Top Ten Things Learned So Far

Ok, as promised, here are the top-ten things I've learned in the first month (or so) of being here:

10. You really only need to let the clutch come up a tiny bit to go in reverse in a car.

9. English people are genetically prevented from pronouncing guttural sounds, while German and Gaelic are apparently very similar.

8. "For best results, sponge should be used wet and with soap"

7. Everyone is a cousin, in some way.

6. Children shouldn't eat too much sugar, but a bag of potato chips is a perfectly acceptable snack.

5. When in doubt, boil your food into submission.

4. Church is very important, but getting home after the service is also, so that you may need to push your way through the people in front of you to make it outside first.

3. An act as simple as walking down the road is being observed from many vantage points, and will be commented upon later by people whose names you don't even know.

2. Figuring out when to put out the laundry to dry is a complex scientific calculation, the result of which is an obscure phenomenon referred to locally as "drying", as in "there isn't much drying today".

1. It's not a social event until you've had tea and cookies (...no matter how many times that day you've already had tea and cookies).