etnobofin

Lewis Taylor – New Morning
From The Lost Album [Buy] [emusic]

This weekend marks two years since I arrived in Oxford. So this morning I went out and took a photo of the chapel at Merton College, as I did in April 2006 and April 2007. The unexpected snowfall overnight offered an unusual mantle of peace to the city.

24 months is by far the longest I’ve been away from New Zealand. Europe still suits me as a space for making mistakes, adventure, working and exploring. A permanent move back ‘home’ still seems to sit out somewhere in the middle-to-long-distance.

I’ve been thinking about what I’ve learnt in two years as an “expatriate”. Given how clueless I still am about most things, it’s good to recognise that certain life-truths have become apparent, or at least been reinforced.

1. You’ll never lose your kiwi accent. Somehow I had this crazy notion I’d end up talking like a Thames Valley native. It hasn’t happened yet. Despite living among English people and being bombarded by Radio 4, I still speak Noo Zild, albeit inflected by a few dialect-isms (I catch myself saying “lorry” instead of “truck”; “yawright?” in place of “how are you?” and “hiya” rather than “hi”).

2. I will never understand the English or be one of them. Despite ancestry and a British passport, there are some things about English culture I just can’t track. Social class pervades everything you do here, and much casual conversation seems to be about categorising where you fit on the ladder. This may be why the English talk about the weather so much, because meteorology is class-neutral.

And the English are so reserved in their dealings with acquaintances – kiwis, even at their most diplomatic, come across as being blunt, over-eager and slightly clumsy. Making friends with English people is HARD (or maybe I’m just a nasty person who nobody wants to know).

3. Ale served at room temperature is, in fact, a drink. It took 18 months, but English beer finally makes sense. So it’s my round next time any of you are up in Oxvegas.