Danny
and I have been here in Leeds for just over 4 weeks now. I can't decide if it
feels like longer or shorter than that. At times it feels like we just walked
off the plane yesterday, but then when I think about all we've accomplished, it
feels like so much longer. We've found a place to live, started university, met
loads of new people, gone climbing outside, explored Leeds and York, and very
much settled in to our new life here.
As much as
we've settled in though, it's hard not to notice what's standing out. Coming
into the UK, I didn't really know if all the stereotypes I'd heard would be
true or not. Would their teeth really be that bad? Would the northern accents
be impossible to understand? Would I see a fish and chips joint every other
block? I knew that things would be different, I just didn't know in what ways.
After 4 weeks, I feel I can now safely comment on the differences between British
and Canadian culture.
The most
obvious difference is how we talk. I've been told that Canadians are
stereotyped here as talking slowly!! I'm not sure whether I take offense to
that or not. Here in Britain, I wouldn't say people talk too much faster than back
home, but they sure do have some awfully cute phrases and slang that we don’t. For
example, 2:30 would be said as "half
two" instead of "two thirty”. I also find that 24 hour time is used
much more frequently. As well, you don't say "hey" or "how's it
going?"; it's either "hi-ya!" or "y'alright?".
The use of "cheers" or "ta" instead of
"thanks" also never fails to make me smile. One that might
cause a bit of a misunderstanding here is that “pants” mean “underpants” and “trousers”
mean “pants”. I keep forgetting that when I tell someone "Man, it's so
cold out that I'm wearing two pairs of pants today!" they will get an
entirely different mental image. Some other British words I love to hear are:
chap, bloke, bloody, faff, loads, queue, cracking, rubbish, and sorted. I
love listening to everyone around me talk and notice that when I talk I sound oh so very different. I’m a bit self conscious of answering
questions in class or taking part in group discussions. Despite all these
lovely differences and the vast variety of accents though, I’ve only had a few times
when I thought I was speaking to someone in a different language. For the most
part, English is English and if that fails, most body language is
international.
Something
that has frustrated me is that all the light switches are opposite. Down is on
and up is off. Every time I go to turn the lights off, I inevitably turn them
on instead. I'm not sure how long it will take for me to figure this one out,
but I hope it's soon. My patience is wearing thin. Something that I actually
like better than in Canada is that each individual wall outlet has its own
switch. This means you can leave appliances and things plugged in, but they
won't be using power until you turn on the electricity to that specific outlet!
Really cool.
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| Plugs in GB! Down is on and up is off.... So backwards. |
One thing that surprised me was that many people don't know the smaller towns and villages that people come from. Being at a bigger university means that people from all over the country come here for school. A lot of them live in student housing in Leeds and then travel back home for weekends, holidays and summers. Coming here, I fully expected to not know where people's hometowns were, but what I didn't expect was that most other people also have no idea. I guess there are just so many small villages and towns throughout Britain that it's hard to keep track of every one of them. I don’t blame them.
As a proud Canadian,
I love my maple syrup. And as a proud Coutts brother, Danny loves his pancakes.
You can then understand why we were so heartbroken when we went to buy maple
syrup for Sunday morning pancakes and found that it was only sold in 200ml
glass jars for 6 pounds!!! Furthermore, we were told by some other Canadians
that tried it that it wasn’t even very good despite the label saying “100% Pure
Canadian Maple Syrup”. Since this discovery, we have had to get creative with
different stewed and canned fruit as pancake toppings, but it’s still not quite
the same. Another food disappointment has been the lack of salsa!! It’s the
same story as the syrup; small amounts for way too much money.
To make up for
the lack of salsa and syrup however, we’ve discovered many new snacks that we
can’t get at home. So far, we have fallen prey to Oreo and Crunchie flavoured Cadbury
Milk chocolate bars and Ginger Nut flavour McVitie's biscuits. The chocolate here
is less sweet and not as waxy. And their biscuits are just perfect for dunking in your
afternoon tea. I look forward to my 4 o’clock tea time when I get to have a cup
of Yorkshire tea (with milk!) and a biscuit or two (or three or four…). We also
have enjoyed things like all the pies, pasties and fish and chips. All super delicious
if bought from the right store.
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| The view out of my bedroom window. Notice the tea and empty Cadbury Milk bar wrapper. |
Something else that has been a real treat is the abundance of good Indian food! We get so many fliers in the mail for restaurants and I would say 3/4 of them are Indian. In many parts of the city there are Indian markets and grocery shops that sell all authentic ingredients that I'm sure are well used by the locals. Last week, we were so inspired by all the curries we've been eating that we decided to try our hand at some homemade Chicken Tikka Masala (Britain's most popular dish). It turned out really well and we can't wait to try out some more adventurous recipes in the future. Believe it or not, other than the chocolate and biscuits, we’ve been eating pretty healthy and
really enjoy cooking for ourselves. However, we might have to go buy a
scale soon to make sure we don’t overdo it with all these tempting treats!!
One last thing I wanted to gush about is British fashion. While there is a lot about it
that is similar to what I see in Calgary, there is a definite style all its own
here. First of all, tight pants are everywhere! Guys and girls are rocking
skinny jeans or leggings with some sort of low ankle leather boot or converse
style sneaker. To be fair, I’ve learned from trial and error that wearing baggy pants isn’t the best idea when there are so many puddles
and wet sidewalk to drag them in, but still! Also, earth toned coats with fur lined
hoods are a thing. Mostly for girls, but a lot of guys have them too. If it’s
not that, then it’s a wool peat coat or well insulated, waterproof coat. Danny and
I really stand out when we’re walking downtown; him in his florescent orange rain
jacket and I in my bright blue puffy coat. A few elements of the “hipster” look
I’m used to will surface now and then, although they seem to rock plaid in more
“proper” kind of way than a “back woods” kind of way. You don’t see a lot of
flannel shirts, high waisted pants or quite as ridiculous glasses. You do see
girls wearing black leggings with jean shorts though (have yet to figure out
that one). A lot of big scarves are worn to block out the wind and rain, but
not many people seem to wear gloves or hats. Hair styles are also similar, yet
different. All the guys seem to have very trendy haircuts and rarely have
beards while the ladies favour long hair that is somewhat messy. Obviously I’m
not speaking for everyone with these comments. There is a lot of variety in
Leeds and I’m sure even more so throughout the rest of Britain.
In summary, GB is a strange, new, and wonderful place to be! It's neat to experience a different culture and really try and immerse yourself in it. And as much as I rattled on about what is different in this post, I'm also slowly discovering that people aren't so different after all on the inside. Sometimes I'll meet a person over here that really reminds me of someone at home. Not because they have the same haircut, but because of what they act like and their personality. People might talk a bit different over here but there's a reason Danny and I have made friends with the people we have; we share the same values and outlooks on life. I hope that I can continue to hone in on the qualities I like in other in people. It will help me appreciate my friends for what I share with them and why we get along so well. But enough of all of this intense inward reflection. Danny and I will keep on this path of trying new foods and meeting new people in the hopes of becoming honorary Brits by the end of our time here!!
-Cailey
