Expectations

America is a funny old place. [translation = a few hundred years old] You think it’s more or less the same as England, but with American accents, and of course bigger. [translation = apart from Swedes {sub translation = Rutabagas}] But it isn’t, the same, that is to say. When we first arrived here in the 96 degree heat, I thought we’d been banished to the desert. I wondered why spouse had picked San Jose instead of Boston, which had been our other choice?

Luckily, we became familiar modern conveniences, such as air conditioning. [translation = AC] We had to learn lots of new things, like paying hard cash for cold air and watering the garden, both of which had been freely supplied by the elements in the ‘old country.’ We delighted in mocking the ‘have a nice day’ folks. [translation = local inhabitants] It was all very curious. [translation = odd and foreign]

For me, the most liberating difference was that I was anonymous. [translation = just foreign.] It’s a difficult concept to translate. In England, I can try and disguise myself, but as soon as I open my mouth to speak, I am immediately pigeon holed. How you speak gives the rest of the population a snap shot. [translation = digital voice recording that speaks volumes] Here on the other hand, I am just foreign. I love being foreign. Foreign is one of the best things that has ever happened to me, along with the anonymity. Under the current circumstances [translation = junior generation of sproglets] this is even more of a boon. [translation = advantage] The behaviour of my children is deemed to be a result of strange foreign parenting techniques. [translation = what else would you expect?]

Expectations

http://alien-in-a-foreign-field.blogspot.com/2006/11/expectations.html