"I missed the convenience of 24-hour stores."

"The British people are friendly and interested in what you have to say."

"The best part was new exper- iences, culture, and people."

"I became better friends with the Americans than with the English students- I thought it would be the opposite."

• Weetabix and McVities: Two very different, yet good British foods. Wheetabix are a breakfast cereal. As one site on the web describes it: "It is like Nabisco Shredded Wheat, but with the wheat flaked rather than 'shredded,' yielding a greater propensity to get soggy very quickly in milk. (This is neither a bug nor a design flaw; it's a feature.) The flaked wheat is pressed into oblong blocks about 1.5"x3"x0.5" that give it the distinct appearance of particle board."
  McVities is a brand name, but I am referring to the chocolate disgestive biscuits, which are truly man's most wonderful creation. They consist of a circular shortbread cookie with chocolate on one side. One kind even has caramel under the chocolate. They are divine and very addictive.





• Water fountains: There are NO water fountains in the UK! You don't realize how often you use them until they are gone!





• Mobile Phones: Everyone has them. Young, old, big, small. And they don't just ring. They play little tunes. Every phone has a different little song it plays instead of ringing. You will hear them ring in class, in the library, everywhere. People are talking on them all over the place. And they are so tiny! Even women's purses and bags often have a side pocket especially for them.





• Bakeries: If you are ever hungry, no matter what city or town you are in, you can find a bakery with pastries and pasties. Pasties are served hot and have flaky crusts like a little pocket. They have beef, chicken, potatoes, cheese, ham, onion, mushroom, carrot, leeks, and/or anything under the sun in them. They are very cheap and small and yummy to eat on the go.





• Gravy, vinegar, and custard: Of course the food is different in England. No matter what people get at the cafeteria, it always includes gravy and/or beans on the top of it. They also often eat malt vinegar on their chips (french fries). It is actually quite good. And every dessert is served with lots of custard on it to give it some flavor. Every restaurant you will go to will serve a dessert called Tiramisu. It's like a cake soaked with some kind of alcohol.





• Sidewalks aren't safe: You may have heard about European drivers. It is true, they do drive aggressively. The roads are very narrow, and cars are often parked along the side, so on two-way streets, one of the lanes will have to stop and wait for an opening. It is quite annoying (stop, go, stop, go) and scary. They will drive up on sidewalks sometimes, to park or just to get around someone else. They also drive quite fast and it seems like there are no rules!

additional photos:
An American student phoning home.
An American student eating in the common room.