Despite living in the UK for two years, Matt and I are pretty pleased how how un-British we are. We feel comfortable in our objective point of view on all things relating to British pop culture. Every time we watch a 'The 50 most funny moments in TV' we weep for the British sense of humor. Granted, the Brits have given us some very, very funny things like the original The Office, Extras, Fawlty Towers, Monty Python and many others. But trust me when I say that there are so many 'funny' moments that aren't really that funny. And there is an obsession here with certain celebrities which make even this pop culture American scratch her head. For example, Kylie Minogue would be voted queen if it worked that way. We can't figure out how this British press, known for its scathing reports on celebrities, sees no wrong with this woman. I mean, she's not really all that great and talented. It is funny how they call her things like a 'national treasure' and very conveniently forget that she's actually from Australia! Americans will best remember her as the woman who sang the 'Locomotion' song from the 80's.
Despite our staunch efforts in maintaining true to our respective countries, it has occurred to me that in some ways, we are becoming entrenched in the UK lifestyle. For example, we know who Lulu is. We know who Mylene Klass is (and hate her). When the papers talk about Jade Goody, we know exactly who it is and lately we've been humming the hit single "Promise" by Girls Aloud, despite the fact we never listen to the radio.We look at loud tourists and shake our heads. We walk very fast, like any good Londoner does. We're starting to know all the political players and what party they represent, and even what that party stands for.
And heaven help me, but I can't stop calling diapers 'nappies' and pre-natal things 'antenatal'. You can't help but get caught up in the things around you I guess.
Lately it's become apparent in some of our meal choices. Before getting married, I was not a good cook. Well, I don't think I was, I never actually cooked enough to see whether I was good or not. But since being married, I would now say I've progressed to a mediocre cook. I'm doing better and have actually put together some semi-decent meals. Matt is a fantastic cook. He can just whip anything up and it'll taste pretty good (with only one exception...which wasn't very good, but the concept was there). In fact, we had company over last night and Matt made his famous lasagna and everyone could not stop raving about it. Myself included. It was even his first time making it vegetarian, since one of our guests doesn't do the meat thing.
Lately we've worked in two meals that have quickly become our favorites. We've started incorporating sausages into our meat rotations, we found a brand that is cheap and very yummy. So of course, that leads us to making Bangers and Mash (bangers are sausages, mash is mashed potatoes). And let me tell you, yummy! Now you have to know that our bangers are not like the link sausages in the States, nor are they the brats kind that you can get either. They're just regular yummy bangers.
I even made the mash from real potatoes and unlike our Christmas dinner when I tried to make it then, they turned out fantastic. Very creamy and very yummy, I have to admit I was proud of myself.We've also started doing what we call 'Breakfast for Dinner' which might sound complicated to some of you, but basically it's where we cook breakfast foods and eat them for dinner. See? It's pretty self explanatory when you hear it that way, don't you feel silly?
But do our breakfasts include items such as pancakes, waffles, cereal or hash browns? Not on your life. We've become too British for that! Instead we have what is called a 'full English' which includes eggs, bacon, sausage, and beans on toast (okay, I don't eat the beans, but I have toast). It's also often served with mushrooms and tomatoes, but we don't do that. It's not the healthiest meal, which is why it's a treat, but trust me, it's a yummy meal.
So that's it. Slowly but surely, we're becoming British-ised. Though no matter how long we live here, I'm pretty sure we'll always be the "Aussie and American" living in London. And I'm pretty sure we'll never, ever fall under the spell of Kylie Minogue. Or Kate Moss for that matter.
