Random Differences, redux

Another post of random differences! Sorry if I repeat. 1. Teaching British. I've got some new words in my vocabulary. First of all, teaching the 'have got' way, which of course we use in English, but learn as children that we shouldn't (at least I know I did). Other words that are different; rubber for eraser (try saying, do you have your rubber, to a nine year old student without feeling weird), mum, finish instead of break up (have you ever finished with a girl?), brilliant, fancy, trousers... that's just a small sampling. So many British terms. Also, we've got several terms that we use that mean something quite different in British English. For example, pants. Pants is underwear. 2. Clothes lines in winter. Ugh... Oh, it rained last night? Oh, there was fog last night? Now my clothes are more wet than when they came out of the washing machine. And drying inside? I hope you have three days of clothing still left in your closet, because your pants will not be dry tomorrow. Don't get me wrong, I think they're great in the summer, but fall/winter is a whole other story. 3. Chocolate. It's better here. So. Much. Better. 4. Bread. See above. 5. Speech. This one will only make sense if you speak a bit of Spanish. I've been listening as much as possible to try and learn a Spanish accent, and here's what I've learned. If you have a j or ge/i make sure you get a really gutteral 'h' sound, like you might hear in Arabic. Got a c or a z? Say th. I spelled my name M C C O Y the other day, with a very soft sounding, s-like C, and the guy wrote, MSSOY. I don't know how you would pronounce that. Basically, every time C doesn't make a K sound, use a th. Use the word vale all the time. ALL THE TIME. Want to get a bite to eat? Vale. Do you understand? Vale. Do you like cats? Sí, vale! Vale, vale, vale, vale. Other phrases; tío, tía (dude, chick) vaya (wow) hombre (an interjection, doesn't really mean man) genial or guay (cool) chul@ (which can mean something good about an object and negative about a person) cole (school, i.e. colegio) a ver (something for the beginning of sentences, like well) pavos (bucks, dollars) pasa, pasa (always say it twice when you're telling someone to go in front of you, especially when holding open the door)maj@ (used to indicate a good person, or as a sort of nickname) 6. People are friendly, but don't smile as much, and stare even more. A woman passed out at church the other day. Several people ran to help her, but after she had all the help she needed everyone else stared at her. I think in the States would consider that a little rude. This probably also goes along with the nonexistent personal bubbles here. 7. Apartment doors. They have no outside handles. So even if the door is unlocked, you need a key to open the door. I think it's an extra safety feature, and I think it's a good one. Well, that's all for now. I'm trying my best to connect to the internet, but I at least now know that I'm not the only one unable to connect. Some of my students came by and asked if I could. I said no, and they asked the computer desk librarian. She basically said, too bad so sad. She's kind of a strict lady. Very... lecturey. Ah well. Maybe it'll kick back on in a couple hours. Wait, she's going to fix it! It's like a miracle! It's working! Must... post... blogs...