To keep everyone on the same page, I was unable to leave for England until September 18th instead of the 13th because I didn’t get my passport back from the visa center in time. But I made it safely!

I can’t believe it’s already been a week since I landed in England. It feels both shorter and longer than that. But, I figured I would give a quick update on how I’ve found things so far.

The weather is very temperamental. For example, today it was 70 degrees Fahrenheit and sunny, so I took advantage of the nice weather and went for a walk. But then by 2 p.m. it was cloudy and actually pretty chilly. Then by 4 p.m. it had rained and the temperature dropped to around 60 degrees. I do not know how to dress for the weather yet.

Obviously England has it’s own slang, like boot instead of trunk, or flat instead of apartment, but one phrase I wasn’t expecting was to be asked “Are you all right?” as a way of greeting instead of “How are you?” For some reason I never know how to answer because we only ask that in the states if we think something is wrong.

Another observation is that a lot of people smoke here. More so than back in the states, or at least back in Michigan.

As far as how my adjustment is going, in some ways it’s easier than my experience in Korea, and in others it’s harder. It’s easy to ask people questions here because the main language is English, but because I also speak English, I’m expected to sort out everything myself instead of having the assistance of my supervisor to guide me through everything.

I still don’t have a bank account – I needed to fill out the application online because they don’t do non-UK citizen applications in-store. So I’m waiting for an email for that. And I also can’t open a phone plan yet because I need a UK debit card to do so. But at least I was able to find out the steps I need to take!

I haven’t started my classes yet, but I took a campus tour and attended a “fresher’s BBQ,” so I am more familiar with the campus. I’m a bit nervous in anticipation of the workload and what the research will be like. Although I enjoyed school when I was in undergrad, so I have high hopes. I have two welcome classes this week, but we will see if we get any assignments!

Thanks for reading! Stay safe and stay happy. Cheers!