One would think, if English is the official language in both the United States and England there would be no communication gaps.   Not so!   Sometime engaging in dialogue with the British could be confusing.   Many words and phrases used in England do not have the same meaning as those used in the United States.

           For instance when I asked for water at a restaurant the waiter asked “Gas or No Gas”.   With a puzzled look on my face, my  friend stated “No Gas.”   Now, water With Gas is somewhere on the lines of mineral/sparkling water and is carbonated.  No thank you, just plain water for me….

           While in England……..

                 The British eat with gobbling rods (eating utensils)

                 On certain days of the week the dust cart (garbage truck) picks up the rubbish

                 The Bobbies ( policemen)  do not carry guns.

                 Multi-story buildings have lifts ( elevators)

                 Hotels do not provide visitors with flannels (wash cloths)

                 We put our groceries in the trolley (cart, buggy)

                  The traffic sign read : Kill Your Speed, ( slow down.)

                 Our group leader told us to Push On ( move on)

                  Many people in downtown London live in flats (apartments)

                 Motor vehicles run on petro (gasoline)

                 Are you slimming? (losing weight)

                 Don’t forget to mind the gap, mind your step, or mind your head (watch)

                It only took a few days for us to catch on to these words and phrases, but I must say when I first heard them I thought them to be strange. 

                I am glad to be back in Louisiana with our own Cajun version of the English language.

Listed below are some interesting observations I made during my stay in England.

      1.  Daylight can last as long as 18 hours.

      2.  Policemen in London DO NOT carry guns.

      3.  Homes do not have electrical outlets in the bathroom.   It is against building codes.

      4.  Citizens are not allowed to own or carry a gun

       5.  Ice is rarely used.

       6.  Hotels do not provide face cloths

       7.  You can buy shoes out of a vending machine

        8.  Always wear deodorant when riding the metro and hope others will too.

        9.  Always remember that people drive on the left side of the road.  

       10.. Most establishments and homes do not have air-conditioning.

       11.  It takes $1.67( American money) for 1 England pound.  (Not a good exchange)

       12. Big Ben is 150 years old this year.

                                                 (Example: 1/08/09 is August 1^st.)

             Captain Kidd….the priate

             Captain Blood……..he was the only person who tried to steal the crown jewels

             HMS Belfast…….a military ship

             The Great Fire of London.

             The London Bridge in Lake Havasu, Arizona

              Harrods Department Store

              The Crown Jewels

             The London Eye

              Check back tomorrow and you can read about some common words and phrases used by the English.

      I arrived back home at 2am on Tuesday, July 28^th   having left London on Monday, July 27^th at 1:05 pm.   Thirteen hours of traveling is not easy.    With 319 movies to choose from, the nine hour flight from London to Houston was not as bad as one would think.  However, the seven hour wait in Houston for the flight back to New Orleans was extremely tiring.   When you realize how close you are to home, the waiting becomes almost unbearable.  Much effort was put into finding an earlier flight once we got to Houston, but there was no guarantee that our luggage would arrive with the earlier flight. 

We gave thought to renting a car and driving back to New Orleans, but no one wanted to volunteer for the task of driving.   Our bodies began to give us signs of being awake for almost twenty-four hours.   Backaches, neck aches, headaches, dizziness and fatigue began to set in.    Talking, laughing and joking became non- existence.    We just wanted to GET HOME. 

     I have been home for two days now and have yet to leave my house.   My body is still on London time and I awoke at 4:30AM on Wednesday and 5:30AM on Thursday.

Keep in mind London is six hours ahead of us.   Today, I will try to unpack my suitcases instead of walking around them on the living room floor.   Maybe if I leave the house the “suitcase fairy” will sneak in and unpack for me.   Just for the record, I left for England with one suitcase and I have returned with two.  I am now the proud owner of a large brown and pink rolling duffel bag.    I guess I could always use it to carry papers to and from school.    Ugh……..I mentioned the “S” word.   I only have three days to get ready, because our faculty has a retreat on Monday, August 3^rd.  

     I will be posting at least three more blogs to fill you in on some of the different customs I experienced while “living in England’ for seventeen days.   So…..keeping checking the website.

A visit to London would not be complete without viewing the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace, the official home of the Queen of England.    The ceremony, known for its pomp and circumstance, is the process of replacing a guard at the end of his duty with a new guard. 

