.
Everyone is so polite and helpful. Smiles and 'how are you?' as you enter every establishment. "You're welcome" in response to every thank you. Glasses of water automatically with every meal. People stop and offer help if you look lost. People offer suggestions of where to go and what to see and will strike up a friendly conversation at any time and tell their life story if you're interested.
Their school buses have not changed from every film I have ever seen them in. They have a very sensible rule that says when the hazard lights are blinking on the stationary school bus, you must stop in case a child runs out from behind it. The gas station's owner in Rangeley said his wife was a school bus driver and I think I have just found my new vocation..... the roads are so easy to drive around here it could be a very pleasant job.
Give way signs are triangles like ours, but with 'yield' and drivers yield to pedestrians even if they are not on marked crossings.
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