Blending in with the Brits

Having attended an international school during my last 6 years of school, I—like many other international school kids I know—didn’t expect to be affected by much culture shock. Wouldn’t years of watching renowned British YouTubers Dan and Phil or Netflix shows like Sex Education prep me for university? As you can probably guess, I was very much mistaken.

1. British slang: Most international students, especially those from Southeast Asia, will most likely have been taught in American English. Also, if you’re anything like me and only really ever indulge in American media, the British accent and slang may take some time to get used to. Here are some of the lingo and words my British flatmates had to correct me on.

1. “You alright?” = how are you (they’re not really asking if you’re alright, they probably don’t really care so don’t overshare and just respond with “good, what abt you?”)

2. Chunder = vomit (most flats, including mine, will have a “chunder chart” to keep track of who chunders on nights out)

3. Hob = stove

4. Hoover = vacuum

5. Till = cashier

6. Sweets = candy (this one isn’t a big difference but a few of my flatmates said it was funny I referred to it as “candy”)

7. Jumper = sweater

2. Apparently, Snapchat users still exist: Back home, I can count on one hand the number of people that probably still use Snapchat on a semi-regular basis (and that’s still pushing it). However, you’ll soon come to realize that not many British people use Instagram as it’s (somehow) considered a “dead” app. A lot of international students I know, myself included, had to reactivate their dormant Snapchat accounts just to be able to talk to people. I’m still not sure what aspect of Snapchat the British seem to prefer over messaging apps like Instagram or WhatsApp. But for the sake of not having to go through the awkward conversation of explaining why you think Snapchat is for dead when someone asks for your Snap, it’s best to start reviving your Snap account.  

3. We live in a social media bubble: when my seniors would leave to go study abroad, particularly in the UK, I always wondered why they never posted on social media as much as they used to. Why wouldn’t you romanticize the blue skies, autumn leaves, or ancient castles that are seemingly non-existent in our home country? Fast forward to the present day and I understand why: social media usage is just way too big in Southeast Asia. This isn’t too surprising once you learn that Southeast Asians tend to spend more hours online than the global average. Apart from maybe the occasional not-so-real BeReal, a lot of British students tend to have 0 posts on their feed and follow maybe 200 people at most on Instagram. In their defense, they do use Tiktok and Snapchat occasionally but it’s usually more for watching funny videos or texting friends than posting about their lives. Personally, I think this culture is something we should try to adopt because it promotes living in the moment and not always trying to get the picture-perfect shot for your followers (that being said, I am still working on it myself). 

4. How do you call waiters in restaurants? During my first week in the UK, my mom and I decided to go to a restaurant for dinner. I remember raising my hand for over 20 minutes and the servers would stare me in the eye but continue to walk past and ignore me. However, they’d serve other customers even if they arrived much later than we did. I soon came to realize the issue was because I was raising my hand. To call servers, you can either stare at them and hope you make eye contact (this actually works more effectively than you’d think) or walk up to the bar yourself.

5. The drinking culture: the UK is arguably most known for its heavy drinking culture so part of me did expect it upon coming here but it’s still quite a shock seeing how often students drink, especially in Warwick with events such as Circling and Kasbah Mondays (9 am lectures do not stop Warwick students from a good night out). It’s also quite normal for people to drink during events! I remember going to a comedy show during my first few months here and seeing at least 80% of the audience with a drink in their hands. Alcoholic drinks are also surprisingly allowed in concerts!

Here’s a bit more culture shock I faced which is quite minuscule compared to what I mentioned above but I just wanted to mention it anyway:

• “Half-six” “quarter nine”: instead of directly telling you, lunch is at “three fifteen”, British people will make you do mental gymnastics and tell you it’s “a quarter to four” or “45 minutes past three”. So be prepared to do maths just to figure out what time you have to meet up with friends!

• A lot of places close at around 4pm on Sunday, which was something I learned the hard way.

• If you are exiting the country, there’s no need to pass through immigration! 

At the end of the day, leaving home is hard. Leaving the warmth of familiarity and entering the cold British weather is hard. But after a few months of enduring the harsh wind and listening to the voice of your professor on LectureCapture for the 15th time, you’ll soon find yourself saying “hob” and your friends back home will raise their eyebrows at you. Culture shock can be difficult to grapple with and ultimately may make you miss the comfort of your home even more, however these shocks shouldn’t stop you from immersing yourself in British culture and meeting new people.