This week in America-land...

As time goes by, I seem to be becoming more and more Americanized.  Not that this is a bad thing though, and I guess after all this time being married to the Californian husband, not very surprising.  I posted my ice bucket challenge on Facebook a while back, and a couple of my friends commented on how American I sounded.  I listened to it and realized (with an American z) how true that actually is.  I always thought I still had a strong Scottish accent, but I guess I was very wrong.  I now spell color without a u, use z instead of s (see realized as used previously), say "awesome" several times a day, and routinely ask for the check instead of the bill at restaurants.  One thing I cannot, however, bring myself to do is say aluminum the American way.  Don't know why, just can't do it.  I will always pronounce and spell it AL-U-MIN-IUM.       

There are so many churches here in Tennessee, they seem to compete with each other as to what they write on their huge roadside signs.  Some of them are hilarious.  One of the most recent ones I spotted was "Don't run with the Devil if you want to walk with God".  I love how creative and in your face some of these signs are.  Only in America would you see "Go to Church or the Devil will get you" on a huge sign next to the road, or some of these beauties:

 

It was another quiet week at Walmart, but I did get panhandled by a lady in a car in the Target parking lot.  This is the second time I've had this experience, but last time, my daughter was there, so I had to politely tell the person that I had nothing for them and usher my daughter quickly inside the car in case they got angry.  This time, I realized that I was being followed, so when she stopped and told me pretty much the same story as the last lady, I was ready to tell her to get lost and that she shouldn't follow people to their cars.  I then shakily jumped into the safety of my own car and drove off.  Ugh.  Not a fun experience at all and it seems to happen way more often than it should.   

My blog overview shows what countries look at what I've written.  While I do have lots of friends overseas, I've been been very surprised recently by some of the more unusual places I've been viewed from - Moldova, Tunisia, Micronesia, Ukraine, Israel, Romania and Croatia being but a few.  I also get a lot of hits from Russia and China which to me, is quite surprising.  Anyway, if you are reading this from one of those places, "Hi, and thanks for reading!"

So that's this week's round up of happenings in America-land folks, have a good week and watch out for those bloody panhandlers!  

Fish 'n' Chips & Ice Cream

We went to Puckett's Boathouse in Franklin for dinner the other weekend.   I'd been craving proper fish 'n' chips for a while and had read good reviews about this place so we had to try it out.  Total success!  I can definitely say that Puckett's served the tastiest fish 'n' chips I've had in the States.  Thick, battered cod and tasty chips, doused in malt vinegar and salt.  Finger lickin' good!  It tasted like the real thing, even though the fries were a wee bit on the thin side, but I could almost have been eating at the local chippie back home.  The husband said he was surprised I could taste anything due to the large amount of salt and vinegar I piled on, but pffft, what does he know...   My all American daughter had the fried catfish - I'll pass on that thank you.

Puckett's Boathouse

Britain is famed for fish 'n' chips and rightly so.  We have fish 'n' chip shops on every High Street, the queue is always out the door at dinner time.  We just do it right!  Of course, it wouldn't be a good idea to eat here regularly but it's always good for a treat.  You really can't beat a hot fish supper with lashings of salt and vinegar.  A fish supper (or a sausage or any other type of supper) just means it comes with chips (fries).  This is called a combo in America.   Anyway, craving satisfied, I left with a happy smile on my face.

The local chippie back home in Nairn :)

On another food note, ice cream in America is pretty awesome.  The whole experience.  The add-ins, the countless flavors and of course the sizes which are way bigger than back home.  The choices are sometimes confusing because there are so many.  But in an old fashioned British ice cream shop, an American could also be understandably confused.  Like In 'n' Out Burger in the States with it's 'secret' menu of double doubles and animal style, us Brits have our own 'secret' ice cream menu.  You don't get Cadbury's Flakes over here, so there is no possibility of ordering a 99.  Nougats and wafers don't exist in the States either and if I asked for an oyster, chances are I'd get laughed out of the ice cream shop.

