Brits: Need some advice on living in the UK (1 Viewer)

[TheoGB]

'Big' hair was kind of a '70's thing

Well that depends. I'd say Boy George had f**king big hair. I'd have said Linda Hamilton in The Terminator did too - I'm talking hairspray a-go-go here.
80's - ugh! I remember. I am afraid. Very afraid.

 

[Ike]

Keep your Canadian passport handy.
"Sod off, Yank!"
"No, I'm Canadian, eh? Here's my passport."
"Oh. Right then. Shall we nip off to the pub for a few pints?"
--Actual conversation.

I guess they're still mad at us for wasting all that good tea at the colonies.

 

[Steven K]

Dont be surprised if you walk into a convenience store and the clerk asks you if you want a pack of fags.

 

[Rob Gillespie]

Clerk? In a shop?

 

[Darren Lewis]

I love these cultural differences topics
Make sure you explore the rest of the British Isles too. Most tourists concentrate on London, but there are loads of other places to vist.

 

[Josh Dial]

I hope to see as much as I can, but i'm thinking school will be taking up much of my time, hopefully i'll be playing football (soccer) too!

cheers!

Josh

 

[Cees Alons]

A very decent book is "Bluff Your Way Into University", from the famous Bluffers' Guides series. You need it . I believe they are available across the ocean now too, but if not, immediately buy one after landing at Heathrow.
Oh, and a "rubber" is exactly what it says: that thing you use to rub out (lead-)pencil markings. And a "Frenchy" is a short person from France.
Cees

 

[CharlesD]

I guess they're still mad at us for wasting all that good tea at the colonies.

A common misconception among Americans. The unpopularity of Americans among (some) people in the UK has little or nothing to do with the American Revolution.

 

[Maurice McCone]

you are right to call it football...never soccer.

Also be prepared to give rugby a try if you haven't already, either watching or playing; you will find it very popular, dare I say more popular than soccer where you are going (also rugby players get the best women !!)

 

[andrew markworthy]

Soccer isn't a big thing at Oxford (though it's still played, and to a high standard), but rugby is, at least in certain colleges. Whatever you do, Josh, *don't* play rugby. Also forget rowing. In both sports, there are usually a host of people who've been doing them since they could walk, and they will generally be the ones getting into the teams. My personal experience was that both sports also attracted the 'hearties' (brain dead over-testosteroned semi-gorillas who inexplicably got places at college; imagine the US concept of a 'jock' with an upper class English accent). I was grateful, because it meant my sport (squash) wasn't plagued by them.

 

[Iain Lambert]

Of course, you could do what I did, and avoid all the sports in favour of the film society. Also, there may still be in place (hopefully) the Babylon 5 society; a couple of mates and I started it (well, they did the hard work, I was just treasurer).

I guess that puts me in official geek position this week then...

 

[Drew Bethel]

Be ready to use the following words to describe EVERYTHING:
- Brilliant
- Fantastic, and
- Lovely
nb. Feel free to insert "absolutely" in front of them...

 

[Paul_D]

The following are some Englishisms that REALLY annoy me. Those from the Isles should know what I'm talking about:
- Pukka. (Jaime Oliver)
- Sweet as. (this is just silly)
- Big up. (Shut up is the first thing that comes to mind)
- Shout out to the East London massive. (whataver)
Don't worry if you on't understand some of these. Most of us in England don't.
And of course...
- Cockney rhyming slang
e.g. bubble and squeak, apples and pears etc....
I know its in fashion at the moment, what with Guy Ritchie, but damn is it annoying. Also, Guy Ritchie movies suck!

 

[Maurice McCone]

now, now , Andrew...
the point of playing Rugby is not to get into the team...it is always the best club in any University. And may I add that I have played with Americans/Canadians who have taken it up for the first time at college and they do rather well if they have played American Football -
The difficult bit is getting them out of their pads and helmets...
I enjoy sqauash as well, but please give the guy a chance to have a social like at Uni too.

