Since studying abroad, I have realized that there are indeed many differences between the United States and the United Kingdom. I was told that going to another country for so long would be a culture shock- but never did I realize how many differences there are between these two countries. You would think that speaking the same language and the US stemming from the UK would make them pretty much the same, but they're incredibly different. Here are some major differences I've realized since coming here.

British people aren't exactly approachable. Long story short- if you're in public and want to go up to someone and talked to them...don't do it. God knows how they make friends but if you just go up to someone and say "Hi I'm Sam", nine times out of ten they'll think there's something wrong with you.

British people have a love/hate relationship with the weather. If you ask a British person about the weather, they'll talk for hours. But, they also will complain about the rain as much any other tourist.

On that note- It's just as rainy here as everyone says it is. It won't necessarily downpour for hours on end, but almost every day it rains at least a little bit. I've survived pretty much my whole life without really wearing my rain boots, but I'm glad I picked some up before coming here because I got some good use out of them.

Being intoxicated is more accepted in the UK than in the US. Maybe it's because the drinking age is a bit younger here? I'm surely not complaining. A lot of locals talk about getting drunk with their parents and are open about the drugs they do, etc. it's very interesting. Being the drunkest person at the club is more rewarded than looked down upon.

There's a lot more rules in America. I would just go ahead and say that British people are more chill- but that's a little extreme. Americans just have a lot more rules. Jay-walking happens literally all of the time in the UK, but if you do it in some cities in America, you can get arrested. In America, we're constantly being told "you can't do that", etc. and in the UK they literally don't care what you do as long as you have a justification for yourself.

Americans are more prideful of their country. Not that I'm surprised, but Americans are much more patriotic than British people. I'm sure there are holidays like Fourth of July in the UK, but I surely haven't heard anything about it. No tailgates and beer pong competitions and red white and blue suits, because British people are more quiet in general (in my opinion), they're less crazy about their country.

The same chain restaurants can be very different in either country. For one, the chain restaurants in this country are more "fancy", any kind of fast food restaurant has a nice sit down areas to eat in. ALSO, KFC does not have mashed potatoes or biscuits like we do in the US, but they do have gravy (why??). Pizza hut is huge in the UK, but in my area in the US, there's probably one in my county and that's about it.

There's no Thanksgiving. That's a given, but you could mention it to a local and they basically look at you like you have 4 heads. Luckily, Wroxton College threw us a huge dinner and dance on Thanksgiving because they recognize how big of a family holiday it is for us, but other than that, that's it. Which makes it surprising that Black Friday is a big thing here. I happened to be in Cambridge that day and spent way too much for what it was worth...

Guns are not as hype here. I've already written an entire article about this, but just to reiterate- guns are seen as actual weapons in this country rather, no cops carry them around, when you see someone with a gun in the UK- shits going down.

Tipping people in the UK isn't a thing. In the US, people in service industries THRIVE off of tips, but in the UK, you literally only tip someone if they've done exceptional, and even then it's not very common. No tip calculators or percentages necessary, you get what you pay for.

The humor is completely different. In the UK- sarcasm might as well be a second language. Physical humor and slapstick are used TO THE MAX. Puns are preferred, and more often used in everyday conversation. In the US, you wouldn't dare make fun of strangers, in the UK, that's how you bond. It's very entertaining.

Lots of words mean different things in either country. To list some: sweets vs. candy, check vs. bill, biscuit vs. cookie, ground floor vs. first floor, candy floss vs. cotton candy, car park vs. parking lot, chips vs. french fries, crisps vs. chips, queue vs. line... there's so many more.

Americans are more straight forward. This makes us kind of look like jerks, but if you ask someone from the UK a question, they'll dance around the answer instead of just a solid "yes" or "no". There's no questioning what an American will say, if they have an opinion on the topic you're talking about, they'll express it fully instead of really considering what other people might think about it.

All walk ways are narrow/ not straight. In NYC, there's pretty much a set of unspoken rules about how to walk in the city so that everyone gets where they need to go. There will always be those people who stop in the middle of the sidewalk to take pictures, etc. but because a lot of people are in the mode to get to somewhere specific when they're in NYC, they'll get there. In London, since there's a lot of roundabouts, the sidewalks aren't straight, and no one really knows where to go. There's a lot of fake outs when walking past someone trying to figure out what way to go. Another thing I noticed is that instead of just saying "excuse me" people in the UK will just push past you or stand behind you saying nothing while waiting for you to move. Although I know I've said one too many rude "EXCUSE ME!"s in the city, I still say it to let the person know I'm behind them trying got get by.

Everything closes early. Our first week here, we learned the hard way that most stores, etc. close early. Pretty much the only things that are open past about 6 are select restaurants and bars. In America, everything is about being open late and being able to go to the mall after work to go shopping and stuff like that, but everything closes in UK, I guess that's the villages way of getting ready for all the drunk messes of people that will be filling the streets past 1am.

Gardening is a big deal. As much as Americans like their cars, Brits like their gardening. We have a gardener who works hard day in and day out to keep our 53 acres up to par. Everything is so well kept that it's simply beautiful. Talking about gardening is almost as common as talking about the weather here, so if you don't have a green thumb- you'll probably be left out of the conversation.

Bacon in the UK is literally ham. To keep this one short, I miss bacon egg and cheeses more than literally anything else in this world.

I could probably talk for hours about this because I find out new things every day, but these are the big ones that I didn't think I'd come in contact with while being here. Everything is so different but I am so blessed to have immersed myself in this culture for over 100 days now. I will definitely be coming back here in my lifetime.