Because London is quite similar to cities in the U.S. (Boston in particular), I haven’t experienced a great deal of culture shock. It was difficult to adjust when I first arrived to a new city, school, flat, roommates, public transit system, etcetera, but that would be the case if I moved to another city within the States. Since England is an English-speaking country, I never encountered any kind of language barrier, and I’ve actually been picking up a few British colloquialisms (I say “cheers” instead of “thanks” now, which is going to annoy my friends back home immensely). There aren’t any drastic cultural differences between London and Boston, but I would say that Londoners are a bit more difficult to approach than Americans are (extremely polite, but not quite friendly. As an introvert, I’ve actually really appreciated this). London is also a massive place, and has less of the communal feel that smaller cities like Boston have. I’d say the most prominent difference I noticed since abroad has been at Queen Mary, rather than the city as a whole. School is not the center of students’ lives as it is in the U.S., and I’ve found that there is less of a community than there is at Northeastern (at least within the theatre department). My time commitment to classes and societies was much smaller than it is back home, so I had the freedom to explore the city as I chose. At first I was intimidated to go to museums, restaurants, and the theatre on my own, but I’ve grown much more independent since coming to London and now actually enjoy doing all of those things solo. I have experienced a bit of culture shock when traveling, especially in cities where English is not the primary language, which is why I’ve been grateful that I’ve had friends in each city to show me around so I can experience each place like a local rather than a tourist. After spending roughly six months in London, I’m just now feeling like I truly know the city and can call it home, and it’s going to be very difficult to leave.
Highlights from the week: Traveling to Ireland with my flatmate, Liv, to visit one of my best friends from Boston, Jess, in Dublin, plus a trip to Galway and the Cliffs of Moher!
