It has now been (over) one whole year since I moved from England to the USA to further my voice acting career. I have been absolutely loving it and am so excited for everything that lies ahead. When I first moved here I wrote a blog post about all the humorous questions I had about America. One year on, I wanted to do a sequel post about my experiences.
I haven't actually used checks as much as I thought but I think I kind of understand them now. Though I do still prefer to write “cheques” as it looks classier.
Sort of the same as the above for mastering the art and the science of tipping.
The different measurements have largely not mattered except…
Fahrenheit. I mean I don't automatically hear "100 degrees" and think all the water around me is boiling anymore but I'm not completely used to it yet. Thinking of it as a “percentage of hotness” helps.
I still don't care about college level sports.
If I'm writing on my (American) phone, I use American spellings. If I'm writing on my (English) tablet or handwriting I use British spellings.
I still don't like to call the immensely popular global sport where you actually kick the ball around to move it: “soccer”.
I think I managed to do Halloween right.
I have said to a few women that I like their pants and every time I've started blushing. I still mostly say “trousers” and probably will for a long time because saying “pants” still feels pretty strange.
I still haven't had candy corn or taffy.
I still have never been to a Denny's.
I call crisps “chips” now.
I love the Parks and Rec signs.
There is a completely different attitude to spiciness here. McDonald's Buffalo Sauce is incredibly spicy.
I knew that Thanksgiving dinner was kind of different from other meals I was used to but had no idea that Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas dinner were essentially the same.
I was surprised I needed ID to buy a train ticket.
I'm not afraid of ceiling fans now… but I'm watching them closely.