Culture Shock
Culture shock is a bit of a misleading term because it is not shocking. It’s not one moment where you are slapped in the face with culture, but rather a slow realization. It’s like that moment in a movie where it slowly dawns on the main character that nothing is as it seems. I did so much research before leaving that I felt I could have taught a course on British culture. I thought I knew everything and I could not possibly be surprised or confused. But that’s the thing about culture: it’s so pervasive that it affects every single aspect of life. It is impossible to know it all, even for someone who was raised in that culture.
I like to describe culture shock as an alternate dimension. It’s like being in the twilight zone. A lot of things are similar, so if I wasn’t observant, I might think that nothing had changed. It’s just different enough to make me slightly uncomfortable.
The wildlife in the UK is different from the US. We have squirrels, birds, deer, etc. but they are slightly different from those I am used to. Many geese congregate around the lake we have on campus. They aren’t black and white Canadian geese, but multicolored Egyptian geese, which I had never seen before. On one of the first days that I was at Roehampton, I looked out my window and saw bright green birds. After some research, I found out that parakeets are actually native to England. That really was a shock.
The directions on the road outside my university are extremely helpful. Even though I am aware that they drive on the left side of the road in the UK, it will take some getting used to. The writing tells you which way to look so that you won’t get hit by a car (see picture). In areas where there is no writing, there have been some close calls.
While I am out in public, I am constantly thinking about etiquette and manners. Brits love to be polite, and I love to follow the rules, so I want to do everything in the right way. But following the rules is hard when you don’t really know what the rules are. Here are a few that I have picked up.
- If you must speak on public transport, do so quietly and NEVER talk to strangers on the tube.
- Always say thank you. To the bus driver, the store clerk, anyone. Alternatively, you can say ‘cheers’. It means the same thing.
- Always say sorry, no matter how small your misstep.
- Dress well. Gym or lounge clothes are not appropriate unless you are going to the gym or lounging.
While in some ways English culture seems more formal, and that certainly is the stereotype, it’s flipped on its head in certain aspects. Even though some of my teachers hold doctorates, they are addressed solely by their first names. It is very rare to see the country’s flag or hear the national anthem in England, while you can walk down any US street without knowing which country you’re in. Service workers are much less friendly and more informal. I’ve learned to be more vocal because if you don’t ask for something (like water or the check), they won’t give it to you.
Even though living in this alternate dimension can be confusing, and even scary, I love it. I am learning something new every day simply by observing and asking questions. I revel in adhering to each social guideline, knowing that I have met expectations.
Would You Like Sugar For Your Tea?
Did you know they offer tea on the airplane? It is a strange thing to be thinking about at the close of my second week in Ireland, but it is a good place to start this post. I have flown a total of five times. I flew to Massachusetts and back with my family for my brother to tour Massachusetts Institute of Technology, I flew to Arizona and back for a Mission Trip with my high school, and I flew to Ireland by myself. I like to ask for Ginger-Ale when I fly because it reminds me of my mom and it’s a fun drink. The lady next to me asked for tea. Since then, tea has been everywhere.
I arrived at the airport in Dublin, walked up to the immigration desk, and my brain stopped. What did he say? “Can you repeat that?” “I’m sorry?” “What was that?” I needed to ask the Irish man at immigration to repeat every instruction and question he asked me. He spoke with a thick accent and his words were soft, they hid under his mask.
After making it through immigration, I found the bus driver who was picking up all the students going to the University of Limerick. We piled on and I drifted in and out of consciousness. I would wake up to another thick Irish accent, this one even harder to understand than the last. It could have been because of how tired I was, or how far away I was sitting, but I am betting the real reason I had such a hard time understanding what was being said was because the bus driver was slipping in and out of speaking Irish or Gaeilge. Depending on where you go and who you meet in Ireland, you might hear this language too. All of the road signs have the Irish name on top and the English name underneath. It is hard to miss, even when you are half asleep finishing your twenty hours of travel.
We arrived at the University of Limerick and were off to our villages. The villages are like a collection of dorms. I am staying in a house that is connected to other houses with buildings of more houses nearby. All of these buildings form a village. They are housing for students and close to campus. The University of Limerick gave my housemates and me a few supplies so we would not immediately need to go to the store when we arrived. One of those supplies was a box of tea bags, black tea in particular. There are two brands of Irish tea that have a firm following: Barry’s and Lyons. I will see if I can try both while I am here.
I have been to the store a few times since arriving. I bought towels at TKMaxx and groceries at Aldi. Lidl and SuperValu are grocery stores that are a little farther out of my way. They are not far if you take the bus. Taking the bus is the best way to get around here. The bus will take you into the city of Limerick where you will find other stores like Penneys/Primark, Brown Thomas, and Dunnes. I made it to Penneys while traveling to the city of Cork, but I have not been to the other two yet. People shop differently here, at least in the grocery store. Food does not keep as long in Ireland as it does in the United States. This means people shop more frequently for food and buy less at one time. They are in a hurry when they shop. People want to get in and out. I feel quite out of place staring at every little item trying to find where anything on my list could be and determining if laundry liquid is the same as laundry detergent.
