- Vending machines in the library..... that sell stationery! This clearly excites me far more than it should, but I can't help it. Embrace the inner geek. Who wants Doritos when you could get a blank CD? Who wants a KitKat when you can have a calculator?? Nobody, I tell you. Nobody at Harvard, anyway...
- The etiquette of drivers. Over here - in Cambridge, anyway - the pedestrian reigns supreme. When we want to cross the road, we cross the road. When we tell a car to stop, it blinking well stops! Just remind me to adjust before returning to the UK...
- Toilet facilities. I know, I know, I'm sorry to bring this up but it has to feature. Everything is automatic - hand soap, paper towels, taps, flushes... its just brilliant! Granted, its probably to make things less confusing for Americans rather than a case of hygiene but still! (sorry, quick aside - who on earth knew hygiene had an 'i' in it?!)
- Cafes that stay open late at night. There's something so comforting about knowing that everything doesn't just shut down at 6pm and that even at 11pm you can nip off to Starbucks for a change of scenery (/pumpkin bread. Don't judge me.)
- The power of the British accent: nothing you say can be wrong. It is unthinkable that anything said in a British accent can be anything other than 100 percent fact. Its frankly brilliant.
- On the topic of accents, cash machines: imagine my delight when my local one spoke to me in a Scottish accent. I admit, I didn't chose the bank based on this quirky bonus but in future Im going to add this into my list of selection criteria (just below 'how well do their free pens write?' and just above 'what are their interest rates like?' - I'm all about priorities, people).
I shall leave it there - I could probably think of a lot more but I will save that for next semester! The next post will inevitably be longer - the WORST / most confusing things about America so far...
