The Culture We Share

I interviewed Caroline Kopp to get a better understanding of her relationship to London. We sat down at a local pub to discuss her perspective on life in this exciting city. Caroline is a junior film major at Temple University. She has always had a connection to creative content. Among this content, there were a slew of British talents that appealed to her. She recalled Harry Potter as being her first real memory of British entertainment. During these younger years, she also developed an interest with the British community on YouTube. She watched a variety of these creators and even noticed her mother’s infatuation with the British food vlogger community. Despite her eclectic interests with various cultures, she ultimately decided that her strongest interests were tied to England. The lack of a language barrier further persuaded her into choosing London as her destination of choice to study abroad in.

Upon arriving in London, Caroline soon felt a type of comfortable familiarity with the culture and a deep appreciation for the aesthetics of the city. She could easily digest the cultural differences due to her prior exposure to the lives of British vloggers. She understood the unspoken, silent etiquette of the tube. She understood a fair amount of slang. She understood the slightly sharper dress code. She understood the population’s persistent desire to “get a curry”. Despite this wealth of cultural knowledge she possessed, she was pleasantly surprised by the overall cleanliness of the city. The unfamiliarly clean streets and tubes did not align with her preconceived image of what a city really looks like. Caroline did have a few ideas of what Londoners would be like. She imagined posh accents and nice ensembles. So far, those thoughts have held up as our residence sits within one of the most pristine and regal boroughs of London. She also believed that the professors would be a little more formal than what she was used to at home; however, she has found them to be charmingly laidback and warm. Overall, Caroline has not experienced any barriers that have made it exceedingly difficult to adjust to pace of the city. At times, the wording of certain phrases will catch her off guard. However, she has clarified conversations and does not feel out of place within London.

Within the same pub, I spoke with a woman named Lisa. Lisa was born and raised in the city of Brighton. Eager to break free from the beachside suburbs, she moved to the Camden area of London when she was 25. She has never visited the United States before, but one day she wants to take a holiday in California. Generally, Lisa explained that she always believed that Americans were the loudest people in the room. She said that her minimal encounters with Americans and American students made her believe that they are loud and very friendly. Lisa said that she admired the way Americans can easily strike up a conversation and maintain a warm interest. She mentioned that the only challenge she has ever really felt with people from the states is that they can be overly friendly at times. She admitted that sometimes certain interactions can feel forced. Contrary to the typically posh or grungy style of Londoners, Lisa said that she feels Americans dress a bit more casually. She mentioned that baseball caps are a very classic hallmark of American fashion. Also, in a bit of contrast to the UK, she said that America is widely perceived as having larger portions. She said that friends of hers who went on holiday in the states come back describing their food related indulgences. In summary, Lisa told me that she noticed the mild differences between Brits and Americans, but she believes that we share more in common.