19 Things You'll Only Understand If You're Studying Abroad In The UK.

For the last time mom, I live in ENGLAND, not NEW ENGLAND. Please stop confusing your friends.

1. Regardless of where in the UK you’ve ended up, your family and friends will be asking you about London.

London, for reference / Via pexels.com

“So, how’s the weather in London?” I wouldn’t know mom, but Sheffield’s a bit chilly today.

“Wow, I heard about [public event] in London. . . Are you going?” Yep, saw that too. Too bad it’s four hours away.

“Oooh I visited London once! So, like, you must see the guards change on your way to class?” Hey dude, saw that you got into UCLA. . . How’s the Golden Gate looking these days?

2. You’re irrationally jealous of your flatmate’s decorative pillows.

Via pexel.com

Or the amount of fancy dress they could afford to bring to uni, or the way they were able to bring pots, pans, AND plates up, all in their parents’ car. You got a weight limit, and could only drag so much stuff around Heathrow anyway.

3. You were wildly unprepared for fresher’s week.

It’s not just orientation, it’s ten days of drinking, meeting new people, waking up in strange beds (including your own, because the beds in halls manage to be about a foot shorter than average), recovering from the hangover, and deleting 200 emails for all the societies you thought might be fun.

4. Your accent immediately makes you ten times cooler

“Where are you from?” . . . “No way? My friend loves _____ girls! Do you really [stereotype] and [stereotype you’ve never even heard]?!”

5. You’ll have the same conversations a million times.

See above.

Variations include:

“Why would you move to England, _____ sounds great!” and “What do you think of [the most recent news from your country]?!”

6. If you’re here for the full degree, you’ll get sick of people assuming you’re on a “study abroad” programme.

Eric Bailey

No, I really do live here, and I don’t get to spend six months partying.

7. Conversely, if you’re on study abroad, you’ll constantly wish you’d signed up to stay longer.

How have four months passed already/ You really *should* do that assignment even though the class is pass or fail, and maybe if you just move in with a friend you don’t have to leave at Christmas.

8. You chose to study in one country, but cheap flights and trains mean you can be in any European city in a few hours for less than a(n extravagant) night out.

Paris on Valentine’s Day, Amsterdam at Christmas, Rome in summer. . . all doable if you know how to use Sky Scanner!

9. Getting a job is next to impossible.

Yes, I do have a national insurance number, a valid passport and permission to work. Oh, you don’t want to take the risk? Right. Cool. On to application number 3141592653589793.

10. You’ve memorised the Home Office’s webpage.

Tier 4 visa, 20 hour work limit, no recourse to public funds. Riiight. So what if I get married? What if I have triplets? Oooh look. . . Wait no, that only applies to Canadians. Oh income requirements. . .

11. The culture is different than you expected.

Okay, so you know who Ed Sheeran is, and you’ve been watching Bake Off religiously, but you weren’t totally prepared for NOBODY to get that Invader Zim reference, or for people to think you’re crazy for not relating to a joke about Claymation pigs living on the moon.

12. So are the accents.

Via Pinterest.com

And unless you’ve ended up at Oxford, there’s a good chance most people don’t sound like the queen. The lady ringing up your Yorkshire puddings will have to repeat herself about six times before you just nod or shrug and are handed that £20 cashback you didn’t know you asked for.

13. Your vocabulary will change and expand.

You’ll find yourself using words like “naff” and “chav”, or even becoming entirely unintelligible to your friends by picking up some local slang.

“Eyup, duck. Fancy going t’pub? Our lass is reyt mardy.”

14. When you meet someone from you own country, you’ll spend hours analysing what the UK does better, what’s better back home, and whether you should stay forever.

Picasa

I mean obviously the food is worse, but I don’t have to pay if I get horribly ill, so that’s cool.

15. Dating can get tricky.

Dating someone from your own country seems like a cop out when there are so many eligible locals, but when you do find yourself a local you can’t help but worry that this will end as soon as the visa expires.

16. Politics become incredibly frustrating.

Well I’d love a say on this issue that will severely affect my daily life, but I can’t vote.

17. Sunday Trading Laws

Because it’s entirely unreasonable to want to buy food after 4 pm.

18. You’ll fall out of touch with friends.

Yes, I know I said I’d call every week, but it’s like 2 am and I have an early lecture. Of course I can call you tomorrow – oh, wait, you have work. . . I think we have 7 minutes that overlap on Wednesday.

19. But be the centre of attention when you eventually get to go back.

Wow, I haven’t seen you in ages! Dude, your accent changed! Say ‘shed jule’. Heh, how was London, anyway?”