The Exotic of the Everyday

(Phil writing). I don’t really like to travel. We were reflecting today on how many different places we have been, both on this trip and on others, and I realize what a rich set of experiences it has been. Yet I don’t like to travel.

I enjoy seeing the sights, and we have seen a lot since we have been here—colleges, churches, gardens, towers, paintings, and so on. That is what we do when we go on vacation. But for me the most interesting part of our time is what goes on everyday—going to work with everyone else, shopping at the same grocery store, reading a newspaper, watching TV. With the internet and the dominance of American culture, most of our normal daily activities from home can also occur here. We can watch reruns of Law & Order or CSI, we can read the Philadelphia and Seattle newspapers, I can follow baseball games live, we can have coffee at Starbucks, and we can listen to the same podcasts and radio stations. Using Skype, we have probably talked to Alison and Andy more since we have been here than we do from home.

So here are a few everyday things that are different—the exotic of the everyday. Being a good Meneely, I will concentrate on food. The grocery stores (Tesco and Marks & Spencer) carry many of some items that we have at home, and even most of same brands, although usually at a much higher price. We try to look for those things that we can’t get at home. We mentioned earlier the range of different cheeses, and they are used in different ways. We don’t usually put brie on our sandwiches (or baquettes), but it is quite common here, and it tastes good. It is hard to find pretzels, but there is a very wide selection of crisps (what we would call chips) with flavors like Thai chicken or scampi. We have been trying some different soft drinks as well. A few days ago I brought home a bottle of soda pop labeled Dandelion and Burdock.




I had no idea what it tasted like or what burdock was, but it was worth a try. (For the record, Deb knew that burdock is related to the thistle.) So this is made from two weeds. I can’t describe the taste, but is actually pretty good. It is dark colored, like a cola. It has a floral aroma, and a sweet and somewhat fruity taste. According to Wikipedia, it is somewhat related to sarsaparilla—which we only remember from Old Westerns—but, if you get a chance, have a taste.

Another curiosity of grocery shopping is the pricing policy. Imagine buying liquid dish soap. It comes in a range of scents and colors but as long as it comes from the same manufacturer, the prices for different scents and varieties are the same. Not so here—the lemon scented soap costs less than any other variety. Similarly with soft drinks, hand soap, candy bars, and many other small items. It makes a certain amount of sense, but I had never thought about the fact that a cola drink and a lemon-lime drink probably do not cost exactly the same to make, even if we pay the same for Coke and Sprite. But limeade, lemonade, cherry, and orange are all different prices—not a lot different, only a few pence, but slightly different.

So even if I don’t like to travel, I am finding some exotic experiences in our everyday living.