Study abroad: 10 things only those who live in the UK know!
Learn a few things about the UK before you come to study in London!
Are you planning to study in London? Do you want to learn more about the UK and experience the best of your time there? Have a look at 10 interesting things that make British culture so unique.
1. Four seasons in one day: totally normal!
You get totally used to leaving the house in the sun, waiting at a bus stop during an autumn gale, and facing a winter rain before enjoying a spring afternoon. This is a typical occurrence in the country with the most indecisive weather in the world!
2. There is more to British food than just fish and chips!
The UK may have a poor reputation for food, but you find this is not the case. You will find any kind of cuisine you want in new restaurants, any types of food in markets and fairs. There are great independent cafes all over the country and there are always delicious street food options at food trucks, events, and fairs.
3.The British are crazy about sports. Truly.
No topic gets the Brits talking as much as sport. It divides them, unites them, and is one of the few things you will actually hear the British talking passionately about. Even Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was a great admirer of the Arsenal football team. Sport is inevitable in the UK: newspapers, TV, radio, streets, cafes, and pubs are full of talk about everything from soccer to rugby, tennis to cricket.
4.Ancient languages are still spoken – though not widely.
The UK has four surviving Celtic languages that are still officially recognised today. These are Scottish Gaelic, Irish Gaelic, Welsh and Breton. Welsh is the most widely spoken language after English.
5. London has the largest library in the world
The imposing British Library in King’s Cross, London, has over 170 million items in its catalog. If you put all its shelves end to end, it is 746 kilometres long and can stretch from London to Aberdeen, Scotland.
6. Big Ben:
It is not the name of the Clock in London. It is actually the bell inside the clock tower.
7. London’s transport system is bigger than you think!
Besides being one of the oldest public transport systems in the world – it is also one of the largest in the world. The 272 working stations of the London Underground boast over 450 escalators (the longest is in Angel, North London), but there are another 40 stations that are no longer in use. Not to mention the 9,300 famous red buses and their 19,000 bus stops.
8. The British love their tea!
Some stereotypes have a basis in reality – and this is one of them. It is a fact that people in the United Kingdom drink a lot of tea. The British consume about 100 million cups of tea every day – that’s almost 36 billion a year. Unlike most other countries, 98% of tea drinkers in the UK add milk to their drink.
9. When the sun shines, it’s a new world altogether!
The UK doesn’t have a lot of boiling days, but when it happens, the Brits know how to enjoy them to the fullest. People put on their shorts, not enough sunscreen, and the grills are cleared for the all-important barbecue in the home garden with family and friends – it’s impossible not to be taken by the joy of the Brits on a beautiful summer day (even if it’s still 15 degrees colder than your hometown!).
10. Not all Brits speak the same way
The wide range of accents and slang in the UK can confuse at first, but everyone who has lived there will depart with an understanding of regional dialects such as Cockney rhyming slang, the scouse accent of Liverpool, or the slow roll of the West Country, and will return home with a more authentic British accent and a vocabulary that no textbook could teach.
