We have reached August and next month loads of fresh new international students will move to the UK to start university. Some of you might have already received your results and know which university you are going to and others might still be waiting. But if you do know that in September, England will be your new home, the social/cultural bit about moving can be daunting.
However, as I have found out; British people are mostly very nice. Some things are very different and it is worth to have some sort of understanding of this before you find yourself very confused about why some people refer to a girl as a 'bird'.
I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes by writing this; this is simply my personal experience of living in England for two years now, and what I have learnt!
British Slang and vocabulary
Download 'Urban Dictionary' and 'British Slang' apps to help you with this. The 'British Slang' app is fun as you will get acquainted with slang words and you can see what they mean, but it is the 'Urban Dictionary' app that saves my day. We all know what 'lol' and 'fab' means, but what do you think when you hear 'bird', 'mush' or 'lush'? I used to think of a flying bird, mashed potatoes and Lush Cosmetics! I now know 'bird' means girl, 'mush' means mate and 'lush' means something you like or enjoy. 'Lad', 'bloke', and 'geezer' ... the list continues and gets even more confusing!
When someone suddenly says 'I don’t have a Scooby', it all gets a bit more complicated. In situations like this I like to smile and pretend that I completely understand why someone 'doesn’t have a Scooby'! By the way, not having a Scooby is a way of saying you don’t have a clue. So although I would never use any of these words in an essay they are a huge part of living in England and understanding your English friends.
Add 'quite', 'rather', 'brilliant', 'regardless', 'surely' and 'fantastic' to your vocabulary. People will always ask you how you are, to which you don’t need to reply that you are having a horrible day because you overslept, didn’t make the bus and haven’t had your coffee yet. Simply say; 'I’m good thank you, what about you?' or 'Not too bad thank you, what about you?'
Public transport manners
Have your unilink card ready, stand in the queue and scan your card as you walk on the bus (always, always, always use the front door!). Bus drivers are usually very nice as long as you use the front door. Upon leaving the bus at your stop always say 'thank you' or 'cheers' as you leave. Oh, and don’t expect that the bus will stop for you if you run to it as the doors closes - 9 out of 10 times it won't!
Manners in general
Did someone just bump into you and it clearly wasn’t your fault? Say 'I’m sorry'. I’ve never said 'I’m sorry' as much as I have in England, but not saying it when you bump into someone regardless of who’s fault it is, is rude.
It can be hard to crack the code on how to be polite in a different country, but I will tell you what works in England - learn to queue in all situations and don’t queue jump, stand to the right and walk to the left in escalators and say 'thank you', 'please' and 'I’m sorry' all the time. In Southampton in particular, I will add be a Saints fan and never say anything nice about Portsmouth football club!
English rudeness is actually very polite and sometimes very hard to see. There’s different ways of interpreting 'I’m sorry'. 'Sorry you feel that way' for example is a polite way of saying 'It’s not my fault'. Very British Problems are worth following on Twitter or Facebook for a tongue-in-cheek look at this!
Tea
The correct way of accepting an offer for a cup of tea is to say, 'Only if you are having one'. Or you can be rude like me - I don’t really drink tea and, so I say 'No thank you!'
Socialising
Going for a drink is a lot more normal than going for a coffee or grabbing dinner. Whenever I’m home in Norway, my friends and I usually meet up for a coffee or go for a dinner. In England the way of catching up is going for a drink or ten and playing a game of pool.
Englishness
English people can complain a lot, but deep down they love England no matter how horrible the weather can be.
Alexandra
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