Today was a pretty relaxed day, but I did buy a new phone to use while I am in the UK. That involved walking the short distance into the city center to England’s version of Best Buy Mobile. It is fascinating to see the way the modern stores like the cell phone store fit themselves into buildings which date back to the 13th century (according to the city guide). On the outside of the buildings, you can tell that the buildings definitely have medieval influences, but the insides have been completely renovated so that there is no sign that these are not new structures. For example, I had my money changed over in a department store in one of the original buildings, but the travel section was housed behind the “electronicals” section. Because of the history contained in the city, it is a tourist attraction, complete with people who dress up as Roman soldiers.
I buy most of my groceries from Tesco. It is the closest store that the UK has to Walmart in America, but still not anywhere near the same thing. Tesco has Express storefronts which are a lot like well-stocked gas station convenience stores, but with shampoo and conditioner instead of ball caps with the company’s logo. The main location of Tesco has groceries and small meals available for a quick bite to eat, along with some miscellaneous household items. I was most surprised by the fact that eggs were stored on shelves and sold at room temperature (my roommate and I have discussed it every day since we discovered it). I have also noticed that the foods are not packaged to within an inch of our lives and the organic milk was actually cheaper than the regular milk when I went to the store. The healthier foods also generally seem to be more affordable than the sugary treats (which is something that would be great in America). I am also detecting slight differences in taste between items in the UK versus the US. Different flavors, like prawn cocktail potato chips and chewy candy filled with powder, are also offered here. On a side note, I also discovered that what I would call an English muffin is also called a crumpet, which is not what I expected when I read books which mentioned crumpets.
Since I have been here, I have met people from all over the world. Not only have I met a lot of international students from the United States, but also from Malaysia, Belgium, Spain, and Norway. I have also met two students from the Isle of Man, which is a part of Britain, but not the UK, so they are technically international students (according to one of them). I was very surprised to hear how many accents there are within the UK. I have been told that, in general, Americans can understand the southern accents more easily, but there have definitely been exceptions to that rule. For some people who have accents that are hard to understand, I have to watch them as they speak so I can try to figure it out. I also think that it is really funny when I hear two people from England teasing each other about their accents, partly because it makes me feel a little better that I have to ask some people to repeat everything multiple times. There is also apparently a debate over whether northern or southern England is better, which I have heard quite a bit about.
I have been stopped by several people when they hear me talk so that they can ask me about America. Yesterday, I was stopped while I was in the lunch line so that another student could ask me why I sounded American. When most people find out that I am from Missouri, they freeze with a smile because they have never heard about it or are busy trying to place it. While very few people here know exactly where Missouri is, it does seem like half the students I meet have visited New York, California, or Florida or want to visit one of them. My roommate’s orientation session was actually interrupted by the other students’ questions when they found out she is from the San Francisco area. Most people want to know what the biggest differences are between America and England, and what I think of England. Many of them also ask how I am handling the weather. So far, it is not that different than Missouri’s, although it does change more often.
Please enjoy the picture that I took on top of a portion of the original Roman walls around the city. There are businesses situated all along the original parts of the city, as you can see on the left.
–Kaitlin
Kaitlin's Adventures 