Things I Did Not Expect

The U.K. and the U.S. are both part of Western society, but there are still things that surprised me as an American. Social norms are different, popular food is different, and university is different. Here are some things that I did not expect. 

Active Lifestyle

I did not expect sports clubs to be so integral to university social life. There are about 56 different sports clubs to choose from, each with its own levels of skills/participation. The school reserves Wednesday afternoons specifically so people have time to participate in their sports clubs. In the States, joining sports is less accessible. If you do not make tryouts or do not play well, you do not play. But here, you can just play for fun and even be bad at it. While competition is still important, it is more for the social and wellness aspect. There is a wide array of sports clubs, some are not even team sports. I was shocked to find out UEA had a sailing club, ballroom dancing club, scuba diving club, and pole fitness club. I wanted to participate and try something new that was not offered at NAU, so I joined archery and mountaineering. You do have to pay to participate in sports clubs and have to pay even more to get a membership to the on-campus gym. At NAU, the gym is free and open to all students. I participated in free Zumba and kickboxing classes for several weeks last semester. 

Archery club at the SportsPark

Academics

I was surprised to find out that university classes in the U.K. were not as difficult as I had been led to believe. They do not have a lot of homework beyond reading and there are only two assignments that determine your grade. Attendance does not count for a grade, whereas in the States it counts as 10 percent of a final grade. I could not understand why there was hardly any homework and attendance was not mandatory until I came to understand that there is more pressure placed on the student to take responsibility for their academic performance. People were telling me they do not even bother doing one of the assignments because it does not count for a grade. I did not understand why this was, but now I understand it is because the only real point of the assignment is to receive feedback before submitting the larger assignment at the end of the semester. I explain university academics more in-depth in another one of my blog posts. 

Food

I heard mixed reviews of British food before coming over. I had heard some of it was delicious, like sausage rolls and fish and chips. I had heard some of it was not so great, like mushy peas. The British food is just ok. It is nothing incredible. There is a joke that the U.K. still eats as if the Germans are flying overhead—it is true, partially. British food such as bangers and mash, fish and chips, mushy peas, cured meats and cheese, beans on toast, and sausages were all eaten during wartime. These items tend to have a lot of salt and lack other spices due to the nature of their origins. My personal favorite is beans on toast or fish and chips, but these are not items I would choose to eat regularly.

I would be daft to not mention other foods that are popular within the U.K. besides British food. Other cultures and their food within the U.K. are what makes me enjoy eating here. Some cultural dishes are more prevalent in the U.K. than they are in the U.S. In the U.K., Indian food, Chinese food, Greek food, and Middle Eastern food are popular. Specifically, curry and kebab are big hits. People here have taken popular dishes and reimagined them in new ways, too. For example, curry is a popular flavor and I was pleasantly surprised to find that McDonald's in Norwich offered a curry dip as an option. I also had delicious curry cheese curds at the Cheese Barge in London. Cheese and curry were not two flavors I expected to blend well, but they were delicious. Thank goodness for globalization. 

In Arizona, Mexican culture is prevalent, and Indigenous culture in northern Arizona. Arizona has fantastic Mexican food everywhere, there is no shortage of cheese, refried beans, tortillas, and varieties of well-seasoned meat. There are only a couple "Mexican" or "Tex-Mex" options in Norwich, which was not a surprise. Many of my flatmates had told me they never had Mexican food before. I was surprised to find out about the "Mexican" food they do have here, some have kidney beans in them, not black beans. A crime! 

Curry cheese curds (top) and a cheese board from the Cheese Barge in London

Discussions Involving America

I was shocked at how comfortable people are with asking questions about American politics and American life. I have been asked over 10 times by different people what I think about the election. My American friend Violet shared the same sentiment. I would never go to another country and ask strangers what their political views were. I do not understand why people from Europe feel so comfortable asking Americans these questions. I understand the curiosity and the novelty of it for people who do not live there, but it is just so bold. I do not ask strangers in America what their political views are. I am always happy to answer questions and help people understand the general American attitude toward this election. UEA is holding an election watch party, so I will likely share how that goes in a separate post. But it almost feels like it is more of a spectacle to some rather than an important, anxiety-inducing day. 

In classes, American history is not portrayed in a positive light. There is no sugarcoating at all. In the U.S., education is very self-centered and filtered. It is only at a university level that they may deconstruct American nationalism and involvement in foreign affairs. Here, it is commonly understood the only reason the U.S. held occupation in Afghanistan and Iraq was because of oil, not the war on terrorism. 

There seems to be an expectation for me to be the spokesperson for America. Just today, in my Media Representation class, my professor looked at me to say when the American Civil War happened. I joked telling him: "Don't look at me I don't know." 

Advertisement for the Election Watch Night Event at the on-campus bar

Holidays

I will be in the U.K. for something called Guy Fawkes Night, also called Bonfire Night. I had no idea what this holiday was prior to coming to the U.K. Bonfire Night celebrates the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 when Guy Fawkes and other Catholics schemed to blow up Parliament and kill James I of England. They wanted to do this because of the poor treatment of Catholics. Fawkes came very close to succeeding before authorities were notified, and he was stopped. The holiday celebrates him almost blowing up Parliament, not that he was unsuccessful. People gather around bonfires and set off fireworks to celebrate. 

Weather

I was told it would be rainy and gloomy all the time in the U.K. My experience so far has been the opposite. It does rain more on average, but there have been a lot of warmer days full of sunshine. I thought it would be freezing cold too, given that I came in September. It is not as cold as Flagstaff, not even close. Additionally, I thought there would be snow. I was told it may snow a couple days out of the year, but it would melt within a couple days. 

Gloomy skies over the London Bridge

Religion

I learned that the majority of young people do not practice religion through a discussion with my flatmates early in the semester. This came as a surprise to me because of how many cathedrals and churches were everywhere. Religion is rooted in the U.K., so I did not expect to hear it was unpopular. Some of my flatmates were not even raised religiously. 

On a related note, circumcisions are not the norm here. I was told they are typically only performed for religious reasons. One person I spoke with said they believed it was a form of genital mutilation. This is interesting to me because it is the norm in the States to be circumcised, whether or not it is for religious reasons. I did not expect it to be typical for religious reasons only, I figured it was majority the choice of their parents. 

U.K. Politics

I was unaware of the present political environment in the U.K. I learned through talking to people who the "Tories" were and left-leaning students's attitudes toward them. I had heard of Brexit before arriving but did not realize how big of an issue it was, and how politically charged it continues to be. Everyone has an opinion of Brexit, and generally, people do not believe it was successful or necessary. I did not expect Brexit to be a topic in classes or a topic discussed between flatmates, but it is. Everything is still experiencing the fallout since it was enacted nearly five years ago. I was shocked to learn how complicated the issue is, and how many "pawns" were involved for it to get passed. 

Another shock was a communist student group on campus. I have seen them a few times now, trying to sell newspapers to passersby. In the U.S., I do not believe this group would be as welcomed on campus. They would be allowed, but I think the passerby may not just pass by without discourse, friendly or not. In Norwich's city center, there are communist posters glued to the side of an abandoned Debenhams. I have seen communist party posters occasionally appear around NAU, but they typically do not stay up for long.

This blog post was written for HON491C