4 EVERYDAY PROBLEMS International Students face living in the UK
Everybody finds certain aspects of studying stressful. Exam worry is worldwide, there’s serious social scrutiny, and who could forget trying to avoid eye contact with the death stare of debt as it’s pupils continuously expand into a black hole?
This is bad enough within the comfort of home, but imagine facing it when you’re out on foreign turf. We already know how strange it is when you’re on holiday and you just keep getting caught out by cultural differences, you're a British plug trying to fit into international sockets. Imagine having those little issues sprinkled on top of your uni woes everyday!
It’s the same here in the UK. We’re no stranger to doing things in our own fabulously Blighty fashion, leaving our visitors confused and frustrated.
With that in mind, here are 4 of the weirdest things about living in the UK according to international students.
1. Food
We proudly serve a few distinctly British dishes. It's no secret. Visitors curiously crunch Yorkshire puddings, venture down toad in the holes, and the classic question of “what actually is haggis” is met with an answer that’s hard to swallow. Our poll shows that over 53% of international students expressed either negative or impartial feelings towards British meals. However, almost 37% claimed it’s better than what others say! So our melting pot of meals is met with mixed feelings.
2. Weather
Of course! The crème de la crème of British characteristics! It’s a stereotype that becomes even more embarrassing when natural causes lead us to live up to it. This result isn’t going to make a splash but we’re here to confirm international students dislike our climate with heights of 68% coming down on it harder than a good day in June.
3. Separate Taps
Researching for our tap-mixer, we’ve found an overwhelming flow of revulsion towards separate tap sinks. Although considered the norm by many Brits, we have a weird water system and international sinks are more commonly equipped with just one tap with hot and cold options at either side, providing a mixed temperature flow. Two separate streams of temperature have international students heated up as just under 80% of participants had a negative response to them. Luckily, we’re working on just the device to solve this issue and make life that little bit easier for international students.
4. Driving on the left side of the road
There’s our roster of Formula One drivers, Mini’s with Union Jacks and a slew of 007 cars, but the car characteristic contributing most to our global image is our road placement. We’re not sole left-side drivers, Australia and India are among the others, however this is likely due to them formally being British colonies. Two thirds of the world drive on the right-hand side and students used to this are tired of our irregular road rituals- over 36% have a negative response to it. Although more than 20% of participants are joyfully onboard!
What other British culture quirks get to you?