1. Home Cooked Meals
While trying new food is exciting, nothing can surpass mama’s homemade dishes. While abroad, I have tried the English cream tea, tasted real scones, treated myself to real Italian pizza; however, this past week I found myself dialing my mother begging for her chili recipe. I must admit, it felt AMAZING to taste a piece of home. The warm spicy flavors reminded me of leaves falling in the chilly October winds of Decatur, Georgia. I felt home.
2. Sidewalks You Can Walk On
I could have sworn America possessed the worst drivers in the world, I was wrong. Englanders, drive on the sidewalk and sometimes speed through lights almost bumping you. I have frequently found myself less than a centimeter away from being crushed by an oncoming city bus or zooming car while I was on the sidewalk. When in England, BEWARE of vehicles. The sidewalks are narrow and drivers will not notice if they run over you!
3. Personal Space
Here in the U.K. personal space is non-existent. You are always running into someone. The other day I went to the grocery store and ran into my roommate, then I went to a makeup boutique and ran into a classmate. Finally, I was walking around the heart of town and ran into a staff member. Bath is extremely small, so you are bound to run into some. Not only do I continuously run into familiar faces, but when I am standing in line people have no problem standing directly behind me, as I order food. There is also no concept of skipping. People will walk right in front of you if you don’t get to the counter first. Also, on the street the word excuse me is almost non-existent. People will just push their way by and continue with their day.
4. Cars
I miss having my car. In Bath, I am limited in where I can go, because train tickets are very expensive. Also, I walk everywhere within the city. It is not uncommon to see people walking around with loaded grocery bags, returning from their walk to the grocery store.
5. Textbooks in Classrooms
Here in Bath, I attend a weekly school placement where I intern as a student teacher at a primary school every Wednesday. I work with a science teacher, and we constantly go outside, catch frogs and spiders and collect plants or any other nature the children can find. When I asked him about textbooks, he said the children practice hands on learning. While I think this is an excellent modern approach to education, when we’re catching frogs and picking up slimy lizards I miss the idea of having a textbook.
6. Late Night, Chill Spots
In Bath, everything closes around 8 or 9 p.m. The other day I tried to get a late night study snack from Krispy Kreme, and they were closed. I was astonished. In the states the sun goes down the hot and ready sign comes on This was new to me and was not the first place I had tried that had early closing hours. This makes it really difficult to find study spots for a night owl like myself.
