Baptism by Fire Into British Traffic and Lexicon Systems

This morning I was finally successful in my quest for a bike! This is a big deal for me, as it means I can finally get places around town in a reasonable amount of time. It also means, however, that I am now an active participant in the British traffic system! My baptism by traffic fire was a bit terrifying, as the streets are very narrow and I keep forgetting which side of the road to bear to. I am fine as long as I continue on a straight path, but as soon as I turn my bearings go kaput. There is also a lot of traffic and those huge double-decker buses wiz by far too close for comfort. My survival strategy for the day was to follow the lead of other cyclists on the road.

I am doing my best to try and do what those around me do, and follow their lead in regards to British behavior and ettiquette, however I invariably manage to mess up. Yesterday I went on a lovely walk with a bunch of other students to a quaint nearby village named Grantchester. Along the way I was talking with a guy who happened to be 6'9'' and it somehow came up that I asked him if I had a hard time buying pants... not knowing that the word "pants" here means underpants. He thought this was quite amusing. There seem to be so many examples of words that have different translations here, and it is only a matter of time before foreigners like myself make fools out of themselves by not knowing better. Oh well.