    One must get an early start if you intend to be close to the gate for this ceremony.  We arrived an hour and a half before the actually ceremony, which takes place each day at 11:30am.   We managed to find a spot right along the gate of the palace.  Looking at the crowd that gathered afterwards we had made the right decision to go early.  What had started as a few hundred people quickly turned into a few thousand.

      The guards are very recognizable with their red tunic tops and their tall bearskin hats.   These men are not just ceremonial guards upholding the tradition of England’s’ heritage, they are professional soldiers serving their country.   There are five regiments that guard the palace, and other locations.  They include the Grenadier Guards, Coldstream Guards, Scots Guards, Irish Guards and Welch Guards.   Each regiment has a recognizable difference in their uniform and this sets them apart.       

      From a distance one can hear music as the Regimental Band and Corp of Drums leads the new regiment up the street, through the gates and onto the forecourt of the palace.      The process of replacing a guard is very formal and takes forty-five minutes to complete the change.  Four guards watch the palace if the Queen is in residence, only two guards if she is not.   On this particular day two sentries were guarding the palace.   Typically a guard has to stand still, however he is not expected to stand still for more than ten minutes at a time. He is allowed to walk the path in front of his sentry box.  He is on duty for two hours at a time and off for four.

       Upon completion of the ceremony some of the new guards are left at Buckingham Palace, while others march on to St. James Place where they will relieve those guards who have completed their twenty four hour duty. Altogether the regiment consist of three officers and thirty six soldiers. 

There I stood with one foot in the Eastern hemisphere and one foot in the Western hemisphere. It was easy--I was straddling the Prime Meridian in Greenwich, England.

   As most of you already know, the Prime Meridian is the 0 degrees longitude line. It is the line that separates the Eastern and Western hemispheres. But how did it come to be?

   As English sailors traveled the seas north and south, they used the equator and lines of latitude to gauge their ships' positions. However, there was no established method to measure the distance traveled east to west.

   King Charles II appointed John Flamsteed as his Astronomer Royal. He was instructed to study the stars and positions of the planets to develop a much-needed system to chart east-west travel. This was needed in order to allow sailors to perfect the art of navigation. An observatory was built on the highest point in Greenwich. It is at this site where Flamsteed and his successors charted the heavens.

   Each Astronomer Royal shifted the 0 degrees meridian as improved telescopes and equipment became available. 

   Another task for the royal scientists was to develop a way to measure universal time. Sailors needed to be able to tell time as they traveled the seas and moved from one longitude to the next. The scientists knew that the earth rotated 360 degrees in 24 hours (one day), which meant that the earth rotated one degree every four minutes.  Using this information, navigators could chart their positions according to latitude and longitude. By measuring longitude, they could calculate distance traveled (east or west) in time.

   Set high on the top of the Royal Observatory roof is a large red ball on a huge red spike. Every day at 1 p.m., the ball was raised to the top of the spike and then dropped.

   This would allow all the townspeople and sailers at sea nearby to set their clocks by the drop of the red ball. On each ship a sailor was assigned the task of keeping the ship's clock accurate. It was his duty to "keep his eye on the ball." If he succeeded in seeing the ball drop, he was said to be "on the ball." If he failed at his task or got distracted, he was said to have "dropped the ball."

   It remains customary in some countries to drop the ball on New Year's Day to note the start of the new year. 

   Knowing this information, it may now be easier for you to understand there two quotes. So, always "stay on the ball.

 I was in awe as I stood gazing at one of the most remarkable prehistoric sites in the entire world. Directly in front of me was Stonehenge. This monument is located at a site that's bout a two-hour drive south/southwest of London. If you have seen the movie "European Vacation," you may recognize the huge stones that Chevy Chase knocked down with the family station wagon. Now that's make believe, so let me bring you back to reality.

       The famous stones stand upright forming a circular pattern and are surrounded by green pastures and gently rolling hills. The larger stones are called sarsen stones that were thought to have been brought in from an area 19 miles away. The smaller stones are bluestones, which come from Wales about 240 miles away. How were these stones transported to this prehistoric location? If you want to find out the height of these stones, search the Internet.

       Since the Middle Ages people have tried to understand the origin of Stonehenge.  Fundamental questions still remain unanswered. How and why was it built? You'll enjoy learning more about the history of Stonehenge. 

    Later that night after returning to London I had dinner with my cousin from Houma, Karla Spinella and her mother Lorriane Girior. They are in London to visit Karla's daughter and Lorriane's granddaughter Stephanie Spinella who is here studying theatre and English. After dinner we attended the stage production "Jersey Boys." This  musical traces the life of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.    