This, my American friends is a Cadbury's Flake. 

Fantastic when eaten on its own, but even better in an ice cream cone!

The flake is a fantastic addition to an ice cream cone.  Ladies and gentlemen, I give you, the single 99 which can also be ordered as a double.

Sheer perfection

And this, is a double nougat which is the British equivalent of an American ice cream sandwich, but in my opinion, so much better :)

Filled with mallow.   Chocolatey and crunchy at the same time. 

You can either have a double nougat or just a single, where the bottom of your sandwich would be a plain rectangular wafer.  Pure heaven.  Or you could get really fancy and go for an oyster!  I always felt very grow up when I was a kid and ordered an oyster.

This oyster doesn't smell of fish ;) 

Why I write about food sometimes, I'll never know.  It just makes me hungry and homesick.  But hey, at least now I know where to get decent fish 'n' chips in Tennessee :)


  

This Week In America-land...

I've lived here for a while, but I only just realized that you can't buy colored toilet paper in the US.  Or at least, I haven't seen it anywhere.  Does anybody know why?  If so, please enlighten me!  In the UK, we can adorn our bathrooms with many pastel shades of loo roll.  We have pink, peach, blue, green, yellow,  you name it, readily available at the supermarket.  The only color I've seen here is boring old white.  While I realize it's not exactly a matter of high importance or anything to complain about, I do find it interesting :)

3 lovely shades of Andrex :)

Two out of three kiddos have gotten sick recently, so we've been regulars at the doctor's office.  While it's never fun to visit the doctor, it's so convenient over here.  They have walk in appointments, people!  Yep, you just show up between the hours of 7.30 and 9.00am, wait for a short while, and walk right in to see your doctor.  When you have three children, it doesn't get better than that.  If you take one child in who needs medicine for something and the other child catches the same thing the next day, you don't need to take the second child back.  You can call the office and they'll simply put in a new prescription.  I LOVE THIS!!  Thank you for making this Mum's life so much easier, America!

I'm starting to see proper cider in the stores now, which is great, although it's usually described as 'hard' cider.   Ha, ain't nothing 'hard' about cider over here unless it happens to be a Diamond White (responsible for a few memory losses in the past...!)  I believe Diamond White is around 7.5% vol, so although it tastes delicious, it has more than a kick.  Most of the ciders I've tried here have been a bit too sweet, but better than nothing I guess.  I would kill for a Magners though, either apple or pear.  Please feel free to buy me one when I'm back in Scotland next summer :) 

This is the definition of 'hard'!

The best cider!

I know y'all wait with bated breath to see what happened on my weekly trip to Walmart, but this week, I actually have nothing to report.  Of course, I saw the usual visible ass cracks and sprinkling of Tweety Bird T shirts, but otherwise, nada.  That was indeed, a very good day!  So I bid you farewell for now.  See y'all next time in America-land :) 

Trekking Expedition To Nepal

A long time ago (20 years ago to be exact), I was lucky enough to be selected to go on a Royal Air Force expedition to Nepal.  The selection process involved trekking in the mountains above Hong Kong where I was stationed at the time, and bivvying out overnight to weed out any lightweights.  I love doing this kind of thing so it was pretty easy, and I was excited when I was picked to be part of the team.   Several more training hikes around the Hong Kong Maclehose Trail later, we were finally ready for the big trip.   

Part of Hong Kong's beautiful Maclehose Trail

First stop was Kathmandu.  Dirty, stinky but incredible Kathmandu.  Everywhere you look, there is something amazing to see - both good and bad.  Poverty, ancient buildings and temples, crazy traffic with cows walking between said traffic, cuter than cute children everywhere - most of them filthy, modern hotels, monks in orange robes, half naked yogis - some of them seemingly crazy, people bathing in the dirty, brown river as upstream, bodies burned and cows waded.  Some of the children we met had holes cut in their pants so they could just go to the bathroom wherever they were.  I'll never forget some of the sights and smells I experienced there.  We stayed in the city for a couple of days, sorting out our trekking permits to enter Sagarmatha (the Nepalese name for Mount Everest) National Park and making sure we had all the necessary equipment.  We ate German and Nepalese food, visited the Monkey Temple and just started getting to know each other because we were to spend the next 3 weeks together.
 

