Impressions of the UK so Far

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So last night marked the halfway point for my studies at Edge Hill and I thought I would write a blog about my impressions of the UK so far. I will be assisted by my lovely friend Megan from Michigan.

1. Men in university love to dress up in skirts to go out. Weird.

2. Men, in every continent or random island, are exactly the same with no exceptions. Except for Sam.

3. When you go to the doctor you are prescribed sleep and water over anything else. This can be a good thing if you do not need medicine, but a bad thing if you do.

4. We all think the political state of our country will lead to our country's downfall.

5. The queen, very arguably, doesn't do anything. Thank you Megan. (Some people would be extremely angered by this statement, so NEVER say it in the UK. Others might agree with you.)

6. People have a huge sense of nationality because of centuries of conflict and are extremely easy to offend on matters about their country/calling them English vs. British.

7. There are over 600,000 ways to insult someone in this country. Most of them are incomprehensible to foreigners.

8. People who are from the same city might sound like they're not from the same country.

9. This country is as hostile towards illegal immigrants as we are in the United States.

10. Everything is more expensive in this country and the exchange rate does not help.

11. People will spend tons of money to dress up in costume, or fancy dress, on any random day of the week or birthday, but Halloween is not a big deal. However, there were tons of people dressed up in Liverpool, mostly girls, so it depends.

12. General fashion here is very costume based anyway. They are living in the 80's.

13. We do not really speak the same language.

14. Girls here look extremely different from girls back home. It's not better or worse, just extremely different.

15. Things are old enough to be really cool here and not just old and run down.

16. The school systems are very different in many ways. Neither is better or worse, but I have met people involved in this school system who seem to think that theirs is better.
a. They graduate high school at 16, then have the option to go to college where they study general subjects with a focus, like our universities, then go to university, where they only study their subject.
b. They go to "lectures" or "seminars", not "lessons" or "classes".
c. Everything about your grade is determined by one or two assignments throughout the semester.
d. People with special needs are generally mixed into the classes, which has pros and cons for both sides.
e. My lecturers here see their classes as more structured than American classes, but it's give or take.
f. The classes only meet once a week and move slower, but with more detail.
g. It is harder to get a good grade, but less work is required.

17. This doesn't have anything to do with the culture, but I have been sick off and on since I have been here. It's probably mostly due to a change in lifestyle, rather than the type of lifestyle I have changed to, but still an observation.

18. Cafeterias and campus lifestyle are brutal in any country. I want my apartment back!!!

19. Boys are much more attractive and much better dancers back in the USA.

20. Clubbing is better in the UK because NO ONE GRINDS!!! I enjoy not having creepers come up behind me and grinding with me. Go England for that.

21. Tons of people, but not all, eat, sleep and breathe football/soccer. They claim that you have to base your travels around which team won because you don't want to go to a city whose team lost that day. This is debatable.

22. The diet here is no better or worse than in the US except for the amount of food consumed. I have seen people have an entire dinner based on french fries and gravy, but the difference is that they only eat ONE plate of unhealthy food, whereas we pile it on in America.

23. Sometimes I wish I could pick up a local accent just so I could go somewhere without having to have a conversation about America. I liked the attention at first, but now I just wish I could blend in when I wanted to.

24. Most people LOVE Americans and wont hesitate to tell you all that they know about America and how they want to live there, etc. On the other hand, some people think it's ok to base their knowledge about America on "Animal House" and "American Pie" and argue with you on how things really are in America.

25. People generally regard Obama as a god, while others think he is mere rubbish and make bets on when he will be shot. True story. I know it's depressing.

26. I don't know if it's the people I hang out with, but the boys ask me to get them beers, etc. I am not a maid, thank you.

27. The weather is not as bad as they say. It frequently is cloudy or rainy, but we have been wearing t-shirts outside in late October. It just depends on the day.

28. Traffic is extremely hard to follow as a pedestrian. It's not because they drive on the left, but it's because in America, you cross the street and look both ways. In the UK, you cross the street and look ten ways because cars come from EVERYWHERE!

29. It is ok to consume alcohol at 2pm, and it does not matter what age you are. I've been carded maybe three or four times since I've been here. They also don't believe that my ID is real and let me buy anyway.

30. I like both of these countries for different reasons. I just wish that they were closer, so I could go back and forth easily and never have to miss either place. There are things I like more here, but things I like more about home. I miss home now, but I will miss this place when I come home.

I hope you enjoy our observations! Keep in mind, we've only been here 1.5 mos, so I'm sure that things will change frequently.

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