Monday, 17 February 2014

When in Britain, Learn How to Cook Indian Food!


Danny and I have been here in Leeds for just over 4 weeks now. I can't decide if it feels like longer or shorter than that. At times it feels like we just walked off the plane yesterday, but then when I think about all we've accomplished, it feels like so much longer. We've found a place to live, started university, met loads of new people, gone climbing outside, explored Leeds and York, and very much settled in to our new life here.

As much as we've settled in though, it's hard not to notice what's standing out. Coming into the UK, I didn't really know if all the stereotypes I'd heard would be true or not. Would their teeth really be that bad? Would the northern accents be impossible to understand? Would I see a fish and chips joint every other block? I knew that things would be different, I just didn't know in what ways. After 4 weeks, I feel I can now safely comment on the differences between British and Canadian culture.

The most obvious difference is how we talk. I've been told that Canadians are stereotyped here as talking slowly!! I'm not sure whether I take offense to that or not. Here in Britain, I wouldn't say people talk too much faster than back home, but they sure do have some awfully cute phrases and slang that we don’t. For example, 2:30 would be said as "half two" instead of "two thirty”. I also find that 24 hour time is used much more frequently. As well, you don't say "hey" or "how's it going?"; it's either "hi-ya!" or "y'alright?". The use of "cheers" or "ta" instead of "thanks" also never fails to make me smile. One that might cause a bit of a misunderstanding here is that “pants” mean “underpants” and “trousers” mean “pants”. I keep forgetting that when I tell someone "Man, it's so cold out that I'm wearing two pairs of pants today!" they will get an entirely different mental image. Some other British words I love to hear are: chap, bloke, bloody, faff, loads, queue, cracking, rubbish, and sorted. I love listening to everyone around me talk and notice that when I talk I sound oh so very different. I’m a bit self conscious of answering questions in class or taking part in group discussions. Despite all these lovely differences and the vast variety of accents though, I’ve only had a few times when I thought I was speaking to someone in a different language. For the most part, English is English and if that fails, most body language is international.

Something that has frustrated me is that all the light switches are opposite. Down is on and up is off. Every time I go to turn the lights off, I inevitably turn them on instead. I'm not sure how long it will take for me to figure this one out, but I hope it's soon. My patience is wearing thin. Something that I actually like better than in Canada is that each individual wall outlet has its own switch. This means you can leave appliances and things plugged in, but they won't be using power until you turn on the electricity to that specific outlet! Really cool.
Plugs in GB! Down is on and up is off.... So backwards.

One thing that surprised me was that many people don't know the smaller towns and villages that people come from. Being at a bigger university means that people from all over the country come here for school. A lot of them live in student housing in Leeds and then travel back home for weekends, holidays and summers. Coming here, I fully expected to not know where people's hometowns were, but what I didn't expect was that most other people also have no idea. I guess there are just so many small villages and towns throughout Britain that it's hard to keep track of every one of them. I don’t blame them.

As a proud Canadian, I love my maple syrup. And as a proud Coutts brother, Danny loves his pancakes. You can then understand why we were so heartbroken when we went to buy maple syrup for Sunday morning pancakes and found that it was only sold in 200ml glass jars for 6 pounds!!! Furthermore, we were told by some other Canadians that tried it that it wasn’t even very good despite the label saying “100% Pure Canadian Maple Syrup”. Since this discovery, we have had to get creative with different stewed and canned fruit as pancake toppings, but it’s still not quite the same. Another food disappointment has been the lack of salsa!! It’s the same story as the syrup; small amounts for way too much money. 

To make up for the lack of salsa and syrup however, we’ve discovered many new snacks that we can’t get at home. So far, we have fallen prey to Oreo and Crunchie flavoured Cadbury Milk chocolate bars and Ginger Nut flavour McVitie's biscuits. The chocolate here is less sweet and not as waxy. And their biscuits are just perfect for dunking in your afternoon tea. I look forward to my 4 o’clock tea time when I get to have a cup of Yorkshire tea (with milk!) and a biscuit or two (or three or four…). We also have enjoyed things like all the pies, pasties and fish and chips. All super delicious if bought from the right store. 

The view out of my bedroom window. Notice the tea and empty Cadbury Milk bar wrapper.
Something else that has been a real treat is the abundance of good Indian food! We get so many fliers in the mail for restaurants and I would say 3/4 of them are Indian. In many parts of the city there are Indian markets and grocery shops that sell all authentic ingredients that I'm sure are well used by the locals. Last week, we were so inspired by all the curries we've been eating that we decided to try our hand at some homemade Chicken Tikka Masala (Britain's most popular dish). It turned out really well and we can't wait to try out some more adventurous recipes in the future. Believe it or not, other than the chocolate and biscuits, we’ve been eating pretty healthy and really enjoy cooking for ourselves. However, we might have to go buy a scale soon to make sure we don’t overdo it with all these tempting treats!!

