UK Day 3: Brown Sauce Red Sauce

Today felt like a blink of an eye - seemed like there wasn't enough time to get through all of the things we've accomplished. It's all moving forward, but our combined team hasn't completely gelled. We're lurching and lumbering our way forward in a herky-jerky sort of way. Still learning a ton though - just the change in environment, exposure to the end product of design and having to take ownership and responsibility for my team's designs is a huge step forward. Trusting a design that you've never seen, something your coworker designed and another coworker checked and telling someone else to just follow it to the letter is pretty disconcerting, but rewarding when it just works out. Of course, not everything is perfect, but it's a great learning experience for everyone.

The weather is uncannily similar to Vancouver, with the difference being that it's just a touch greyer overhead, and the cold tends to "seep into your bones." I've heard the expression before, but I never really understood it until now.

English marmalade is excellent by the way - also note that "brown sauce" refers to HP sauce in NA, and "red sauce" refers to ketchup. "Builder's Tea" is a macho english blue collar tea - supposedly the equivalent to a coffee.

For dinner we also happened to find this great thai place, and I had curry twice in as many nights. "Can't go wrong with Green curry!" or red curry or yellow, or any thai curry with coconut milk that is.

Apparently modern English society remains stratified, wealth and titles being subtle, but still very real and relevant to your social circle and advancement through life. As well, English people tend to look down on all other English people, at least until you get to the Scottish, and heaven forbid you happen to be Irish. It's this sort of friendly-and-yet-not rivalry that probably has its roots back into the historical wars and bloodshed between nations before the country became the "united kingdom." Poor Ireland gets blamed for a lot, from The Troubles to being an economic sinkhole whose greatest export is poor people.

I'll try and remember more "english english" phrases - my goal is to start recording them as I hear them, so I'll be able to construct a couple of sentences after I leave with the proper inflections as well as expressions. :D

that's all for now - tune in tomorrow for more!