I take a lot of pictures of the children sleeping with their father.
It’s not that I plan to take so many pictures of my family sleeping together;
it’s just that they are so cute when they are all snuggled together.

The family waking up.
Lily is still asleep, and that is a pacifier in Matt’s mouth.
30 December 2007

When the baby is restless and not sleeping well,
Matt puts him on his chest, and he falls fast asleep.
04 January 2008

There is a very common, yet very incorrect, assumption made between the American and English cultures: we share the English language, so therefore we must have similar cultures.  These two cultures are very different.  There are the immediate obvious differences such as the road system, the housing, and the food… very very different between the two countries.  Then there is the less obvious social differences.  For example, these days, most Americans send Christmas cards that include pictures of their family on the card, whereas sending a photo Christmas card in England is considered as “putting yourself forward;” it’s just not done.

This is my sixth visit to England, and I have become reasonably accustomed to both the obvious and subtle differences between mine and my husband’s cultures.  I enjoy the differences actually; they make the trip really enjoyable and sometimes I even long to live here because there are several things I like better about English culture.

Every now and then though, I am still taken by surprise.  That happened at the Panto today.  Off we go for what is children’s Christmas entertainment.  Parents, grandparents, and loads of children stream into this lovely Victorian theatre in Lincoln.  We settle into our seats with the sound of children’s voices filling the theatre.  The lights go down, and the Panto version of Peter Pan begins.  It starts with a great song and dance number set in London in which we are introduced to the Darling family.

And then the high-kicking starts.  Beautiful ladies in their full skirts kick way into the sky… wearing nothing underneath but little white panties and sheer stockings over those.  The high-kicking and panty shots continue through the entire production of Peter Pan.  I haven’t seen so much fan service since I read the Video Girl Ai manga.

When we got home, Lily and I sat down for dinner with Matt’s mum and dad (Matt went to play badminton with his brother), and we began discussing the Panto.  I mentioned how surprised I was by the panty shots, and they didn’t even really notice!  Apparently the high kicking and twirling is a traditional part of that style of dancing and it is considered athletic.  Yet another interesting and entertaining difference between the cultures.

One more fun and trippy thing about the Panto:  I was starting to get the hang of the rhythm of the Panto.  It was a straight-forward musical version of Peter Pan except they would do silly, interactive things with the children in the audience during set changes.  The first scene after the intermission begins like all the others with Tigerlily telling Capt Hook that she has many friends to help her.  She has the children in the audience count down from ten to introduce her friends, and who should be her friends, entering from stage right and stage left, but Mr Man, Little Miss, a monkey, and a bear.  Then they all start singing and dancing.  That was the only truly surreal part of it.  Well, other than the constant panty shots.

I did really enjoy it, as did Lily and Damian.  And I have to say, the beautiful high-kicking ladies and their knickers actually added to overall enjoyment.  As a travelling connoisseur of cultures, I can tell you the differences are almost always trippy at first and then fun.