I've been in London about a week now and there are a few things that are just insanely different over here. You would think that going to a country where you speak the same language and generally have the same things, it wouldn't be too bad. The culture shock is so much more than you would ever expect and it hits you like a rock. Today, I want to talk about drinking culture.

Drinking Age.

First of all, the drinking age is vastly different. In the states we're short, sweet and to the point. 21 is the age to buy or consume any type of alcoholic, in any state. No questions asked. (Each state does have its own little laws, i.e. a handful of states do allow alcohol consumption during family gatherings on private property).

The U.K. is made up of several "states" (England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland) that all have their own legislation on drinking ages. They aren't very complex, but there's more than one rule.

• The legal age to have wine, beer, or cider with a meal is 16, but you must be with an adult.
• To drink or purchase any kind of liquor, you have to be 18.
• If the pub is licensed, they can't serve anyone under 18.
• Liqueur confectionery (liqueur chocolates!!!) can be purchased by anyone.
• No one under age five can consume alcoholic beverages.

This wikipedia snippet is the largest of all the countries listed.

When to drink.

In the states, happy hour is a thing. We get discounted drinks and appetizers a lot of places. Lots of bars have daily specials (Half-off at Harpers, Burgerama). Let's be honest, we're all in college and a lot of us go out. For us it's pretty common to go out late at night. Starting out around 10:00pm and staying out until last call at 2:00am. Even in regular people towns they do go out late! We tend to go out every night as well. Starting on Thursday and working our way through Saturday night.

Here in England, it's a whole different world. It's completely normal to go out for drinks after work everyday with your friends and just go home and do your thing. After a quick survey of all the people we've met in pubs here, Friday is the most common day to go out because it starts the weekend. Unless you're dedicated to the weekend, it's really not too common to go out Thursday or continue through the weekend after Friday. It's also really hard for us to find a pub that fits our "normal" times. According to our favorite bartender, Francesco, most pubs open between 9:00am and 11:00am and they close by 10:00pm. We were lucky to find a place that closed at 11:00pm, and our favorite place fluctuates depending on the day of the week but usually closes around 1:00am. Mainly because it's a hostel..

Tipping the bartender

We are huge tippers in the U.S.. We tip anywhere between 15-20% of our total bill. That goes the same for at bars or at restaurants. If you're not tipping on the whole bill it's usually recommended about $1 a drink.

THEY DON'T TIP HERE. A blessing for us because the USD is pretty bad here, but also really weird. At The Walrus, the hostel. pub near us, they have a tip jar on the counter but we're not expected to tip anything. The same with most food services here.

When it comes to being in a different country, it's sometimes hard to adapt to how they live. While we expected to be just fine off the bat, we were really shocked at how it has hit us.

TL;DR

• 16 wine, beer and cider at meals. 18 otherwise.
• Don't go out late or you'll never find a pub.
• Tipping is appreciated, but not expected.

Happy drinking!