As a Spaniard moving to the UK for university, I was very excited! I knew that there were some differences between the countries, but I didn’t think I would experience much culture shock. After all, we’re both on the European continent!
Here I present to you some of the cultural shocks I experienced when first moving to the UK, and ones I keep discovering in my day-to-day life.
Left-hand driving
The first one, which I was aware of but still shocked me, is the fact that cars drive on the left-hand side of the road here. I have been in danger with this one! It’s so natural to me that cars drive on the right-hand side of the road that I keep forgetting that in the UK they drive on the left!
When I was first crossing the road here, I kept looking in the wrong direction and then had to force myself to look both ways several times just to re-check. And I still do it, because I don’t know where the car is going to come from. Don’t even get me started on the driver’s seat! It’s also on the other side! I’ve heard the joke: “Oh, Ana, are you going to drive us today?!” many, many times.
Weather
Quite an obvious shock was the weather — it is very different from the weather back home. I’m from southern Spain, so the majority of our days are sunny and warm, even in winter. So coming to one of the rainiest countries was quite a clash. It’s windy and cloudy quite a lot of the time, but I got used to it very quickly. Call me crazy, but I like the cold, so although it was a shock at first, I adapted quite fast.
One thing I do love about the weather is that when the sun comes out, everyone’s mood lifts. Everyone is outside: studying outside, going to the pub and having picnics. I really like seeing everyone happy when the sun is out and enjoying the day. In Spain, we just took this for granted, so we didn’t really appreciate it as much. We had the opposite, so when it rained, everyone would be in a bad mood.
Something that shocked me for a bit longer was the fact that it gets dark at 4pm during the winter months. I know it’s going to happen every year when winter arrives, but I still get shocked every single year when it happens. Back home during winter, it’ll get dark at 6pm, and I found that annoying. But here in the UK, there is still so much left of the day, so many things that have to get done. You just have to have a positive approach towards it and stick to your daily routine so that by the time winter is ending, you aren’t bothered by it anymore (until the next winter arrives, at least).
Meal times
In the UK, dinner (or your evening meal) is the main meal of the day, so British people would usually have a big dinner and a small lunch. However, in Spain, it is the complete opposite: lunch is the main meal of the day, so we would have a big lunch and a small dinner.
Since dinner here is the main meal, people have dinner very early, at around 6pm, which did shock me. I already knew this before coming to the UK, but because it is so different to what I am used to, I still get surprised when I am invited to my friend’s house for dinner at 5.30pm. We have dinner at 9pm back home! But, to be honest with you, it’s something that I have grown accustomed to, and I quite like it now.
English food
Talking about dinner, the food was the biggest culture shock of all. I miss the Mediterranean diet. We have so many fresh ingredients back home; we eat lots of fresh fish, salads, and soups. The local cuisine at home is just delicious, so the difference in diet here was a bit jarring. But I learned to cook many traditional Spanish dishes, so I can still get a taste from home here in the UK.
It was a shock for me the first time I got asked by my flatmates if I wanted to order a Chinese or Indian takeaway. I just couldn’t comprehend it, which sounds stupid, but I’ve never ordered Chinese or Indian food for dinner back home. It’s not really a popular thing to do, since everyone is happy with the traditional Spanish meals.
Meeting new people
Back home, when I get introduced to someone, or I’m meeting my friend for lunch, we greet each other with two kisses, one on either side of the cheek. This is not a thing in the UK, so to all my fellow Southern European students, do not do this!
Here, the standard greeting is simple: a handshake, or if you’re meeting your friend, a hug.
The “siesta” time
Back home, when lunchtime hits, it’s like the world completely stops. Shops close, and people go home for lunch and to have a “siesta”, which is the Spanish way of saying a nap. This originated a very long time ago because during summer it would get so warm at around 1pm that it was uncomfortable to be outside, and everyone would just prefer to be inside their homes where it was cooler. At this time, there was nothing better to do than eat lunch and then have a nap since it was too hot to go outside.
So, for me, the afternoon has always been a rest time in the middle of the day, a way to recharge. However, here in the UK, the afternoon is when everyone gets everything done. The whole difference is really due to the different weather.
During my first year in university, I stuck to my usual routine of working in the morning, having a break after lunch and then doing more work in the late afternoon and evening. However, as soon as winter came, I understood why everything gets done during the sun hours. I still rest after my lunch, but not as long as I would back home, because I understand the struggle of getting university work done after 4pm.
Queuing
British people love queuing, and I never understand why.
It’s completely the opposite in Spain. Back home, if you can skip the queue, you’re a genius.
Booking things in advance
This might be extra niche, but I recently went to Manchester’s Christmas Market, and I wanted to go ice skating, so I checked the timetables and the location. My friends kept asking me: “Ana, do we need to buy a ticket?” and I kept thinking: “Why, though? We’ll just get a ticket when we get there.” Wrong. We needed to buy it in advance.
It was just such a shock to me because when I’ve been ice skating back home, I just turned up at the place and bought my ticket right there. And the same thing with the cinema: why am I buying my ticket online the day before when I can turn up to the counter at the cinema and buy it in the moment, like I do back home?
Those were my main culture shocks that I experienced when first moving to the UK two years ago. I have adapted to some of them, but with others I still get surprised. I also keep discovering new ones!
Ana 😊
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