Abby Hendricks
London, England is 4, 722 miles from Nacogdoches, TX. Moreover, Paris, France is 4,900 miles away from Nacogdoches, TX. Being almost 5,000 miles away from home I would say I emerged from my comfort zone. I witnessed many cultural differences in just two weeks.
The traffic and driving is one big difference I think everyone knows. The Brits drive on the left side of the road where we drive on the right. For me, it took the entire trip to get acquainted with the change of the driver side on the vehicle, the driving on the left side of the street, and even which way to look when crossing the road.
The use of the English language is also different. The most common difference is the accent. The British accent was exciting to listen to, however, it was hard to understand at times. I noticed over the course of my visit the Brits will not pronounce their “t’s” and they elongate their “r’s.” The name “English”—as in the English language—is capitalized in the states and it is lowercase in London. Additionally, when a decimal is used on our tickets at restaurants in the US, a comma is used in London.
Furthermore, food was a huge difference for me. As a picky eater, it was sometimes hard to find something I thought would be good to eat between the raw meat and fish. I found the food to be tasteless and it never came out as described on the menu. The service was extremely different than found in the US. Complaints are voiced in the states when waiters are not attentive. We expect our glasses to be filled often without having to ask and for the waiters to check in on the table habitually. That earns a good gratuity. However, in London and Paris, the gratuity is included. So, the waiters do not provide the service we are used to. We had to wave down or physically rise and hunt down our waiter when we needed something.
Parts of the US use public transportation such as the subway, buses, and taxis. However, Texas, specifically, does not. We are not used to riding the subway or walking miles and miles a day. The subway system in London is referred to as the “tube.” Although I find the tube system very efficient, I missed my car very much. I do not miss walking everywhere.
It is currently summer in London and Paris. The weather is not 100+ degrees like Texas is during the summer. In London the weather would be chilly, hot, rainy, sunny, and cloudy all in one day. Texans think their weather is bad. However, I do not agree when compared to weather in London. Every day I had to carry an umbrella, rain jacket and/or light jacket and sunglasses to prepare for the weather.
Finally, the living spaces are a lot smaller than our living areas in the states. The rooms do not have as much space and the bathrooms and toilets are smaller. In London, the bathrooms are called “loos.” The public loos will often cost money to use and are difficult to find.
I have learned so much during my two weeks abroad. St. Augustine once said, “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” I believe after our trip to London and Paris I have read thousands of pages. I felt out of place at times but I kept going and discovered so much more than I ever imagined. I will use the experiences I learned during my London and Paris study abroad trip in my travels to come.
