british racing green

Immigration is about more than moving to another country, isn't it? It's also about acclimatizing to another culture, realizing how much of your personality is based on your culture and how you can learn from the perspective of another. Though i have spectacularly failed to learn how the English breakfast is something you can eat in the morning, or fish'n'chips is something you can eat at all, i have been learning about the word 'innit' (fantastic), the sociological status of 'slags' and 'chavs' (confusing, i keep calling them 'skavs'), how drinking tea without milk is considered 'european' (and 'gay'), and about driving on the wrong side of the road (very confusing, especially on roundabouts).

It is this driving that has helped me with a new understanding, namely that of British Racing Green.

I used to not be able to associate racing with the color green. Green is too subdued a color, to mellow, too relaxed -especially that dark type green they call racing green. But then we went for a drive through the country side this week, and where the Dutch green is mostly horizontal and at ground level, the British green is everywhere

and with a spirited driver, it whooshes past in vibrant patterns and colors, wavy and yes, speedy

or misty

or like a tree of racing green light

So i might never understand blood sausage for breakfast, or why you would weigh in stones, or having two separate taps for hot and cold water, but i've learned to love the contradiction of being rude in an extremely civilized way, of having enormous glasses of beer on any occasion, and this week, i think i got the spirit of British Racing Green