Cultural Exchange

I had a little burst of pride today when one of the UK lawyers got up from their desk this afternoon and announced to our group that it was time for a "froyo" break. Yes, the conversion has begun... Although, it seems the conversion has been going on for a while already.

For instance, I wasn't aware that all the little grey squirrels that I see in the park everywhere are much reviled as American squirrels that had the gall to chase away the native British red squirrel into oblivion. I have to admit, I have yet to see any little red critters about. And apparently, the Americans' monomania for turkey as traditional holiday fare has carried over into the Brits adopting turkey as the meat du jour for Christmas dinner. But I refuse to admit any blame for that, we never said that they had to abandon the goose (A Christmas Carol, anyone?) for our much less attractive poultry.

At attention and ready to fight!

Preoccupied by nut. Almost too easy.

v.

Other things I've learned today:
Irn Bru (pronounced Iron Brew) is the national drink of Scotland with very amusing adverts
You can get pretty much anything deep fried in Scotland, although they were pretty disgusted when I told them about the deep fried Twinkies you can get in county fairs all across America
Cinnamon buns haven't really taken off here but they know and love brownies
There are wallabies in the UK
There is only one private university in all of the UK, but it's only popular with the foreign set
Blackadder and Forty Tower are apparently must-sees
They've heard of Jon Stewart, but not Stephen Colbert so much
Don't be surprised if you see a fox in the streets of the City

Wait, was it a left or right turn? Damn, I knew I should've brought my London A to Z.

I'm telling you, I learn a million new things every day. And I try to teach a few things about our culture too. For instance, I introduced them to Conan O'Brien's Triumph the Insult Comic Dog (Star Wars Premiere, it's a must click on YouTube). America, I hope to do you proud.