Paris was wonderful!!!   I traveled to Paris by way of the Eurostar.   This high-speed train goes under the English Channel and connects England to France.   As some of you remember, this connection was a dream of Napoleon Bonaparte, the French leader.   However, the English would not agree to it due to fear the French would launch a surprise attack coming from under the channel.

    Like a typical tourist, I checked into my hotel and then headed straight to the Eiffel  Tower.  For years I thought it would be great to go to the top of the tower.    However, after seeing the extremely long lines of people who had the same idea(about a two hours wait) I decided that going to the top was no longer a priority.   I took photos of the tower and then moved on to take a leisurely cruise down the Seine River. 

    The cruise allowed me to see the beautiful architecture of each bridge we went under. Many featured ornate statues.  

 Viewing the city from the river made it possible to see the distinct architecture of the buildings.

        My next stop was a visit to historic Notre Dame Cathedral.   The bell tower of this church is the place where the legendary Hunchback of Notre Dame lived.  When I arrived mass had just begun and I was fortunate to sit in on it and receive holy communion at this very famous Cathedral. 

     Another famous landmark in Paris is the Arc de Triomphe.  This huge structure was commissioned to be built by Napoleon to honor some of his outstanding generals who has been successful in victories for France.  At the base of the arch is the gravesite of France's unknown soldier.  This soldier is symbolic to all French soldiers killed during war, just like we honor our unknown soldiers in Arlington Cemetary.   

     A visit to Paris would not be complete without a trip to the Louvre, one of the most outstanding art muesums in the world.  The buildings that house the Louvre was built in 1190 to enclose and protect the city from invaders.  King Charles V of France later built an arsenal in another area and made the Louvre his royal home.  Throughout the century, the Louvre has been used for many purposes.  In 1793  it was transferred into an art museum that allowed all citizens to enjoy beautiful art from throughout the world.  The most famous piece of art work in this museum is the painting , the Mona Lisa.    You could see the importance of this painting by the fact that after most people entered the museum they walked straight to the room where the Mona Lisa was displayed.   There seemed to always be a crowed gathered around that picture.

    The day ended with a dinner in one of France's many sidewalk cafe's.   Interesting enough, dinner was at 9:45 and it was still daylight.     

     Most people can identify the clock tower known as Big Ben.   However, what is not commonly known is that Big Ben is not the clock. It is the massive bell whose chimes can be heard throughout London.

      The building that houses this clock tower is the Parliament building.  Parliament in England is similar to Congress in the United States.  Both are the law-making bodies of their respective countries.

     Parliament is composed of the House of Lords and the House of Commons.  Members of the House of Lords are appointed and members of the House of Commons are elected.   Each house chamber has a very distinct color of upholstered seating and carpet (red in the House of Lords and green for the House of Commons).  The hall that connects  the chambers and other areas that the Queen uses are carpeted in blue.   This signifies that the Queen is neutral and does not favor one house of Parliament over the other.  I must say it was one of the most "educational" tours that I have been on since my arrival.

     Our group then proceeded to The Tower of London.  It is at this tourist attraction that one will see a Yeoman Warder, commonly known as a Beefeater.

     The Tower has served as the home of royalty as well as a fortress.  One of the highlights of the tour was seeing the Crown Jewels.  These are priceless collections of coronation items including crowns, scepters and other jewel-studded items.  The Crown Jewels have been on public display since the 1600's and only one attempt has been made to steal them.

    Although the Tower was once the home of the royal family, it also held many famous prisoners. Those imprisoned in the Bloody Tower were usually beheaded.   

     Ravens bring a bit of history to the Tower of London.  Legend has it that King Charles II was told that if the ravens left the Tower, the kingdom and its fortress would fall. The king had a person known as the Ravenmaster to keep close eye on the birds to ensure the birds would not leave the castle.

     Currently, the Tower of London has on display a collection of armor and weaponry that belonged to King Henry VIII.  You may know that King Henry VIII  was a very large man. Each time he gained weight, a new suit of armor have to be made for him.

      After visiting the Tower of London, our next stop was the London Eye. At 443 feet, the London Eye is the world's tallest observation wheel.  This huge wheel has 32 capsules, each of which hold up to 25 passengers. This stunning 30-minute ride gives visitors a unique view of London. The London Eye was designed by a husband and wife team to celebrate the millennium. You will definitely want to do more research on the Internet concerning this observation wheel.