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I was trying to be funny, but they just thought I was rude
February 4, 2014
I’m living less than 300 miles from my home in England; Nottingham is almost as far from my home as Paris so I wasn’t expecting to find many, if any, cultural challenges. However as the months here have passed I’ve really realised that there is a fairly big difference between English culture and French culture, …
French admin…my biggest challenge
There have been a fair few cultural challenges to face up to so far on my Year Abroad in Paris, but they’re all part of the experience in the end, so I’m not going to complain. The language barrier is first and foremost in my mind. Having to speak French on tap is quite draining …
The four phases of cultural shock
Post written by Jack Revell. I spent a considerable amount of my childhood outside the UK and as such realised at an early age that the absence of readily-available Cadbury’s chocolate and Marmite in the shops doesn’t really constitute a ‘cultural challenge’. But that’s not to say that there haven’t been any such challenges. According …
The biggest cultural challenge – time!
Post written by Hannah Sheehan. Since living in Spain for five months a number of cultural challenges and issues have come to my attention. Spain and England are too very different countries and possess two very different cultures. To date it has been difficult at times to adjust to the Spanish way of life and …
When in doubt, copy what the natives do
Post written by Matt Watts. So, the Christmas holidays are over and it’s back to work now! I’m still enjoying the job but also looking forward to doing something different in Brazil over the summer! I think I’ve adapted to life over here in France now and have also noticed some cultural differences, as per …
Well… I’ve been home for a while now, and it’s probably time for an update.
Hi everyone! As the title suggests, I’m back in England, and I’ve been here for a few weeks now: all settled in and ready to write another post. By the end of the placement I was completely ready to come home, mostly because of a wisdom tooth that made my face swell up and left …
Learning how the French do it
When living in a different country the first step is to learn the language. The next step is to adapt to the culture, which I have experienced to be quite difficult in certain situations where I’m so used to my own cultural behaviour and way of thinking. When I first arrived in Montpellier, I was …
A two hour lunch seems a little excessive
February 3, 2014
Although I have faced many challenges whilst being on my year abroad luckily adjusting to the French culture has not been one of the harder ones. However that is not to say that I haven’t found a few things frustrating. Firstly the concept of Sunday closure; In France almost everything closes on a Sunday and …
Enjoying adapting to Spanish culture
When people ask me about the cultural differences between the UK and Spain I find it hard to pin point a lot of things but the timing of a normal working day is certainly one of the most noticeable differences! I found myself getting a bit lost in terms of when was suitable to eat …
You can’t expect to become totally Spanish I suppose!
Despite just having finished my first five months in Spain and having loved every minute of it, there have undeniably been a few cultural challenges that I’ve had to overcome and get used to. The first of these is the concept of mañana. The Spanish are probably the most relaxed nation of people I’ve ever …
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