First Impressions of a First Furlough Missionary: "It's the Wrong Trousers!" and Other Tales of Commonwealth English Hangovers

Art Credit: Aardman Animations

You may not know this, but sometimes spoken American English is very different from the spoken English used elsewhere in the world. In fact, since moving overseas, I spend more time around those who use what’s known as Commonwealth English, than those that use American English. You can image my challenge then when I came back to the USA and was all mixed up. It was once again “ground beef” not “mince”. Someone was wearing “pants” instead of, “trousers”. You go to “college” not “University” or “Uni” for short. And you take a “vacation” instead of “going on holiday." I felt like I was in an episode of that silly claymation series Wallace and Gromit when Wallace wails to his dog, “It’s the wrong trousers, Gromit!”

Some days, my English is not the only thing that seems and feels different. I struggle to remember things that should be innate to me as an American and I either don’t remember or it takes me a long time. However, it does remind me of a spiritual truth. When I decided to follow Jesus by faith and He rescued me by His grace I became a citizen of a new kind of country. I became just a little bit different. My attitudes, thoughts, beliefs, vocabulary and preferences slowly started to shift and become more and more like my new “country”. In the same way I’ve begun to adapt to my new country and take on its culture physically, I’ve also started to take on the characteristics of God’s country. That thought makes me smile a bit and so, as I keep plugging away at trying to remember to say “cans” of soup rather than “tins” of soup, I will continue to press deeper into God’s Word so that I can become more and more a part of my new culture in God’s country.