Over the summer, I travelled 3,000 miles from the land of afternoon tea, supposed good manners and baked beans on toast to come and experience a life overseas.
After being in Buffalo on exchange from England for six weeks, I’ve come across many culture shocks and confusions. Though it shares many similarities with the U.S., England definitely has notable differences from its Western bestie across the Atlantic. Not all differences are necessarily ‘cultural,’ but they are certainly noticeable.
- Fizzy Drinks
The most disconcerting change has to be the alarmingly bright colours of fizzy drinks. The luminous Fanta, more similar to a neon highlighter than any fruit as it suggests on the label, made me rethink my life choices. When browsing the local stores, the crazy sugar content in everything there has my arteries screaming.
2. Sugar, Sugar and More Sugar
Even biting into a long-awaited cheese sandwich can be heartstopping. Alarmingly, you find that the bread has even more sugar than your gran’s cookie jar.
To set the record straight, I’m not here to complain. I love the never-ending options of sweets and chocolate in America. I could spend hours gawking over the limitless possibilities you can choose from, especially when I’m craving a tub of Ben & Jerry’s. The U.K. just can’t compete.
That being said, the next time someone criticises a classic chip butty (chunky fries in a sandwich) or full English breakfast, I’ll have to set a few things straight.
3. Satisfying Stores
Speaking of food and getting on to supermarkets, the outrageously satisfying rows of organised veggies in Whole Foods calm me more than Bob Ross videos ever have. The endless flavours of M&Ms, Starbucks coffees and huge celebration cakes that you can grab while doing your weekly shop just hit different.
Supermarkets at home, though more than satisfactory, don’t give a “five hours in a world of your dreams” kind of vibe. It’s impossible to just grab a couple of bits in an American supermarket, though I think I prefer the full experience of a Trader Joe’s versus the local Tesco Express at home (just imagine three aisles the length of a Ford F-150 aggressively squished together).
4. Dorming and Roomies
An outstanding difference between the U.K. and the U.S. is the dorm situation. At home, student accommodation rarely, if ever, includes the option of having a roomie. Everyone gets their own small, yet nicely private, space to escape any awful flatmates or to secretly call your mum to come pick you up.
Initially wanting a lovely single room in the idyllic South Lake Apartments, I was immediately hit with one solitary option: a quad room in Ellicott. Luck must have been on my side because I struck gold with my three roommates. We get along well, and no one has revealed any disturbingly disgusting habits (yet)! I am truly getting the American college experience that “Legally Blonde,” “Dawson’s Creek” and “Pitch Perfect” first introduced me to many moons ago.
5. Money, Money, Money
There’s an added tax on everything. Although we most certainly have a hefty amount of tax added in the U.K., it is secretly hidden in the price so the unsuspecting customer feels like they are escaping the domineering gaze of governmental obligation. If anything, I’m pretty sure that tax is higher in the U.K., but the extra few dollars snuck onto the bottom of a receipt will never stop disheartening me.
Tipping is also a struggle that has resulted in many awkward encounters. When I first arrived in your star-spangled country, I would constantly receive offended looks when I quickly pressed the “no tip” option when getting Starbucks or takeout. Though I have learnt that tipping is the make-or-break for those working in hospitality in the U.S., I am still unsure on the etiquette. The lack of gratuity in the U.K. will always have a hold on me.
6. Holiday Mania
The wild obsession with public holidays and changing seasons still takes me by surprise.
I recently saw a 10-foot plastic skeleton engulfing someone’s front garden, which was also systematically lined with gravestones and creepy-looking old ladies with cauldrons. Similarly, Walmart’s aisles are packed full of tapestries and bunting printed with “Happy Fall Y’all,” just in case you missed the memo.
The vomit-green limited-edition Snickers bars and synthetic unpleasantness of candy corn cannot compare to the mountains of pumpkin spice-flavoured products that has this country in a chokehold. Though I have undeniably warmed up to it, I can only imagine what Christmas has in store.
7. Honourable mentions of discomfort include:
- The unlawfully huge gaps between bathroom stalls. They make me feel like I’m being watched.
- It’s always confusing having to convert Fahrenheit to Celsius in my head.
- And, of course, there’s the nasty surprise of three years added onto the drinking age — having no bar in the Student Union just feels so odd.
Overall, despite the hilarity my accent generates when asking for anything with tomatoes, the long-awaited aluminium vs. aluminum conversation, or the much-loved “you lost the War of Independence” conversation starter, I am greatly enjoying my time here.
I have seen some amazing sights and met some fabulous people. America is a spectacular country, and I am glad I’m spending a year here. I cannot wait to see what else takes me by surprise, both pleasantly and most possibly not!
The opinion desk can be reached at opinion@ubspectrum.com
Esther Arnold is a contributing writer.
