Back to Work

It's been a bit quiet on the blog since I started working on Monday. Nothing serious, just a short placement at a US law firm as a contract lawyer. It's dry work, and the funnest part is hanging out with the other contract lawyers, two US qualifieds (Boston, Chicago), and three UK qualifieds (Polish, Scottish, English). We're all in one room for eight hours a day, and although we're plugging away at our work faithfully despite the utter lack of supervision, we still find loads of time to swap stories about our different cultures and getting a big kick out of the differences.

We got into a conversation about pronunciation today, and we were all laughing at each other by the end of it.

OREGANO:
US: o-REH-gano
UK: o-re-GAH-no

CAPILLARIES:
US: CAP-ill aries
UK: ca-PILL-aries

Trust me, the UK way of saying these words is weird and strangely hilarious. Also, frozen yogurt doesn't seem to have taken off yet in the UK, and two of them had never tasted it before encountering the frozen yogurt machine in the lobby's canteen. They couldn't stop laughing when I told them that it was called "froyo" for short.

I think the word "hella" threw them for a loop too, and they were completely unaware that there's different ways of saying fizzy drink in the US depending on what region you're in: East/ West: soda, Midwest: pop, South: coke (then you get to specify what kind).

Other questions that were asked today:
What is a "punter"? Varies, but it can mean a sports fan.
Why do the Brits like to talk about the weather so much? There's just so much of it.
How do the Scots feel about the film Braveheart? A good film, but not at all historically accurate.
Where does scotch whiskey really come from? Most likely the Chinese, and not the Scots.
What's in a Cadbury Double Decker candy bar? A thin layer of crispy cereal, nougat (pronounced noo-ga), and caramel covered in chocolate.
What are A-levels? Similar to the SATs, except they follow you around forever.
What are university and law school fees like in the UK? You don't want to know the answer to this if you're an American - it'll make you weep with envy.
How did the Brits become a nation of tea drinkers? A secret raid on the Chinese emperor's stash by British soldiers apparently. The Brits were actually used to be a nation of coffee drinkers.

It's been four days so far, and it's been incredibly illuminating. We all laugh about how much we're learning, and none of it pertains to the law, much to my relief.

I wonder what I'll learn tomorrow...