Cultural Lesson: Signs
The British are so amusingly proper. Even their warning signs have a touch of pleasantry to them – and often an explanation. When we were walking around London, Heather and Erin and I saw some funny signs. Here they are for your enjoyment:
Clearly, they care about silly Americans who don’t know from which direction the cars are coming.
Talk to the hand! (unless you’re “authorised”)
Here’s a long explanation of why you should not feed the pigeons (since a simple command won’t suffice).
And for the sake of those who didn't read my blog on the Lake District, here is my favourite warning sign of all:
To Let = For Rent
Take Away = To Go
I feel like my days here are almost done! I’ll still be in the UK for another 2 weeks, but the programme ends on Friday. I’m trying to absorb as much literary genius from my professors as I can this week! Today’s lecture was on Modernist Fiction – and I think I actually understand the genre better now because of it! Previously I thought all readers of modernist novels just enjoyed smoking some form of drug, but now it makes a little more sense. My Austen class had a discussion of Mansfield Park and some basic tropes in Austen’s writing. I am typing this right now instead of working on my paper for that class, but at least I finally have my topic for the essay. Hopefully I won’t procrastinate toooo much. =)
Date: 16 July 2007
Location: Oxford
Highlights:
- picnic lunch with Erin in the Oxford Botanical Gardens (I enjoy spending time there and luckily I have friends who enjoy it as well!)
- discovering something redeeming about Modernist Fiction
Thought of the Day: Mind the Gap (said with a British accent to warn you as you approach the trains in the underground). So polite. =)
The British are so amusingly proper. Even their warning signs have a touch of pleasantry to them – and often an explanation. When we were walking around London, Heather and Erin and I saw some funny signs. Here they are for your enjoyment:
Clearly, they care about silly Americans who don’t know from which direction the cars are coming.
Talk to the hand! (unless you’re “authorised”)
Here’s a long explanation of why you should not feed the pigeons (since a simple command won’t suffice).
And for the sake of those who didn't read my blog on the Lake District, here is my favourite warning sign of all:And then we have the difference in British and American sayings. There are lots of discrepancies between phrases. For example, on my first attempt at riding the bus, I was trying to purchase a ticket and the man asked if I wanted one way or return. It took me a bit to process that “return” meant “round trip” and I felt like a moron for that span of seconds. Here are some other sayings:
To Let = For Rent
Take Away = To Go
I feel like my days here are almost done! I’ll still be in the UK for another 2 weeks, but the programme ends on Friday. I’m trying to absorb as much literary genius from my professors as I can this week! Today’s lecture was on Modernist Fiction – and I think I actually understand the genre better now because of it! Previously I thought all readers of modernist novels just enjoyed smoking some form of drug, but now it makes a little more sense. My Austen class had a discussion of Mansfield Park and some basic tropes in Austen’s writing. I am typing this right now instead of working on my paper for that class, but at least I finally have my topic for the essay. Hopefully I won’t procrastinate toooo much. =)
Date: 16 July 2007
Location: Oxford
Highlights:
- picnic lunch with Erin in the Oxford Botanical Gardens (I enjoy spending time there and luckily I have friends who enjoy it as well!)
- discovering something redeeming about Modernist Fiction
Thought of the Day: Mind the Gap (said with a British accent to warn you as you approach the trains in the underground). So polite. =)
