Watching the English: English things I find strange as a foreign student – Eugenie T.
As a foreign student in England I wanted to write about some of the different habits and objects that we often find in England but very rarely abroad. However, what I have written does not apply to everywhere in England; this is merely the opinion of an international boarder who hasn’t really left the RHS bubble during their time here.
- Using two taps instead of one
The first things that I saw and that surprised me when I came to England for the first time is that they have two taps in their bathroom or in the kitchen. I know this is not true everywhere in England and especially in the more modern houses but I do not understand why some people still use these; it just doesn’t make sense. Fortunately, someone invented mixer taps which we often find in Europe and which seem so much better because you don’t have boiling or freezing water but a mix between the two – the perfect temperature.
- Early supper
Another habit that I noticed in England is that English people eat supper particularly early. I don’t know if what I’m going to say is true everywhere in the country or only in the school but here we eat super a 6 pm which is very early compared to other European countries. For example, in Spain they eat around 9pm and it’s similar in France.
- They talk about the weather all the time
English people love to talk about the weather. In fact, most of the time the discussions start with “oh no, it’s raining today” or “look, it’s nice outside we should go on a walk”. I think it is similar to other countries because it is an easy small talk topic but people notice it particularly in England because England is famous for its bad weather.
- Savoury breakfast
English breakfast is very famous for its diversity of savoury dishes for breakfast. Indeed, as a French student it is quite weird to eat eggs, sausages or any other savoury food in the morning but the thing which is really different to other countries is to eat beans for breakfast. In fact, this is very English and no one in France, for example, would think about eating beans for breakfast. Another, traditional food is marmite which is very controversial because either you like it or you do not but it perfectly represents what international people think an English breakfast includes. Finally, something very unusual that I saw in England is that it is not common to drink hot chocolate for breakfast but only in the afternoon or in the evening. This is something that is really different to France where especially children drink hot chocolate every morning.
- Sockets that you can switch on and off
The last thing that I noticed in England is the possibility to switch off the sockets. This is really clever and I do not understand why not all countries in the world have the same thing. Indeed, it is more energy-efficient and it is something that is normal for English people and most of the time they really think about switching it the socket off. In other countries you have to think about unplugging everything but unfortunately no one does it.
- Always apologise and be polite
This is not the first idea that I had but when I was thinking about what I could say about English people, a friend of mine told me that English people are very polite. Indeed, they are often associated with good manners and it is important to use different words such as “thank you”, “please” and all those polite words when you ask for something or when you apologise even if something is not your fault and you are not in the wrong. There seem to be many words one could use to apologise such as “I apologise”, “I’m so sorry” and you use them depending on the situation. However, I find politeness very important so it was really not something that I found very different to France.
Post Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.