Recently, I had the privilege of going abroad to study at the University of Bristol through the Fulbright Summer Institute. This was my first time in the UK, and, much like the slight differences that make up our American accents, the slight yet noticeable differences in lifestyle for UK citizens were both unique and also unexpectedly surprising. Here are the 20 things that stuck out to me the most:

1. People in the UK are so nice. I arrived with this preconceived notion of the “snobby British” stereotype but when I stepped into the dorms for the first time, I was overwhelmed by the friendliness of all my future floormates. They were very down-to-earth people who definitely helped me a lot in the first week.
2. They are fascinated by American accents. I never thought of myself as having an accent, which is funny because I am from the south and have a heavy southern accent that comes out on occasion while I’m in California. However, I never considered just how foreign I was to other people until I left the country. The other students loved the “American accent” and I even had a UK barista tell me I was “the most American sounding person [he] had ever heard.”
3. The architecture is amazing. Every part of the country is saturated in architectural history and this history is incorporated into a typical UK resident's everyday life. For instance, some of my classes were held in what many would consider to be a castle.
4. The country's historic timeline overwhelming. It is a historian’s dream come true. When you stop to consider that the classroom you are currently sitting in is older than the country you were born in, it's pretty astounding.
5. The bathrooms show their age. Considering how old many of the buildings in the UK are, it only makes sense that their plumbing systems are a little older as well. Be prepared for slow toilets and re-adapted showers.
6. The sinks have separate valves for hot and cold water. You can either wash your hands in scalding hot or freezing cold water because none of the sinks have a single valve to control the temperature.
7. Everyone asks if you know what a “Cheeky Nando’s” is. I do now, and it was deliciously overpriced.
8. They also want to know if I know who Azeem is. This is the famed Azeem of Azeem’s Flute Recital.
9. The food is simple and often bland. If you're not a fan of spicy food, this is the country for you. When I visited a UK Thai restaurant, the waitress was required to provide a “spice warning” for what actually turned out to taste more like some tame Pad See Ew than the Spicy Noodles that were promised.
10. Indian food is the exception. Butter lamb, chicken vindaloo, naan, mango chutney – all of it was so amazing.
11. You need to specify tap water at restaurants. My friends and I made the unfortunate mistake of not doing so once and were then charged 14 pounds for one meal's worth of water. We did not make that mistake again.
12. No one seems to like Cricket. As part of my trip, I received tickets to attend a Cricket Match. However, every time I told someone I was attending an actual Cricket Match, the response was always either: “I am so so sorry,” or “Why would you do that?” No one seemed particularly fond of it, but I really enjoyed it.
13. Dance music is 70’s Pop EDM. This was probably the most surprising for me. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I was out and about in the city of Bristol, a wavier area of England, but everything kind of sounded like an Alt-J/ABBA remix.
14. There's really no close-contact dancing. In middle school my teachers would always remind us to “leave room for Jesus” when dancing at our school dances. It would seem that same mantra somehow made it across the pond as well. There were also a lot of "dance circles" where only one person would go in at a time to dance. This was actually a bit of a social nightmare for someone like myself who has no dancing ability whatsoever.
15. Pimm’s is amazing. When mixed with lemonade, it is a delicious drink you can only find in the UK. Also lemonade in the UK is actually a watered down Sprite instead of what we're used to in the states.
16. It's easy to forget that the entire UK is smaller than Colorado. Each part of England, just ¼ of the UK, has so much character and diversity that it feels larger than it is. This also made it much easier to travel on the weekends.
17. The countryside is beautiful. Nothing beats the greens of the English countryside.
18. Tea and scones are taken very seriously. As they should be. The tea and scones in England were by far the best tea and scones I have ever had.
19. Professors never mention the American Revolution by name. I was there with a group of 9 other American students and every time the American Revolution would come around professors would always just say, “And then some colonies decided to get a little naughty,” which is probably the best way to talk about it.
20. It's a hard place to leave. I will definitely have to come back at a later date. England is filled with too much to do in a short 4 weeks. I cannot wait to come back again.