One last thing I wanted to gush about is British fashion. While there is a lot about it that is similar to what I see in Calgary, there is a definite style all its own here. First of all, tight pants are everywhere! Guys and girls are rocking skinny jeans or leggings with some sort of low ankle leather boot or converse style sneaker. To be fair, I’ve learned from trial and error that wearing baggy pants isn’t the best idea when there are so many puddles and wet sidewalk to drag them in, but still! Also, earth toned coats with fur lined hoods are a thing. Mostly for girls, but a lot of guys have them too. If it’s not that, then it’s a wool peat coat or well insulated, waterproof coat. Danny and I really stand out when we’re walking downtown; him in his florescent orange rain jacket and I in my bright blue puffy coat. A few elements of the “hipster” look I’m used to will surface now and then, although they seem to rock plaid in more “proper” kind of way than a “back woods” kind of way. You don’t see a lot of flannel shirts, high waisted pants or quite as ridiculous glasses. You do see girls wearing black leggings with jean shorts though (have yet to figure out that one). A lot of big scarves are worn to block out the wind and rain, but not many people seem to wear gloves or hats. Hair styles are also similar, yet different. All the guys seem to have very trendy haircuts and rarely have beards while the ladies favour long hair that is somewhat messy. Obviously I’m not speaking for everyone with these comments. There is a lot of variety in Leeds and I’m sure even more so throughout the rest of Britain.

In summary, GB is a strange, new, and wonderful place to be! It's neat to experience a different culture and really try and immerse yourself in it. And as much as I rattled on about what is different in this post, I'm also slowly discovering that people aren't so different after all on the inside. Sometimes I'll meet a person over here that really reminds me of someone at home. Not because they have the same haircut, but because of what they act like and their personality. People might talk a bit different over here but there's a reason Danny and I have made friends with the people we have; we share the same values and outlooks on life. I hope that I can continue to hone in on the qualities I like in other in people. It will help me appreciate my friends for what I share with them and why we get along so well. But enough of all of this intense inward reflection. Danny and I will keep on this path of trying new foods and meeting new people in the hopes of becoming honorary Brits by the end of our time here!!

-Cailey

Wednesday, 5 February 2014

Outdoor Climbing in the Peak District

Chilly top out selfies!
This past Sunday, we finally got to go climb some gritstone! I say finally even though it is only two weeks into our trip, but it has felt like forever. We managed to snag a ride with some members of the Leeds University Climbing Club to a crag just south of Sheffield called Froggatt Edge. The night before our trip to Froggatt, Cailey and I realized that we had no snacks, so a late night trip to the closest corner supermarket commenced and we came home with a large Cadbury chocolate bar, Ginger Nut Hobnobs, and two protein bars...lunch.  We had a big breakfast the next morning and headed off to Froggatt at a leisurely 9 o'clock.

We arrived at the parking spot around 10:15 and started the 15 min walk into the crag on a very muddy, sandy path. Unlike our national parks in Canada, the parks here are dotted with towns, villages and man-made features. We walked through a few gates and fences and the views once we reached  the top of the crag looked out over a gorgeous patchwork of fields and housing. Different than the rockies, but still wonderful in it's own way.

Climbing at Froggatt is on gritstone, a very coarse sandstone which offers a lot of friction, much more than I originally thought...or trusted. Because sandstone is a softer rock you end up getting a lot of sloping, rounded holds.  Froggatt was deposited by river systems a long time ago and because of that you have a lot of interesting shapes in the rocks. For those who don't know, English climbing ethics are quite different than North American climbing ethics. Very few climbs are bolted, except for in dedicated sport climbing areas. and there are climbs in areas such as Downhill Racer at Froggatt have no protection at all and are climbed ropeless (don't worry, we did not pursue any climbs of this type, parents).  There are also no top anchors at many crags in the UK, so once you have led a route, you build a top anchor, belay up a second person who gets your gear back, then you coil the rope and walk back down.  This gets monotonous and very cold after a while.

Our day at Froggatt was great! But slightly on the cold side. It was one of the sunnier days we've had so far and temperatures were around the 8°C at the base of the crag. But the bottom of the crag is sheltered by trees, so as you climb you get more exposed to the wind. Each time we topped out, we were nearly blown over by the extreme winds. It was great to climb on gear again and we both look forward to doing more.

We climbed:
Trapeze Direct - VS 4b - sloppy lieback crux.

Following the guidebooks suggestion of "fill the crux with
runners and give it a go"

Cailey seconding Trapeze Direct 

Sunset Crack - VS 4b - slabby crack climb

Cailey leading Sunset Crack
The top out mantle

Terrace Crack - VS 4c - large moves between awesome holds - super fun 3 stars.


Cailey about to fight with a well placed hex on Terrace Crack

More Terrace Crack

Tody's Wall - HVS 5a - From the guidebooks: "The nightmarish crux is rocking up out right off a large rock" "If perplexed, try a right-facing, leg-cocking layback."
Cailey's triumphant stance below the two awkward
mantles in Tody's Wall. Sadly no other pictures. 

Chequers Buttress - HVS 5b - I seconded this one put up by another member of the climbing club but I plan on getting on it next time.
Seconding Chequers Buttress, Dan Murray on belay at the top
after a solid lead in freezing temperatures.

Pretty photo of Chequers Buttress
Scenic rope coil before a long walk off in climbing shoes
All in all a very exciting day of climbing. We're both very excited to climb more around the UK.

-Danny


Disclaimer: Some of these photos may have been shamelessly stolen from the Facebook albums of Tabetha Post, and Dan Murray.