 

[Iain Lambert]

But if its the social aspect you're after, I highly recommend the Pooh Sticks and Tiddlywinks societies. An even greater quantity of boozing, with significantly less chance of getting beaten to a pulp on a field somewhere.

As for rowing, well. I like my social activities to start later than 6am. Call me lazy...

 

[Grant B]

Living in England is a big departure from visiting. I thought I was prepared when I took a job assignment for 2 years. I spent maybe a little over a month in England spread out over 3 or 4 trips before I accepted my relocation.

Unlike you, I spent the next 2 years in a Hell hole called Barrow-In -Furness. I believe Andrew, who spent (or should I say wasted)some of his life there, will vouch for me when I say there are few places more backward or violent then the armpit of Cumbria. I don't worry about Cumbrians disagreeing with me because few have heard of computers or would even know what a HT forum exists. The smart ones flee quickly.

The one thing I could never get over is the reply, "because that's the way we have always done it"

Cheers have fun!

You will learn more about America by living in England than you will about England

Grant

 

[BrianB]

Unlike you, I spent the next 2 years in a Hell hole called Barrow-In -Furness.

I was stuck there for a weekend after our car brokedown. That was long enough.

 

[Grant B]

Brian

Sounds like you experienced the true BIF!

Had a friend who had his nose broken because he left a tip (the bastard was showing off his wealth)

Lovely place, I promised if I ever came it would be on a bulldozer..... level the lot except for the ruins of the abbey

 

[andrew markworthy]

A weekend in Barrow? Try being brought up there! 18 ****ing years I spent in the place. On my first day at Oxford I was amazed that nobody wanted to beat me up for being able to read. I almost wept when I realised how atypical living in B-in-F was. Still, it was a talking point - I imagine that only a home address in Gdansk would have elicited more sympathy at the time.

In case anyone is still wondering what Barrow in Furness is like, it is a place which worships the banal, where people know their place, and there is a *huge* mistrust of intellectual achievement. To illustrate this, consider the following. In the local newspaper one evening there was a two page spread all about how some local kid had gained a (fairly minor) scouting award; down one side was a narrow column of news in brief; the last item read 'ex-Barrow man wins Nobel Prize for Physics'. To add insult to injury, the guy in question had been educated locally (i.e. it wasn't that he'd spent one holiday there, or some such tenuous link). I adored Oxford, but to be honest, I would probably have enjoyed downtown Kabul after Barrow-in-Furness.

Anyway, vaguely back to the topic. I think that opinions on rugby very much depend on the college in question. I stick by my argument that at mine, a lot were neanderthals (though in fairness, there were a couple of agreeable ones). I can safely say they didn't have any more luck with women than the rest of us, and their social life was probably worse (unless stealing the doors off lavatories counts as the ultimate in entertainment). Having said that, I was in the last intake before the college stopped being single sex, so chances of scoring were a bit thin on the ground (though I should add that my gay friends were in hog heaven). It was axiomatic in those days that any female student you fancied would be utterly faithful to some drip of a boyfriend back in their home town, whilst of course if you had a girlfriend back at home, she'd be screwing anything with a pulse within five minutes of your departure (not that this is evoking any personal memories of course ...).

 

[Grant B]

I remember one time reading the local paper, which besides holding fish and chips and training puppies, has no values whatsoever. The author of a article retold a horror story of going to London and was afraid to get out of the bus because of the 'monkeys' on the street. This was the word used in the article and there was never an apology or retraction (I checked). In bif MINORITIES DON'T EXIST....well at least not for long.

The 1st day I was there I went to a nightclub for a drink. As I sat back and watched ...I noticed a young woman speaking to a man. In the next moment I witnessed the man's girlfriend (I assume) walk up; smash a glass on a table top and stick it in the other girls face.

Needless to say I left quickly and did not try to be disfigured by violence for the next 2 years.

On the whole, this place is an exception...but places like this do exist and you will not be welcomed to say the least. There will be no signs that say this(and it is not obvious to an American) but keep it in mind when you travel about and see a wonderful country with loads of history and plenty of nice people. Guns are rare but you can still be kicked to death