Culture Shock . . . Again

I spent seven weeks in the US before I came to Leeds - I figured that was enough time to adjust back to modern society.  And I knew there would be some cultural differences between the US and the UK, but not as much as living in Uganda.  I was unprepared for the level of culture shock that I am experiencing here.

Part of it may be the transition between (non)work in the Peace Corps and becoming a full-time student; part of it may be that many of my classmates are from Africa and I'm falling back into my Uganda tendencies (e.g. speaking broken English); part of it is definitely the fact that I don't have any American friends here.  (At least in Peace Corps, I frequently got together with other people experiencing the same level of culture shock as me.)

This chart explains the emotional ups & downs of culture shock.

*Weird observation: #1 starts relatively high and after the whole experience, #9 is much lower.  So you'll never be as happy as before you left your country. (???)

Specific instances of culture shock:

• Getting laughed at by British classmates for my American accent and the mispronunciation of words like Yorkshire.  They pronounce it York-shir, as in 'Yeah sure' - not 'shire', like hobbits are from the Shire.  Edinburgh is pronounced Edin-bra, not Edin-boro or Edin-bura.  Shopping carts are 'trolleys' and paper towels are 'kitchen rolls.'
• Getting used to British money.  They have a ton of coins - this picture is still missing the big £2 coin piece.  I hate holding up the line at checkout when I'm trying to figure out the difference between a 10 pence and a 20 pence.

 

• Almost getting hit several times by oncoming traffic.  I learned the hard way whether pedestrians or cars have the right of way.  I know that cars drive on the left side of the street, but crosswalks and traffic lights are very confusing.  Maybe I should just sit at an intersection one day and figure out the order of light changes and turn arrows. 
• Getting back into school mode.  I'm having a hard time getting motivated to study and write papers.  I have a paper due Monday and I haven't even read the article yet.
• Getting used to flatmates.  I've been living on my own for over 10 years, and my living space is always neat and orderly.  My tolerance is being tested by the sharing a kitchen with 4 other people.

Dirty and clean dishes are piling up because no one will put them away.  

(We each have separate cabinets for our own dishes.)

  

Five people, five shelves in the refrigerator.  No room for leftovers.

Even though I struggle with the culture sometimes, I'm not hiding out in my room (which is a common habit of people living in a new environment).  The university always has events going on, so I've been going out a lot ( . . . maybe that's why I'm procrastinating on my homework).  In the past 3 weeks, I've been to:

• Tour of Leeds city center
• Kirkstall Abbey outdoor market
• Afternoon tea at Grayson Heights
• Grayson Heights residents' dinner at Trio
• International Students Welcome Dinner
• Leeds Lights Night
• Hike at Golden Acre Park

Another positive note: 

The other day I saw a big black fly in the vestibule near the elevators.  It occurred to me that that was the first insect I've seen since arriving in the UK.  Crazy!!  Also, it's been amazing weather so far.  There have been a few days of rain, but for the most part it's sunny and upper 50's.  My flatmate (from the UK) says it's never like this in October (or September!).  I am extremely grateful for a proper autumn.  I'm also grateful that even on rainy days, there's no lightning here.  Uganda had extreme lightning during each storm - so much so, that I was scared of leaving the house if I saw dark clouds coming.  My nerves were completely shot (from lightning, critters, strange noises, etc.)  I am far less stressed here.  ;)