COLUMN: Cultures mix well with wet pants
Pants.
Brilliant.
Fish and chips.
Three months in England taught me about these and so much more. I studied at the University of Leicester during the fall of 2001 as an exchange student. I chose England because I figured it couldn’t be too foreign – I mean I speak the language and everything. Right?
Wrong.
For starters, I learned to never refer to my Levi’s, trousers or jeans as “pants.” Never. See, in Great Britain, “pants” means underwear. So for the first several weeks, I walked around in the rain talking about the “colour” of my pants or how wet and dirty they were.
In fact, once my trousers were so wet from the rain that I told a male friend of mine to “feel my pants.” It took me a moment after seeing his shocked face to realize what he thought I’d asked and to assure him I’m not that forward.
Another thing I learned was to LOOK LEFT. I nearly died crossing the street more times than I care to count because I wasn’t used to cars driving on the left side of the road.
The same thing goes for trying to get into the driver’s side of the car all the time because it is also on the left. I was told it all goes back to the horse-and-carriage days when they traveled and “drove” on the left so their right hands would be free to draw their swords and fight if needed. Though I don’t see how that is really applicable today.
Another problem with getting around is that the roads aren’t straight. Ever. They wind and curve like drunken worms. It really makes one appreciate the grid system here in Utah.
While in England, I had the opportunity to partake of many delicacies including crumpets, crisp sandwiches and real fish and chips.
Crumpets, I learned, are similar to our English muffins, though with a lot more egg. Crisps (potato chips) were commonly put on sandwiches with lunch meat, and actually turned out to taste pretty good. But, best of all were the real English fish and chips. Especially the ones wrapped in newspaper from a street vendor.
I also learned that the English will put “American” or the United States flag on almost anything to sell it. Real “American” rootbeer was the most disgusting excuse for a drink I’d ever tasted. “American” canned hot dogs were nothing like the real thing I was used to. And steak-“flavoured” crisps featured a big American flag, though I’ve never seen them in this country.
The university life in Britain is also quite different from here. For starters, quizzes are un-heard of, multiple choice is not an option and tests are usually taken only once a semester. Essays, on the other hand, are to be written as often as possible.
A big cultural difference between “Leicester Uni” and Utah State is the alcohol. The legal drinking age in England is 18, and Uni students are more than willing to take advantage of that. Instead of having a dry campus, like we do here, they have bars in their residence halls.
Pubs and bars are a part of life, from the classic pub meal to school activities in bars.
I also learned there is no such thing as an English accent, because the accents change every 10 miles. Someone from London sounds completely different than someone from Birmingham. Those from the North were particularly hard to understand, though I got used to it fairly quickly.
All in all, studying in England is something I highly recommend, as long as you avoid the word “pants.” Where else can one learn about the important things in life – like crumpets, essays and looking left?
Katrina Cartwright is a senior majoring in print journalism. Comments can be sent to kcartwright@cc.usu.edu