Fine dining in Kathmandu

Crazy yogis

Prayer Flags

 

The river where cows waded, people bathed and bodies were burning

Extreme poverty

 

Young monks

We split into 2 teams to fly to Lukla (one of the most dangerous airfields in the world) because there wasn't enough room in the tiny aircraft to take us all plus our equipment.  I was in the first team to fly.  It was scary as hell taking off in the ancient propeller plane, surrounded by backpacks and ice axes, but the views of the Himalayas were breathtaking.  I had no idea that the landing strip at Lukla was going to be a dirt track that ended with a cliff face.  I may or may not have screamed when we landed.  It didn't help that there were several crashed aircraft at the side of the runway with children happily playing on them!  The runway has since been paved and is hopefully a bit safer.

The 'runway' at Lukla

Happy to be alive!

Kids playing on crashed aircraft at the side of the runway

Meeting the locals and waiting for the rest of the team to arrive

We got out and waited for the second half of our team, but they were going to be stuck in Kathmandu until the next day because the weather had closed in.  We grabbed all our gear and made our way to the first of many tea houses that we would bunk in while in the mountains.  This one was very clean, the food was simple but excellent and we drank a lot of lemon tea.  Beer was banned until after the expedition because of the risk of dehydration and altitude sickness.  We hung out until finally we were all together to begin our trek.

The team

Porters were hired for the first part of our trek and then we added some yaks at Namche Bazaar.  These dudes are amazing.  It's unbelievable how strong they are and how much they can carry up and down steep trails, wearing what looks like slippers on their feet.  We were to carry our own day packs with clean clothes, jackets, waterproofs, water, poles if required and being a girl, I stuck some toilet paper and baby wipes in mine too.  The porters carried climbing equipment, sleeping bags and spare clothes etc.  It was a lot of kit! Our guide Chong, was a lovely man - friendly, helpful and very talkative.

Two of our happy porters

One of many scary bridges we crossed!

I found out on the 2nd night that the military issue sleeping bag I'd brought with me was no good.  I shivered all night and got absolutely no sleep.  Apart from the fire in the main part of the lodges, there was no heating or electricity.  I decided that when we got to Namche Bazaar, I would rent a good, down sleeping bag from one of the climbing stores there.  Kind of creepy, yes, but I would rather be warm than worry about lice or wonder about what happened to the original owner of the bag! 

We climbed up and up.  You could feel the air getting thinner and our breaths getting harder to take, but slowly and surely we made it to Namche at 11,286 feet.  We stayed here for a couple of nights to acclimatize, taking day hikes up higher, but coming back down again in the afternoon to help avoid the dreaded altitude sickness.   It snowed, so the trails were more difficult now.  The lodges were getting fuller and dirtier the higher up we went, and I had already been a few days without showering, whilst sweating all day long.  Thank god for baby wipes!

Acclimatization hike in the snow

Namche is surrounded by fierce peaks and is a most amazing place.  There were people washing their clothes in the stream, markets with chunks of dead animals laying around in the street and several stores selling climbing apparel and items.  I was chased by a dog with 2 legs which sounds hilarious but was absolutely terrifying!  Rabies, people!  I finally rented a nice, warm sleeping bag.  There was actually some electricity for a few hours each day in Namche, but it was early nights all round which was fine.  We were all pretty tired and some of the team already had headaches from altitude and of course the diarrhea so common in Nepal.  We were presented with scarves that had been blessed, I still have mine to this day. 