The roads in Ireland are set up so that they drive on the left, but what side of the sidewalk should I walk on? I have seen people walking on both sides. I have seen signs for bikes to stay to the right. I have seen doors that say stay on the left, but the left door is made in such a way that the right door must be opened first to allow the left door to open. I stay on the side of the sidewalk that the person ahead of me is walking on and swerve back and forth to avoid people walking on the right and left coming towards me.
Drinking is also strange here. I have been having a fair amount of culture shock from the other people from the United States, but the Irish too. Swearing is very common here. I have seen a fair amount of people smoking and vaping too. Drinking is prevalent, but pubs are for much more than drinking. Pubs serve food, they have good paninis, I hear they even have tea.
I have been drinking tea since arriving in Ireland. I like drinking tea because it reminds me of having tea with Anna when we roomed together, and the chamomile tea Sammi makes me. My International Study Abroad (the agency I used to study abroad) contact person, took the four of us in Limerick who are using the ISA program, out for lunch. She taught me how she takes her tea, and I have been playing around with how I take my tea. So far, I am a two sugars kind of gal.
Headed to Germany!
I am still not in Germany quite yet. For now, I am working at MLC so I can make money to travel while I am abroad. I fly out on the 31st of January and arrive on the first of February. I will be studying in Berlin and a university called FU-BEST. So far I feel a mixture of dread and extreme excitement. I don’t want to leave my family, friends, and fiancé, but I am excited for this huge adventure. One of my main goals is to put myself out there and have many fun experiences.
I have high goals for my time in Germany. I fully expect to have a very shaky start because of the language barrier, but one of my main goals is to become much stronger in my ability to speak German. In the beginning, this will mean I need to be more comfortable making mistakes and laughing at myself. I have taken German for only three semesters, so I am still a beginner in the German language. I will be staying with a host that can speak German and Spanish. I am very excited about this because it fits well with my Spanish/German program at MLC. My goal is to speak the least English I can while in Germany. I have been emailing my host in German and so far it is difficult. I am excited for the challenge though.
I am so excited to learn and adapt to German culture. One of my goals is to ask a lot of questions and learn about German culture. I expect people to be not overly warm and inviting especially at first. I want to become close with my host and make some new friends at my university. I want to travel and have new experiences with them and make many memories. I plan to eat all the food I can in Germany. I want to try all the culture-specific foods and learn about the foods Germans eat on a normal day. I already know breakfast looks a lot different in German than in America and there are different customs in the house. I expect to learn a lot about German culture.
Sadly I fully expect to have to watch church online for most of the time I am in Germany. Our wels sister congregation is in Munich which is 3 hours away. I do plan on traveling to that church for Easter and maybe some other services. It all depends on how my Sundays work out for traveling. Another one of my goals is to prioritize my faith life because I know it will be difficult while I am abroad. I expect to not have many Christians to surround myself with. I am taking a BHL class online while I am in Germany and I will do many devotions with my fiancé. I would also like to see if there are any churches near me that have similar doctrine to the wels. I want to come back to the United States with a stronger faith in God.
London Introductions
Before coming abroad, I predicted what my biggest challenges would be. I projected things like social anxiety and academics, the big things; but those are far from my mind at this point. I have met maybe 20 new people in the past 3 days, and I can feel myself building relationships with all of them. It only takes a few trips to get accustomed to public transport, which was a big worry before I left. Classes start tomorrow, and I am beyond excited. It seems that I am finally doing what I came here to do, study literature in the home of some of the most famous writers in history. Those are the big things.
It’s the little things that are more difficult. It is impossible to do enough research to be prepared for everything. I’ve certainly had some moments of confusion when I didn’t know what to do. Who knew that the grocery store checkout has a section for baskets and a section for carts? Or that practically every store closes at 5 or 6? Not me. I don’t want to stick out as a foreigner, but it is inevitable. I am comforted by the fact that London has many foreigners. The locals are used to it. An underrated skill that I think everyone should have is the ability to ask questions without worrying about how they will look. When I don’t know the answer to something, I really have nothing to lose and everything to gain by asking.
At the end of my experience, I will know it was worth it if I had fun. I am sure it will be something I will remember fondly for the rest of my life. Even in the first 3 days, it has been a whirlwind of new friends and new experiences. My 5 flatmates are all study abroad students, and we hit it off right away. We have eaten amazing food, seen amazing sights, and enjoyed taking on one of the most culturally rich cities in the world as our personal playground. I am beginning to think that I should have been a bit more ambitious in my definition of success.
I will now create a new definition. I want to be challenged. I want to fail; not a class, that’s a bit too far, but I want to feel that I have not succeeded at something. When I told my flatmates that I had just turned 19, they remarked that I was brave. I was taken aback. I don’t feel brave. I moved to a new city for a semester by myself for 5 months. What’s brave about that? The possibility. It could go perfectly with not even a little hiccup. However, more than likely, something will go wrong. I might feel like I can’t do it, or like I want to go back to when everything was easier. The brave thing is continuing after that point. That is where growth happens. After I conquer this experience, I feel that I will be able to do anything.