Not Like the Other

In the U.S., we all know that U.K. electrics are 240 volt, instead of 120 volt. We also know that people in the U.K. drive on the left side of the road and the right side of the car. (I've driven about a mile and already had some close calls with curbs, car mirrors and trash bins.)

I expected that. But there are other, more subtle differences I didn't expect. I realize now there's much I never took note of, even after visting regularly over the last 12 years.

A few of the things I noticed this week:

• On light switches, down is on and up is off.
• Non-automatic doors on shops and office buildings open in, not out. When I go into a store I wonder: What if there's a fire and everyone needs to get out at the same time? Do we all hold it open for the person behind us as we file out and politely thank the person in front of us even as we feel the flames licking the backs of our necks?
• In any building, enter on the ground floor and walk up one flight to get to the first floor.
• Some people use their middle fingers to point, whether at something in the distance or a spot on a map. When this happens I try not to flash back to driving in Boston.
• I need to figure out how to collapse the ironing board and open and close the clothesline.

As tourists, I've always thought that most of us don't begin to really see the place we're in until we're leaving it. As a newly arrived expat, I'm beginning to understand the difference.

 

Hanging the laundry on a breezy day. This clothesline is collapsible.
I still haven't figured out how to do it.