That is probably a case where Washingtonians very practically go "it is a giant cinnamon roll, call it that." We also, quite sensibly, favor "drinking fountain."
Woops, sorry, I forgot to answer this question! IB (International Baccalaureate) is an educational program. If you're from the USA, the closest example are AP classes! But the IB is tougher, and has more exacting standards, and is an international program. IB graduates are recognized in a lot of countries, so its very good for anyone who wants to study in another country, or for people like me and say, ambassador's children, whose education is a mix since different countries have different systems and standards, since it shows what level of recognized educational attainment we can get. I believe it's based on the French system, or maybe the Swiss, which is really demanding. The most used IB program is the Diploma, which takes place in the equivalent to the last two years of USA high school. Some schools let you take a few IB classes, but graduate with your local diploma and not with the IB, or get the certificate or the diploma. The certificate has easier requirements than the diploma. I took the diploma, which meant all my classes were college level, so from what I understand it was like taking say, seven AP classes, and extra requirements you have to fulfill. Within college classes you even have to choose which ones to have in the Standard Level (SL), and which ones to have in the Higher Level (HL). Roughly, the two years are something like this: One math class, SL or HL One sciences class, SL or HL One language and literature class, SL or HL One humanities/social sciences class, SL or HL One "Language acquisition" SL or HL One arts class, also SL or HL, but if you really wanted to you could use arts to take a second humanities or sciences class. One year long course called "Theory of Knowledge" where we learn exactly how we don't know anything because we are flawed human beings prone to fallacies, and to analyze how we came by our knowledge, and whether we can trust that knowledge. One extended essay, which is roughly a high school thesis 250 hours in extracurricular activities in service (anything community service), activity (sports or physical fitness), and creativity (everything else). For example, I took Math SL, Biology HL, English A1 HL (A means studying a language as your first language, 1 is a focus on literature), Spanish A2 SL (Yes, I basically consider both English and Spanish my first language, together. 2 means a focus more on communication and society), Information Technology in a Global Society SL (This was basically analyzing how IT and computers and more impact society, it was me frankly going "I really don't want to study either history or economics"), and Art HL. It is basically really grueling and a lot of hard work. I don't regret it, even if I suffered, because it made me knuckle down and work hard in school, and I learned a LOT - and I mean a lot - and became a more critical thinker from it. I do wish I had learned time management better then, and to not be a perfectionist, or have super high expectations of myself, because otherwise I wouldn't have crashed in college. I basically love/hate the IB. There is a strange sense of masochist pride from graduates, and it is really well recognized world wide. I think it might count for the A-levels in the UK, and college acceptance rates in the US are higher for IB kids than for AP students. For a good idea of what IB kids find inappropriately funny about being IB kids, there is this joke website... I really shouldn't be so excited about IB it was hellish and hard and exhausting
I also did the IB Diploma Programme. Graduated with a Bilingual Diploma (English/French). Due to school bullshit, I couldn't take a third language or an arts class (grrr), so I did English A1 HL, French A2 HL, Math SL, Biology SL, Chemistry SL, and History HL. I graduated with ... 38 points? I think? Got an A on my Extended Essay. Echoing @Raire that it's grueling and ridiculously hard work. You definitely love and hate IB. I got some uni credit for it, but not a lot, since I was going into music - so my courses only counted for electives, rather than for 2/3 of U1 that my classmates got. But I learned how to write a damn good essay in a short amount of time, and I learned way more about the world than I ever would have in regular high school history. I think my History course taught me the most, if I'm honest.
poutine is freakin delicious. its common enough fair food in minnesota, south it indeed is not there nor cheese curds, which makes me very sad. they were one of my favorite things growing up
I've had poutine made with bocconcini because cheese curds are also illegal in Australia, and it's pretty good! Made by a Canadian too, who said that's the closest to the real thing he can get.
So I'm in Hong Kong right now. Boy. A lot of the things said about japan apply here too, convenience stores are actually convenient, shit is so inexpensive, i'm short enough that i'm actually average height here tho, I think. Mostly I'm getting used to like... I should've seen this coming, but one of my anxiety factors is standing out in general public. And. I am consistently the only white person around in a lot of the areas i'm in now. Not to mention I am much more well endowed than most of the women around. If I had a dollar for every old man who stared at my boobs here.. whoo.
I ate porridge for breakfast yesterday and cried because it tasted like home. Ecchi is suitable maybe?
Ok. You know what the problem is with being from a country where everyone has garbage disposal and then going to places that do not? Roommates who don't understand that you can't toss all your food scraps down the drain We have been here three weeks and the sink has been like, almost completely clogged at least once. And I still see chicken and rice and shit stuck on the drain holes all the time and I'm just like. Guys. We can't grind up the food bits and send them to oblivion. They're just getting stuck in the pipes. Please stop. Having lefover rice everywhere in the sink is super gross and this is why out kitchen smells bad. Stop. This is the second time I've had to explain to people that you can't just wash half a meal down the drain. Help.
oh my god shitty middle class people with their assumptions about garbage disposals need to stop for all of time
Oh god oh gross :( I can understand forgetting occasionally out of habit but not constantly, especially if the sink has been clogging :( No. Just no. Also ew :( Talking about garbage disposal, my first experience with the sink one was when I moved to Cambridge at 9ish years old, and it scared me. I don't really know why, but I would get stuck with images of my hand or fingers somehow being down there and getting blended/cut off. Of course then I would get the sudden urge to put my hand in. And that was scary. This was probably prompted by a classmate who had stuck one finger into those automatic pencil sharpeners in like, first grade. I was very fascinated and freaked out by the nub that remained. Thankfully, the worst that happened was that a spoon fell in and got stuck and we couldn't get it out for a day, and when we finally did it was a bit battered. I have never seen sink garbage disposal anywhere else.
the rule in my house is that if you clog it, you clear it, and if you can't then you get to be the one to explain to the plumber (usually my brother in law these days bc he's good at repairs and grew up not *needing* to call a professional to change a fluorescent light bulb which is just such a strange concept to me (my blood relations tend to come out of a "repair" job w more pieces than we started w. we are not handy ppl)) exactly what stupid thing you did. maybe you could implement a rule like that w your roommates? also, I was in London a month ago and for such an internationally important/busy city, it was a lot whiter than I expected. but then, I go to the one of the most diverse colleges in the US, and live in the most diverse county in the country. I should also note that I was frequently blinded by the herds of small children in reflective vests on field trips, so that might be a factor a lot more ppl had colorful hair than I'm used to seeing and it was fantastic did I mention the herds of littles in reflective safety vests? bc they were everywhere and there wasn't a single herding dog about to keep them in their proper groups which was a problem bc I nearly stepped on at least a dozen of them
Oh man I thought of one culture thing that was pretty much a literal shock to me! In orientation the presenter just casually mentioned that oh, it's illegal to own any gun beyond an airsoft in Hong Kong, and I think my jaw literally dropped It's just... hard to wrap my hear around a country where no one owns a gun in their home. Like, my family has a gun. Most families I know have a gun somewhere. Like, seriously, I don't have to worry about some stranger putting me at gunpoint, like, ever?
I semi-recently found out that breakfast tacos aren't really a thing outside of Texas? also savory kolaches aren't a thing elsewhere? can a non-Texan pls confirm? how do you survive w/o breakfast tacos?
I have a tiny mouth, kitten teeth, a tongue that doesn't move enough to make solid things go down, and tacos are torture to eat. So I only eat them once a week, because life without tacos would be almost as bad as life without cinnamon.
