Moving away from the familiar comforts of your home country to an entirely different cultural or social environment can be hard. While everything about the new culture will delight and stimulate you upon your arrival, there are some things that might take some getting used to.

The first of such is driving, while many countries drive on the right the British drive on the left this would definitely take some getting used to as a pedestrian, as it might be difficult to work out what lane contains traffic going in what direction.

Secondly, if you are not a fluent English speaker, you might find it hard at first to adjust to everyday life as you might find yourself having to constantly ask people for help with interpretation. Road signs, navigation, food labels, everything is in English and this might be quite overwhelming at first. Also, you might find that you miss your more familiar language. I had friends that would speak to me in their language just because they had the urge to. Even if you’re a fluent English speaker, accents might make speech harder to understand and when people revert to speaking more informally it makes it almost impossible to follow conversations.

Most people find the British weather quite unpredictable; it might be bright and sunny when you wake up and raining by the time you get to the bus station.  If you’re from a warmer climate, you may find the greyness and dampness difficult to get used to especially during winter.

Many people find getting used to British food takes some time, it might taste and look different to what you’re used to and for some it may be quite bland; especially if you’re used to quite spicy food.

Although, leaving home will be an emotional whirlwind, especially with the difference in culture of your home country and Britain, you will learn to accept both the differences and similarities. You become more confident as you become more familiar with situations. The experience becomes enjoyable and one you are not likely to forget.

Oluwatobi Owuturo,

Studying LLB Law