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Culture Shock
Or,
"Oh Crap, I'm in a foreign country!"
Arriving in a new country is a very exciting experience. My arrival in England opened my eyes to a few misguided assumptions I had made and taught me a valuable lesson on adapting to a new city, country, culture and way of life. A big mistake I made was assuming that because the British speak English, things were going to be about the same. WRONG!!!! The following are a few things anyone traveling abroad should consider when contemplating spending some time in England:
Here are some friends at London's National Gallery at Trafalgar Square
 Time Difference
Crossing the Atlantic to any destination is going to create at least a six hour difference in time. Be prepared to lose sleep while you acclimate to your new time-zone and environment. I recommend having a good book to read, DVDs, a laptop or to simply hang out with friends to keep entertained.
Me at the Prime Meridian, very excited as you can see
 With the time difference in mind consider Communications. Communication with the people you care and love back at home is very important. If email is not enough, there are a few options available:
a) Cell Phone. Cell phones can be expensive but as long as you can control yourself you should be fine. The best plan is the "Pay As You Go." You can put as much money as you want and you can limit yourself from calling the girlfriend or the boyfriend every 5 minutes. I used the company Orange and it worked out really well for me. For more info go to: Orange.co.uk
Our 2nd day in London buying pay as you go cell phones  b) MSN Messenger, AIM, Yahoo Messenger, etc. These instant messaging programs are very familiar to us and easy to use. Some even have camera capabilities which allow video chat, making the experience that much more real. Best of all, they're free. c) Skype. Skype is another useful tool to communicate with family and friends for a reasonable price. Skype is software that allows you to make calls from your computer to land lines, cellphones and other computers. For more information go to: http://www.skype.com/ . Language Simply because the British speak English doesn't mean all English words and phrases will be the same. Also, you may have a difficult time adjusting to and understanding the English. My first week I found myself saying, "I'm sorry, I don't speak British". As far as traveling to countries where English is not a common language, be sure to bring along a "traveler's guide" with quick reference phrases such as: Where is the Library?, Where can I buy food?, How much do Ninja lessons cost?, things like that. For example in London: a) Garbage is not garbage or trash, its "rubbish".
b) The British don't ask where is the bathroom? They ask, where is the
"toilet"?
c) A car trunk is not the trunk, they call it a "boot".
Be prepared to be a little lost for the first few days as you familiarize
yourself with new words, terms and gestures while you adapt to
the British accent.
Environment
In a study abroad program students will already be exited, anxious and anticipating that they will be exploring and traveling through a new country, city and meeting new people. Try ( notice I said try) to not let it get to your head and wear yourself out in one day.
First day of exploring aimlessly...amazing but we did walk for hours!
Instead, practice your time management skills and create time for different events and different sights. Allocating time is much more beneficial because it allows you to customize your day as you see fit. You may want to spend an hour exploring some sights like Parliment, for example, while other things like the King's Tun Pub you might want to only give eight or nine hours.
People
For the most part the English are really friendly and very welcoming once you get to know them. They might be a little shy at first but once the ice is broken they are awesome to get to know. One thing to remember is that customs and traditions are different and everyone reacts differently to given situations. Good practice is to always be friendly, welcoming and empathetic while recognizing that you may not know what new gestures, phrases and traditions mean. Try to keep an open mind and make sure you allow space for proper interpretation.
Kingston University's International Students Team. They are Awesome!
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