Weird England

It wasn't my first time abroad but since England was my potential next home I paid a lot of attention to things that I found different or weird. I wanted to write them down and my boyfriend (I'll call him D) gave me a little book for the purpose. Unfortunately we have moved house twice since I did it and have lost the book but I will try and remember everything I can. It would be cool if you could tell me what you found funny or weird when you visited England (or Finland or any other country) for the first time!

Here's a few:

• The fact that strangers talk to you on the bus and say hi when you walk past them on the street. In general people are good at small talk and can have a conversation with any stranger
• The fact that nobody rinses the pots after washing them
• The fitted carpets that fill the whole floor... How do you keep them clean???
• Ok I knew the English like their tea but it's quite funny how they act shocked when I say "No thanks, I've already had a cup of tea today"... "JUST ONE??"
• You can buy spirits in super markets
• The amount of drugs
• Free birth control and sooooo many teen pregnancies??? 
• Horrible food like beans on toast and Yorkshire buddings, potatoes, potatoes, potatoes and sandwiches with ANY filling. Honest, they put chips, crisps, anything in a sandwich.
• "It's snowing, let's all go to Tesco and buy food for a month/ can't go to work/ buses aren't running...."
• Because I have an accent I must be Polish
• In Finland we have holes in the corners of duvet covers and in England they don't and it makes changing the sheets a lot slower.
• "What do you mean women have to be 25 years old to see a gynecologist??"
• Some places still pay wages in cash and cheques
• Moaning and fighting publicly on Facebook.

I do not mean to make this sound negative at all. I think the English countryside is breathtakingly beautiful. I think it's cool how people are more sociable and seem positive and always smiling. Customer service is often very good and most people have given me a warm welcome. I think I will be adding things to the list when I remember more. Thanks!

- Millie

The First Post

I suppose you people want to know how it all started. It's not the text book love story (is that even a word?) but it's my story.

Ok, here it comes: we met online. My boyfriend is so ashamed about the fact that it's not "natural" that he doesn't dare to tell his parents or people at work the truth. So let's hope these people never find this blog and recognize me. But noooo, no. It was not a naughty site. It was not world of warcraft. We were simply learning languages. He wanted to learn Finnish. I started teaching him, we thought Skype could be a good idea... Well you may guess what happens next. We liked each other.

We waited 7 months until we met live for the first time. I still think it was a good "test" for us in a way. If we could do it then surely that would mean something? The day we finally met I had my last final exam: advanced maths. I suppose it is possible I was nervous that day. 6 hours for the exam, one hour between the exam and catching the train, 6 hours on the train which was late. I had forgotten to get cash out for the bus to the airport where I was supposed to meet him. I panicked and phoned my mum in tears. The nice couple sat next to me gave me 4 euros for the bus. YESS, my plan worked! Thank you beautiful people!

Eventually I arrived in Helsinki-Vantaa airport.. I just needed to find him. "What would I say.. Should I hug him when I see him? What if I look different than on webcam? What if it's really awkward?" I had many questions on my mind but surprisingly once I got to the airport I wasn't that nervous anymore. And when I finally saw him I just ran to him, hugged him really hard and he almost fell over.. But yes, he was cute. :)

I'm not saying I didn't feel shy or awkward first but we were kinda busy finding the bus to Helsinki and then finding our hostel. But I don't want to make this too long so let's just say that we had a really great 11 days. We went to pubs, we went bowling, snowboarding, skiing, shopping, cinema etc.. Well you don't have to know everything. But by the time it was time for him to leave I felt like I'd known him forever. It was quite sad when he left..

Anyways, next time it was my turn. We had to wait another 5 months.. Not easy.. Not easy at all. But we made it and I would say it was the best day of my life when I met him again at Gatwick airport. I had never been to England before so it was quite exciting. Not just the fact that I was with my boyfriend but also being in a foreign country. I was supposed to stay for a month but I sort of ended up cancelling my flight back to Finland and just stayed.

My next post will be about all the things I found weird about England.

Sorry if I've made any mistakes.

- Millie

A couple of pictures taken when D came to see me in Finland for the first time. I wish I could upload pictures with faces but I want to remain anonymous for now. And my shadow looks fat but I was probably wearing some really warm clothes.