I’ve come to this conclusion, and not hastily or for lack of due diligence. I’ve had this hypothesis since I walked off the plane many moons ago and settled into Edinburgh. And I’m just going to cut to the chase and say it:
North Americans are more fun than Brits (and several handfuls of other cultures). I repeat: We’re just more fun.
No seriously, we really really are. Now perhaps my idea of fun is just different but I really came at this whole thing with an open mind. I observed and I adjusted. I hung out with different cultures, folks from different strokes, etc… I gave even the most assholiest assholes the benefit of the doubt, often many times over.
And I’ve come to love things about folks from different places quite a lot. For example, I love the Aussies/Kiwis laid-back disposition and their ability to have fun. I love the Spanish (and Latin Americans, as well) and their interest in different cultures and their desire to hear your stories just as much as they want to share theirs. Those mofo’s would also give you the shirt off their back and their last bottle of water in the desert, I must add – I can’t say enough about friends I have made in Spain.
Back to the topic though….I don’t get homesick but I often miss things about home. And October is a month that’s a triple-whammy. Firstly, I miss fall (or autumn as the Mr. Peabody’s call it over here). The UK does spring much better than back home, with cherry blossoms lining the streets and the sun poking up to say hello after what seems like an eternity of not existing. But Lord, the area I’m from in Canada does fall so much better. I’d say that southern Ontario as well as the Northeast US states probably have the best fall scenery around. I would gladly trade in this lacklustre show of dissipating chlorophyll and leaves that fall to the ground far too quickly to be appreciated for a nice, leisurely drive down the Niagara Parkway.
Ok, but the fun part. So in October we have Thanksgiving (the Canadian one), which is awesome. I can’t express my excitement enough for it and also what it means. Not only is it an awesome feast and pumpkin pie (which they don’t have here either), but it’s time with those you love and it’s a moment to reflect on the past year and for everything you have. I was bewildered to find out when I first moved here that they don’t celebrate it. I commented on this to a native and he replied, “Well, us Brits don’t have much to be thankful for”. If he was specifically referring to access to orthodontists, then he sure is right.
What else is really fun that occurs in October? HALLOWEEN, of course! Back home, H’ween is just as much for grown-ups (or uni-aged students and 20/30somethings) as it is for the little tykes. They go trick or treating, we go trick and drinking. It’s a law of science, pretty much up there with gravity, that everyone loves drinking in costume. It just makes for an all-around more fun, more random night. So you’ll understand my shock when I realize HALLOWEEN isn’t really much of a big deal here, and it seems that means just as much or the youngins as well. I can’t imagine a childhood without Halloween – the house being decorated to the nines with pumpkins and fake spiders on the windows and fake spiderwebs covering the hedges outside. Bales of hay on the front porch, covered with gourds and pumpkins. Bowls of candy filled to the brim as dozens and dozens descended on our house. These are memories that have formed traditions and are experiences I’ll hold with me forever and one day hope to be able to give to my kids. And why do I remember these so vividly? Because they were FUN. Because back home, we aren’t so concerned about keeping up appearances that we deny ourselves of a bit of pleasure. Laughter trumps higher than pretention, thankfully.
I’ve also got fond memories of Halloween in more recent years. Costumes in your twenties become more imaginative, more topically relevant, more hilarious. Nights out at bars, in cities literally full of people in costumes walking the streets and flooding public transport, were far too fun. Photos with randoms in awesome costumes you never would have though of yourself, and so on…you get the idea.
I made a comment to a friend earlier, resenting the fact that Halloween isn’t such a big deal in other parts of the world, to which they replied, “Well not everyone wants to be America”. Cool, fine, I get that and I’m with you…I’m not saying you all need to walk around saying “eh” or “y’all”, drinking Bud, and doing controversial things for oil (Alberta and Texas, I’m looking at both of you…). I’m not someone who thinks everyone should adopt my culture – if I was, I wouldn’t have lasted more than a few weeks abroad. I’m just someone who wants to show the rest of the world how to get a little more enjoyment out of life. After all, Halloween comes but once a year!
As an aside, fun things we also do that they don’t do here include: homecoming parties, high school prom, keggers, May 24 weekend, tailgating, etc… Just saying.
Anyways, you can bet yourself I’ll be enjoying Halloween here even if it makes me an outlier (story of my UK life, anyways). I’ve come to realize there are many cultures who have the same joie de vivre (look, I used my French Canadian lingo!) as me and many of my fellow countryfolk. I won’t name them specifically, but those of you who know me will probably easily guess, as they tend to be almost exclusively the cultures/friends I surround myself with over here.
To the stuffy Brits on this island who act like they don’t know what a Band-Aid is when I ask for one, please think of me this weekend, eating delicious pumpkin pie and laughing more in 6 hours than you will this entire season. I’ll leave you with this little video — this is for my people:
Not a douchebag, just stating how glad I am to be where I am from sometimes,
D.
