Merry Ol' England otherwise known as Culture Shock 101!

So I am currently in England with Amy and Pete and my my has it been one culture shock after another. As I traveled to England there was an interesting moment where I was the outsider, the yabancı, in Istanbul then as we landed suddenly I was seemingly assigned to the majority. Weird. The beginning of a lot of weird experiences.

So Amy lovingly picked me up from the airport and right off we whisked ourselves away to Canterbury. She drove and I soaked in all the GREEN and the fields and PALE people. It was really weird. I caught myself staring at children because they were soo pale. The houses all seemed to be either medieval wooden houses or cute little brick cottages. Everything is so ridiculously cute. I know its an American stereotype to think of England as quaint or adorable, but I can't help it everything is so similar to how I'd imagined the English countryside. Ah I just love it when stereotypes come true.

So one of the first things we did after getting into Canterbury was head over to the ASDA, the Walmart/Target of England. Oh my god, it was almost like being home. Everything I could have wanted was there! So much candy, so many American brands! In Turkey, everything is Turkish or European, almost none of the brands in Turkey are American, and in Turkey it is often hard to find certain types of foods (pasta sauce and oregano for example) that are staples in American supermarkets.

The next day we went to Evensong in the Canterbury Cathedral and saw the sight of Saint Thomas Becket's murder, the reason pilgrims have come to Canterbury for over a thousand years. Never missing minute, we drove from Canterbury to Herne Bay then down to the white cliffs of Dover! Hooray! I've always always wanted to go to the cliffs of Dover mostly because they're super famous and they're in Shakespeare's King Lear. So cool. So we hiked around the cliffs and then we headed back to Derby, where Pete and Amy live.

The next day we did a tour of Derby and I got to meet some of the American ladies that Amy hangs out with. Its a group for women who live abroad, mostly because their husbands got a two or three year assignment abroad. It was SO weird to be around so many Americans. I think I've literally met 5 Americans in 4 months and by met I mean spoken too. Jake is the only American I hang out with on a regular basis. So it was weird to suddenly be surrounded by American women talking about such normal American things. Its also really weird for England to feel so like home for me and for these women it is their daily experience of a very different culture. Its just interesting how we all have different levels of tolerance or perhaps, just current experience. In Germany, I felt like I was in another world, but now, after Ankara, anything really Western feels homey.

The next day Amy and I went on a great hike through the English countryside. Oh it was just great! We took the bus to Bakewell (where this pastry called Bakewells come from) and then we hiked along a former railroad track into the countryside. It was freezing, but sunny and so so beautiful! The oak trees, sheep(!), rolling hills, and little cottages--it was just so beautiful. We hiked to a pub in this small little town on top of a hill. It was really great and exactly what I wanted to do in England.

With no time to slow down, the next day we made a short trip to York. Ah and York is one of my favorite places. Its this really old city that still has its old city wall. We toured the castle, or what's left of it, then checked out the museum. The city has a place called the shambles which has all these jetted old buildings. Ah so great. I loved York. We finished off our trip there with some delicious Indian food! So nice to get some different types of food while I'm here!

The next day Amy and I had an early morning bike ride along the country roads near their house to get to the post office in the other village. (Ha! A village!) It was COLD, but there were sheep! Then we took a quick 25 minute bus to Nottingham to check out the city there. Can you remember who lived around Nottingham?? He wears tights? He shots a bow and arrow? He fought the sheriff of Nottingham? That's right Robin Hood! Ha, so we went to the castle in Nottingham which actually had a really great museum, but the city was weirdly modern. Especially after York with its wonderful old streets and Roman roads, Nottingham felt like the first modern city (other than London) that I've been too.

Finally, yesterday we went to the American military base near Cambridge. Now, that was SUPER weird. In line waiting to get my pass everyone was American. It was really weird. Everyone in line was an American saying little American phrases like "hate that with a passion," "if you don't shut your mouth your'e going in time out," and other normal things to say that I just haven't heard in sooo long. Really really weird. The culture shock just kept on coming too because we went to the stores on base and it was like being in Walmart! It was really weird to be surrounded by people who are all American and then actually knowing the socially acceptable thing to do. It's not like I don't know what to do in England and Turkey, its just that I'm always second guessing if I'm acting properly. So being able to walk around a store and know that should be said to strangers was really weird. The good news is that I stocked up on American food that I can't get in Turkey like oregano, top ramen, easy mac, you know, things I don't even like in the states, but I just can't get them at all in Turkey. So I'm going to head back to Turkey with my bags full.

I have a ton of photos of ALL of these events, but I'm afraid I'll forget everything if I don't write it down now! I'll add the photos later and write more about the adventures I'm having. Tomorrow this mother and daughter plus Amy and I are going to drive down to Windsor Castle and see where the monarchs of England have lived for hundreds of years. Then we're heading to Bath to check out some more Roman ruins.

This trip has been such a whirl wind and the time is flying by super quickly!

Last, but not least, with some reflection over this trip to England I really think its interesting how 'normal' Turkey is for me. I feel like I'm still constantly running into problems in Turkey and seeing things that are so different from home. I didn't feel like I'd become normalized to Turkey until I came to England. Suddenly, England which is so similar to home, was the weird unusual place. Everything felt familiar, but it felt so abnormal. Living in Ankara can be hard and frustrating, but I also had the glorious realization as I got on my bus out of Ankara that I was going to miss it, something that has certainly taken a long time to realize.