You may or may not have heard, but we are getting pretty big in England.  I mean I don’t know how or why it is happening (*cough* Stumbleupon) and I think it is a little odd because we, and minus a few exceptions (Ana M. Manzo), don’t really have an international focus.  But still our traffic from the “other side of the pond” continues to grow.  And, well, I figure – it’s about time to brush up on my King’s English.  I mean – it’s the least I can do . . . (giver) . . . but first, a story.

RSC Company Theater Stratford-upon-Avon

image via http://www.stratford-upon-avon.co.uk/

As a senior at the then Towson State University, I have the opportunity to study aboard.   And as an English major, to me — there seemed only one logical choice – England, the mother land.  Through the program at Towson, I had the opportunity to pick from one of three universities, each in a different English city.  London, Leicester or, well, I can’t really remember the third option.  I picked, and some would initially say “Why?!” – Leicester.  It falls in the area of the country known as the Midlands (pronounced Mi-lyns).

Two reasons for my pick:  1. I was a finalist for a research grant that would have allowed me to study inter-connectivity (notice the life theme) in some of Shakespeare’s works.  Leicester was simply geographically closer to Stratford-upon-Avon, his hometown, and where I planned do most of my research … and 2. I guess I was looking for a little more of a “Middle America” kinda thing (though some might suggest I wouldn’t get that in Leicester).  I was not in fact awarded that grant (I finished second), but my pick already made — off to Leicester I went.

While Leicester certainly provided a different experience (in some regards), I’d imagine it was likely still very much similar to what I would have gotten in many other parts of the country.  Most universities drew folks, well, from around the world – and this school was no different. The dormitory in which I lived was likely built in the ‘60s (yes, a total guess) and on each floor, called a flat – 6 rooms (http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/flat).

And for four months in 1993, I shared space with a Brit (and I can’t remember “shire” he hailed from), a dude from Vietnam, two dudes from Hong Kong, and the last, well … I really can’t remember his point of origin.  We shared a kitchenette . . . where we often met for chats and/or tea (the universally known kind and not to be confused with the Brits’ tea – a term for lunch).  We also all shared a bathroom.

This bathroom consisted only of a freestanding bath – what we know as a “tub”.  The tub was fitted with one of the strangest bathroom taps I had ever seen.  It roped out to a hand-held shower thingy.  That’s how I cleaned myself, with a tap — “British” for “faucet.” There was a separate room for the loo (http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/american/loo).  It was a little less than what I had experienced in a US dorm a few years earlier.  But it was fun, and rather spartan.

Paddington Bath Shower MixerIn the winter, the dorm was a little chilly and I’d say maybe even a little damp.  While dark early – I’d say too that it probably rained a little bit — England.  And standing at the basin in my room, yep, in my room — this is where I brushed my teeth and shaved.  I longed for something like a set of heated towel rails to keep my towels toasty. . . though truthfully, I’m not even sure if they were on the market at the time.  But at the time, I wasn’t necessarily thinking about the same things I do now . . . . I mean –

Some 18 years later, I wonder how the trades function in England – if carpentry maybe is part of the higher education system.  I wonder if I were now working or living in England if I would know the “language” to use.  I mean – in specing a bathroom recently, I selected a “shower base.”  But would English supplier know what this is?  They seem to refer to these items instead as shower trays.

It’d be like learning a new language, I am certain, and sure — the phrases like “cider and black” and “newkie brown” used in the pub called the Something and the Something came easy enough back in 1993.  But I wonder how long it would take me to learn the “Language of the English Bathroom.”

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I returned from that trip with only a few quid (http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/quid) in my pocket (and actually a student loan or two), but it remains one part of my life I would never change.  Though I’ll admit — I could have done without the now, lifetime commitment to the words (phrases) “as well” and “indeed” …

Indeed!

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Thanks for reading.  This article was inspired by conversations with the online bath store http://www.wdbathrooms.co.uk.

For more reading and for the possible origins of the word “loo” here >> http://kottke.org/05/02/loo-etymology.