Keen as Mustard on London
Hi again! For the few of you that read this blog weekly, I am delighted to let you know that I will be trying to update this every Wednesday now that I have no uni modules on that day. You know…because college here is uni and modules are classes. Speaking of rubbish (garbage), keen as mustard is relatively translated to mean really enthusiastic. Which is interesting because I can almost swear it sounds like it would mean the exact opposite. Can you tell I’m obsessed with learning ALL the British slang?
This week has been a lot better than the last one and actually has been so much fun. From exploring more of the city to meeting my flatmates who finally moved in, to having some American friends living in the same hall as me, it’s been a lot less bumpy. The start of school has also meant a lot more routine, though that’s definitely been it’s own mindfuck of culture shock.
Before I get to that though, let’s talk about what I’ve done in the last 7 days. Since my last entry, I’ve taken lots of pictures of Westminster abbey and the Big Ben, seen the london eye at night (though I’ve been saving riding it for later), toured Soho, Chinatown, Covent Garden, Trafalgar Square, and Picadilly Circus, and tried Nandos chicken (sorry chic fil A is just…better). Oh wait that was just last Thursday (Yes I walked 10 miles that day).
In addition, I’ve ridden the bus to Camden Town (a total must see music scene with the best affordable shopping), negotiated for a coat, met my fellow CEA program members for a pitcher of cocktails at Spoons, tried Fuckoffee (OH MY GOD SUCH A HIGHLIGHT), explored the Mercato Metropolitan (and got a New York style hot dog, sorry UK), bought a book at Daunt Books in Marylebone, walked through Regents Park, tried my first beer here (and it did suck a little less than US beer but still not my favorite), miserably experienced 3 broken fire alarms, went to the British Museum (which was all about every place other than Britain lol), cooked up some lovely chicken tenders, marveled at fashion at the Victoria and Albert museum, and just yesterday, attended my very first British classes.
Speaking of uni, classes here are NOTHING like ours in the states. For one, no one wears masks, including the teachers who don’t even suggest the students put them on because they know it won’t do anything. Being on time isn’t a thing here, and yesterday my 9 am actually began at 9:15, with my professor arriving at a prompt 9:07. And on that note, professors do not go by professor or doctor or any of that. In fact, it’s disrespectful and weird to call them anything other than their first name. So even though my teacher technically has a phD in digital marketing management, she’s just “Barbara to me”. In one of my modules yesterday, a first year asked my teacher what she should call her and the teacher actually laughed in her face and said “my name is Rea, what else would you call me?”. This—coupled with the fact that there is a bar inside every uni building to encourage us to drink with our teachers in between classes—is the WEIRDEST THING EVER. Like “hey barbara you wanna crack open a cold one after the test?
Students here are also just plain rude to the teachers, cutting them off mid sentence and even arguing with them and telling them they’re wrong. One student yesterday continued to cut the teacher off mid sentence and to say she disagreed and to ask questions that had nothing to do with the topic. Then, during our walk to seminar (oh yeah, teachers and students take a little field trip to discussions in another building after the 2 hour lecture), she lit up a cigarette a couple feet away from the teacher. Pretty sure that’s illegal but whatever I guess. So yeah, no one raises hands here and everyone just talks over the teachers…and they act like it’s absolutely normal. So I guess Americans are the nice ones for once.
Theres a lot more uni related culture shock, but I know a lot of you watch my vlogs so I’ll stop blabbering on. And I’m sure there will be plenty more of that in future blog entries. So instead, on to the sentimental part of the blog.
This week has definitely showed me there’s a lot of value in patience. At the end of last week I really analyzed why I’m here and decided I want to become a more confident, independent version of myself. I want to gain an appreciation for who I am and what I can do from an entirely different point of view. This week, meeting new people and doing exciting things, coupled with finally having some people from the states with me, has really set me down the path I wanted. I already feel so much more like me and am obsessed with absolutely everything here, from the weather (almost 50 degrees!) to the cheery politeness of everyone.
So, as much as I’m still getting my bearings, I definitely can say with certainty that I’m “keen as mustard” to be here.
That should encourage everyone studying abroad that you will go through an adjustment period, that it’s normal, and you will find yourself loving it in no time! Heres hoping this week is only the beginning of a lot more craziness to come, because I’m definitely feeling a lot more at home already:)