This drives me crazy

The English language is the same whichever part of the world you’re in, right? Hmmm, not really. American English, the one we use in the Philippines, is quite different from the one my school here uses—British English. Below are just some among the multitude of reasons why it’s driving me insane. Don’t get me wrong though. I’m not demeaning it or anything of that sort. Only that it’s like having to write with my left hand when I’ve been right-handed since birth.

I don’t like to use "u" in so many words like colour, humour, neighbour, etc, la da dah. I mean, it’s much better calling Mom Mommy than Mummy, right?

It's a lot easier to say " I have" than "I have got" and to ask "Do you have?" than "Have you got?"

A ladybug is called a ladybird. Fine with that but really it’s a bug and not a bird.

I asked one of my pupils to get me an eraser. She looked at me blankly so I had no choice but to get one myself. When she saw what it was she told me in an accusing voice (like how come you’re my teacher when you don’t even know what it’s called?), "That’s not an eraser! That‘s a rubber!"

Well, I know, dahleng. Too bad I couldn’t explain to you yet that a rubber is also the one we use to prevent population explosion.

An eggplant is called an aubergine. I had to describe it really hard for them to get the picture.

The truth about creepy- crawly- itchy-bitchy lice is that they are called nits here. I have to accept the fact that I never heard this word before. I had to search it through Cambridge online dictionary to find out nits are actually the eggs of a louse. And how did I come across this word? Simple. Some kids at school have both and now I’m freaking out I might get it from them.

If you’ve read about the Shopaholic series you’d have noticed that Becky Bloomwood often spent time watching the "telly." Yes, that’s TV for you.

Anyway, British English is probably more easier to understand than American because the latter uses a lot of idioms. A always has a helluva day whenever he has to translate texts coming from America. But I’m more comfortable with it because I’m used to it. Then again maybe it’s just a matter of getting used to. Give me time and maybe, just maybe, I’ll get the hang of it pretty soon.