Namche Bazaar

The stream running through the center of Namche

Namche Bazaar market

We climbed mostly up, but of course there were also several downs.  The paths were tiny and sometimes on the side of sheer cliff faces and mountains.  It was amazing, exhilarating and exhausting.  We drank a lot of tea and went to the bathroom in some ridiculous places.  When there was somewhere to go, it was usually a shelf on the edge of a mountain with a hole cut out in the middle.  There were sometimes mountains of ummentionables underneath, luckily frozen solid!   But mostly, it just dropped away, out of sight.  Prayer wheels and flags lined the sides of the trails, we all made sure to turn them in the correct direction and say "Namaste" to passing sherpas and locals.  There were stupas everywhere and piles of small rocks which were memorials for fallen sherpas and climbers.  Our yaks were CRAZY.  Put it this way, it is a good idea to stay far away from them on the trail.  

Oooh!  Fancy toilet!

Unfortunately, not quite so fancy on the inside...

Yaks on the trail

Me on the trail, not to be confused with a yak...

Ama Dablam

Incredible views.  Cairns for fallen sherpas and climbers.

One night, we stayed at Tengboche Monastery.  I have never heard anything so moving and spiritual as the monks there praying and singing.  It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life and I will never forget the sound of the chanting and the bells.  By now, we were mostly sleeping on wooden pallets, all together, dirty and sweaty men and women, inside our sleeping bags.  The warmth from the other bodies was actually nice, strangers or not.   The lodges were usually filled with smoke, so that was another odor to add to our collection!  The food varied, sometimes we ate tiny potatoes still covered in dirt.  It wasn't worth it to peel the dirt off the potatoes because there would be no food left, so generally, you just ate it, dirt and all.  We ate yak burgers, amazing daals, currys and a lot of rice.  By now, the lemon tea was getting old, but it was necessary to drink as much as possible.  

Tengboche Monastery

Outside the appropriately named Yak Hotel in Thukla

After trekking for a few days, surrounded by the most spectacular peaks and dramatic scenery, we eventually reached Gorakshep.  This was to be our last stop before our final push to Base Camp and it was definitely the dirtiest and most overcrowded place we'd stayed yet.  Several of us were suffering, so it was decided that instead of going to Base Camp, we would climb Kala Pattar, a peak of 18,500 ft which would give us the best view of both Mount Everest and Base Camp.  This was my worst night.  I was in a bunk with 2 strange and smelly men and I spent most of the night lying outside on the ground, vomiting and trying to make it to the 'bathroom' with explosive diarrhea. Not one of my finest moments. 

There was no way I wasn't going to push it to our goal though, so off we all went the next morning.  It was more than hard, the healthiest team members were encouraging us sickies, but nobody really spoke much.  Finally, we summitted Kala Pattar.  There aren't enough suitable adjectives to describe how we all felt or to describe the view.  Mount Everest, right there before us, the Khumbu Glacier and Base Camp below.  Lhotse and Nuptse in front, all these names I'd only ever read about.  It was very emotional.  We hugged and took a ton of photos before it was time to head back to the lodge.  

Mount Everest above me, Base Camp below

We trekked down a slightly different route from the way we'd come up from Namche and split into two teams once more.  One team was going to climb Gokyo Peak while the rest of us would slowly head down  to Namche where we would meet again.  We were all beyond happy and most of our illnesses and altitude symptoms disappeared as we headed down.  Our guide took us all into his tiny home in Namche to meet his family which was a very humbling experience.  Nepalese people are so happy, friendly and polite and the children so beautiful.  

Our guide Chong and his family

Inside Chong's house

By the time we made it back to Lukla again,  ready to fly to Kathmandu, we were all jubilant and finally allowed to drink beer!  I really couldn't believe what we'd just accomplished.  It's hard to describe, but my head was clear and I felt truly amazing and refreshed. 

As soon as we hit our hotel in Kathmandu, it felt amazing to have a shower after 2 weeks without.  My clothes were disgusting (I only had 3 sets) but luckily we had left bags with clean clothes at the hotel.  It felt so good to be back to normal again and to be clean.  More beer was consumed and we did some shopping for rugs and other Nepalese items.  Much food was consumed also!

