London is a city rich with cultural diversity and an array of various neighborhoods that distinguish London from any other place in the world. Being an American in a British setting is a lot more complex than most people will come to realize. The biggest anomaly being the English language in the context of England, although there are many similarities, there are also some major differences. Pronunciation of words is amongst one of the hardest things to get used to. For the first few weeks I would be sitting having a conversation with a local, and I found myself listening more inventively on what the person was saying and how they were saying it. This led me to try and adapt myself to the local language as best as I could, although, it was extremely challenging. Every time I would try changing my pronunciation of a word, it always felt weird and I would often revert back the American pronunciation. I ultimately came to middle ground, that rather than changing the way I speak, I would adopt the phrases commonly used in order to "fit in".
Being an American in London can be a mixed bag. You are either highly acclaimed or sometimes repulsed by the local community.
Amongst the biggest challenge for me was adapting to the left side traffic. At first I had many close calls where I nearly got hit a few times. Within a few weeks I got used to looking the opposite direction, however, then the problem became where was the driver? My eyes would always dart to the right side of the car to look for the driver and not see a person, was often concerning to me. It was not until about three months in that I got used to this.
Another thing was that most of the time I was here it rained. This often brought my morale down, but then I learned to embrace the humorous side of it. The way I began to look at it was that I did not have to look at the weather forecast anymore, because of the fact that every single day for the most part was 50 F, cloudy, with a chance of rain. The days that we did have sunshine which were few and far between, were a blessing when they happened.
The pub culture was amongst one of the most fascinating dynamics of London. While every pub or bar has a different atmosphere, there are some defining characteristics you will find throughout. The biggest one was the social atmosphere, everyone in the pub was there to socialize with one another and drinking the beer was a very slow process. A person could be there for 1.5 to 2 hours and only have 1 pint, maybe two. The pub was a unique community in which likeminded individuals would come together and talk about life. I remember how in the first few weeks of being in London, how interesting the conversations were with the locals. It was something more than just small talk, rather it was very personal, people wanted to know about you and you're ambitions for your life.
Pubs also are characteristically intoxicating places to be in while a football, rugby or cricket game is on. I did not care for these sports, prior to coming to England. However, seeing the amount of energy and enthusiasm locals had for these sports, made me want to find out more about them. I began learning more about these sports and how they were played.
The final survival tip I have for you is to embrace London and all of its small neighborhoods. To truly experience and understand a culture, you must go on past all the cliché tourist attractions and wander down random streets and immerse yourself with the local culture. It is only truly then that you will begin to realize what it means to be an American Abroad....
Being an American in London can be a mixed bag. You are either highly acclaimed or sometimes repulsed by the local community.
Amongst the biggest challenge for me was adapting to the left side traffic. At first I had many close calls where I nearly got hit a few times. Within a few weeks I got used to looking the opposite direction, however, then the problem became where was the driver? My eyes would always dart to the right side of the car to look for the driver and not see a person, was often concerning to me. It was not until about three months in that I got used to this.
Another thing was that most of the time I was here it rained. This often brought my morale down, but then I learned to embrace the humorous side of it. The way I began to look at it was that I did not have to look at the weather forecast anymore, because of the fact that every single day for the most part was 50 F, cloudy, with a chance of rain. The days that we did have sunshine which were few and far between, were a blessing when they happened.
The pub culture was amongst one of the most fascinating dynamics of London. While every pub or bar has a different atmosphere, there are some defining characteristics you will find throughout. The biggest one was the social atmosphere, everyone in the pub was there to socialize with one another and drinking the beer was a very slow process. A person could be there for 1.5 to 2 hours and only have 1 pint, maybe two. The pub was a unique community in which likeminded individuals would come together and talk about life. I remember how in the first few weeks of being in London, how interesting the conversations were with the locals. It was something more than just small talk, rather it was very personal, people wanted to know about you and you're ambitions for your life.
Pubs also are characteristically intoxicating places to be in while a football, rugby or cricket game is on. I did not care for these sports, prior to coming to England. However, seeing the amount of energy and enthusiasm locals had for these sports, made me want to find out more about them. I began learning more about these sports and how they were played.
The final survival tip I have for you is to embrace London and all of its small neighborhoods. To truly experience and understand a culture, you must go on past all the cliché tourist attractions and wander down random streets and immerse yourself with the local culture. It is only truly then that you will begin to realize what it means to be an American Abroad....
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