Did you know...?

Did you know that in England, you are allowed to put your baby's car seat on the front passenger seat? When I first saw that, I thought I should report the owner of the car for recklessly endangering the life of his/her child...then I realized that most car seats were installed on the front seat...It must be more convenient, since most cars are 3-door cars, but still, after the car-seat boot camp I attended in Provo, Utah, it is still hard for me to let go.

Did you know that most two-way streets only have one accessible lane: since most people park on the side of the road,they end up shutting half of the lane off, on both sides of the street, leaving a middle pathway for two-way traffic. That means, that if you are driving in such a street, you have to gauge the time it will take for the car coming from the opposite direction to cross your path and eventually either one of you have to yield the right of way by parking behind parked cars until the car has passed...it's quite tricky and scary and is one of the main reasons why you won't see me behind the wheel anytime soon!

Did you know that in England, Kindergarten is called "Reception" and starts at the age of 4? Which means Eve will be starting school next September...luckily, her birthday is in October so she'll be turning 5 soon thereafter. As much as I love education (teaching is my passion!), I personally think that 4 is quite early for full-time school and I am not ready to let go of my little princess from 9 to 3:30 PM. Eve already LOVES going to preschool, which starts at 12:30 and goes until 3:30...she cries when I come pick her up and never wants to go home. She begs me to let her stay for lunch as well and quite likes the idea of boarding school (say what?!).

Did you know that it takes at least 3-4 weeks to get a landline in the country? Oh. My. Goodness. And then our phone didn't work, so we had to go at some friends to call the company to repair the line because the calling number is only free IF you call from a landline but is outrageously expensive on a cell phone. The agent then proceeded to tell us that IF the repairman cannot fix the line from the outside of the house and has to come into our flat (apartment in British English), then they would have to charge us an extra 125 pounds (about $200)!!! Totally insane...it is things like that that really makes me miss the States so much!

Did you know that EVERYONE recycles here? Every other week, the garbage truck takes your recyclable items, AS LONG AS they are properly stored in the RED tubs and bags...but IF they happen to show or if the lid is not TIGHTLY closed, then the men in the neon yellow jackets won't touch it! Oh bother...

If you have any questions about England or the English, feel free to post them in your comments and I'll attempt to find the answer for you.