Finally, it was time for our flight back to Hong Kong, to return to our normal lives and jobs.  I felt truly blessed. Nepal and the sight of Mount Everest will stay with me forever and I hope I can return again one day in the future.

So, thank you for bearing with me as I tried to remember details from so long ago.  I realize that my photographs are not of the greatest quality, but they are all I have left to remind me of one of the most amazing things I have ever done in my life (so far).  Namaste friends! 

This Week in America-land...

While out and about, we drove by a billboard advertising a fried bologna velveeta biscuit.  I kid you not.  I thought it was some kind of joke, but nope, it's for real.  Now I know why I never visit Hardee's.  Apparently it looks like this:

I couldn't find it on Hardee's Nutrition Guide, funny that.  Bologna, blegh!!   

We were driving in the countryside at the weekend when we came across a truck with flashing lights in the middle of the road and a bunch of people in florescent vests picking up trash.  On the back of the vests in huge writing was "I am a drunk driver".  It was a group of people convicted of drunk driving doing their community service by picking up trash - what an awesome idea, the UK should practice this too!  But no doubt it would violate some kind of Health and Safety or Human Rights rule...

Almost every time I visit Walmart, I see questionable things.  I normally just keep my head down and ignore, but I was guilty of rolling my eyes at a young man who almost ran me over as he tried to park in the space close to the door for pregnant women.  Huge mistake.  He jumped out and started yelling at me, asking what was my problem.  I then proceeded to break my personal speed record, sprinting for the safety of the store.  A reminder to keep my eye rolls to myself in the future.    

I love my American kitchen tap (faucet).  You can lift the top off of the tap and it turns into a retractable hose.  How bleedin' handy is that?!  If we ever move back to the UK, this is one thing I will miss terribly!

And the last observation this week is that it is always a good idea to know if your tent is waterproof or not.  Make sure that you know this before you go camping with your kids and dog and get hit by a massive thunderstorm.  Yes indeed.  We got absolutely soaked and the tent floor turned into a small lake.  On the plus side, at least the tent didn't blow away in the crazy wind gusts - the water weight probably helped with that.  

Until next time in America-land, folks!

One Word, Two Meanings

Every day, I come across many words with different meanings in the UK and the US.  Here is this week's short list for you :)

CONCESSION.  In the UK, if you get a concession, it means you get a discount.  But here in the States, you visit the concession stand at a game, concert, the movies or a public event to get your hot dog and coke.  Two vastly different meanings for one word! 

TRAINERS.  This is what we call running shoes.  The American term is sneakers.  When I hear the word sneakers, I automatically think of some creepy guy sneaking around in the bushes.  The only trainers in America are personal trainers or big kid diapers (trainer pants).  We actually call diapers 'nappies' in the UK.   

TROLLEY.  I still use this word in the British way which can cause confusion.  To me, a trolley is what you use at the grocery store to put your groceries in.  In the States, that's called a cart.  To me, a cart is a big contraption pulled along by a horse or a tractor!  Anyway, a trolley over here is a tram, hence the confusion at the supermarket when I ask for a trolley.

1ST FLOOR.  Not exactly one word, but the use of this confuses me to no end.  There is no such thing as Ground Floor over here, the floors of any building begin at 1st Floor.  1st Floor in the UK is the floor above the floor at Ground Level.  I get horribly confused in elevators in America!      

POST.  When I talk about going to check the post, or going to post something, I sometimes get blank stares.  Post is mail in the UK.  Over here however, post is only called mail, so I get why people might thinking I'm talking gibberish.

BOG.  "Help, I've fallen into the bog"!  If you heard this at home, you'd more than likely be laughing hysterically that somebody had actually fallen into the toilet.  In the States however, you'd be lending a helping hand to some poor soul who had fallen into a marsh or a swamp. 

So that's it for this week folks, what words with double meanings can you think of?