A lot of people have not heard of Maastricht, I hadn't before we moved there in 2009. Heck, my geography is so bad I had to look at a map to see exactly where the Netherland was! (I think the Catholic schools failed me in the World History department...) But, apparently Maastricht, which is located in the southern part of the Netherlands, is a very attractive location for companies from all over the globe. Because of this, I was able to meet hundreds of other Expatriat families and become friends with dozens of wonderful and intersting ladies.
Something striking that I will take away from my experience for years and years to come, is the English. Those ladies from England. As an American raised in the United States, my history of England is very...well, non existent. It was drilled into our heads "the British are coming!", the red coats, and that we won our independance in 1776, but really other than that, I am pretty ignorant of the English. We had an opportunity to go to London in 2010 on one of our many mini-breaks and it was by far one of the best European cities we visited. The people were great, the shopping outstanding, the food - delicious - fish and chips!, and just an all around wonderful city.
As I said earlier, I met a lot of fascinating expatriate ladies. From Isreal, Russia, Japan, Germany, India, Poland, Saudi Arabia, and more. But, there was a very large population in Maastricht from England. Americans are different from the English, but one obvious commonality is that we both speak English. Or, so I thought.
Here is some of the "new" English I learned while living abroad:
Boot (trunk of the car)
Bonnet (hood of the car)
Telly (TV)
Nik Naks or pants (underwear)
Tap (facet)
Ta (thank you)
Lift (elevator)
Jumper (sweater)
Pushchair (stroller)
Pram (stroller)
Falling (getting pregnant)
Trousers (pants)
Naff (anorak)
chocablock (traffic on the road)
moreish (very yummy)
wingeing (whining)
motorway (highway)
poorly (not feelig well)
crsips (potatoe chips)
I want a go (I would like a turn)
Every time I heard one of these English-ism from one of my friends, it always gave me a little chuckle (that's a laugh for the English reading this ..ha ha). They were all wonderful women and I hope that our friendship continues across the miles.
Cheers!
