US Debit cards don't have a chip that UK Debit cards have, and you can't, as a result, get cash back from the grocery store.

I'm learning more and more about whats' different here in England. One of the biggest things I've noticed is the way they prepare food/ grocery shop. People walk everywhere, so they typically only buy food for a couple of days, and then go back to the grocery store again. For people like me who LOVE to grocery shop, this isn't a big deal. But for those of you who aren't too keen on it, sorry. :) That's just life here. I do have to say, however, that grocery shopping isn't quite as enjoyable for me here as it is at home. There is a lot of math that I have to do (i.e. converting pounds to dollars, converting kilos to pounds, etc..) Plus there is the process of digesting the new packages, types of foods, different names for things (i.e. cookies are biscuits, zucchini is some other name) and if it's actually something I actually want to try.

Speaking of types of foods, the Brits are VERY big on organic food. Unlike at home, it maybe costs 20¢- 30¢ more here for something organic. Because of our KU Law Journal Symposium last year, I actually think this is more of a Europe thing than solely British. There are a lot of EU regulations about genetically modified foods and what percentage of some food can be modified to consider it organic. I probably mixed some terms there that don't really belong, but that just goes to show how much I pat attention. :) The whole point of this is that because there are also no preservatives in the organic food, you have to eat most things within a couple days after you open it. I just opened a pack of ham yesterday for lunch...I'll be having ham sandwiches for every meal for the next couple days. And oh yeah, they don't refrigerate eggs either.

The TV here, at least TV after 11 p.m. becomes what most Americans would classify as pornographic. For example, "Big Brother" just like the one at home, is HUGE here. I think that, if you really wanted to, you could watch the people in the house 24 hours a day.
Well, they also have a Big Brother type forum thing where they discuss who they think should be kicked off. In the process, they showed someone running around the bathroom completely naked. Crazy things like that are the norm. We now have cable....and all the ups and downs that come with it.

I'm going to have to stop romanticizing the London Skies soon if it doesn't clear up. It rained again today, and harder than any of the rest.

Final note: I have had an obsession with the music of Jamie Cullum for a while now. He's this amazing British artist whose first album was mostly jazz but has turned toward rock, funk, and pop in his subsequent albums. It has a LOT of piano, combined with insightful lyrics (I have to give him credit for the phrase "romanticizing London skies) and is just fantastic. Well, I just found out that he is putting on a concert in about 3 weeks, not far from where I live. I'm stoked. Apparently it's just an electric show, so he won't play a lot of the stuff I love, but I think it will probably be worth it. Now I just have to find someone to go with me.... Regardless, I'm going. :)