Saturday 21 June 2008

Adaptations in UK

I have been here for nearly 13 weeks, and i am still trying hard to adapt...
first and foremost, the use of language. my first language is chinese and i was brought up in a chinese-speaking family. as a result, i do not use english as common as chinese. but things are very different here, english becomes the primary language and everyone speaks english. however, the english that speak here is also different from the english i speak in malaysia.
eg: when they say: lovely, cheers... it's equivalent with saying "thank you"
eg: when they say: excuse me, my dear/darling.. it doesnt mean you are their love ones, it just mean the same thing as: "excuse me, miss..."
eg: when they say: here we are/ alright/ okie dokie.. it means "okay"
apart from these, the englishman are very polite and gentlemen. they would always say: "please/sorry/thank you" even for a very small matter.
when they open the door, they would normally wait for you to pass before their turn.
whenever they see you, they'll ask "are you alright?". just like chinese like to ask "have you eaten?"
they like to say :"hi/hello!" regradless whether they know you or not.
i am still in the process of absorbing and adsorbing their way they use this language...
next, is the accent of the english. my aunt, emily is an english who speaks south coast acccent. but the place i am working now is wales. the local people, ie: the nurses and the patients speak english with welsh accent. they speak as if they are singing. but the good thing is most of the consultant do not speak welsh english, that makes me less trouble in listening to them...
next, the food and drinks. I AM VERY SICK OF POTATOES!!! there isnt much choice in terms of food.
breakfast: toast/cereals/yogurt + coffee/tea
(o/s: i wish i have roti canai/chu chiong fun/yau char kuai/nasi lemak +milo/neslo)
lunch: chips/sandwich/cottage pie/pasta + sweets with custard + fruit juice
(o/s: i wish i have fried rice/fried noodle/fried kuey teow/mixed rice/chicken rice + soya/limau ais)
dinner: chips/cheesy pasta/sausage/sandwich/pizza/steak pie/fish fillet + soft drinks
(o/s: i wish i have chinese home-cooked dishes, 3 dishes of fish, meat and vegetables with one oreintal soup + chinese tea)
sigh... those will only appear in my dream...
the culture of drinking alcohol is very strong here as there is a pub in the university. for once, i thought that was a restaurant and i was thinking of trying the food there. at that time, i could see people holding a cup of beer walking out from the door, and i decided not to go there anymore.
next, the weather. i do not have much problems with the weather except for the first few weeks. it was still late winter and early spring. i would have to wear 3 layers of clothes with gloves on whenever i need to go out. at home, i was wearing socks and it was cold when u step on the tiles without wearing socks. the weather is much better now, but occasionally raining and has strong wind. i am staying in 4th floor. whenever the wind blows, the trees wave up and down with the scary noise. i would shut my window pretending nothing happen outside. it would be a very strong resistant if you were walking on the road when the wind is blowing. weather forecast is very important and very reliable in this country as compared to malaysia.
another strange thing is the day time is getting longer towards summer. 4am in the morning, the sky is bright until 10pm at night. i was once woke up at 4.30am, thinking that i was going to be late by looking out of the window, however, it was still very early. it was dark at 8pm in malaysia and normally i was advised not to go out at that time but it would be safe in uk because 8pm is just as bright as 8am.
next, the working hour. they normally work 8hr per day and they hardly work overtime. if u plan to go shopping, u must go early as all the shop houses open until 5.30pm and close after that, the public toilet as well. i couldnt find a toilet once at 6pm as i was waiting for the bus to go home. but the public toilet in the bus station was closed and i'd to hold it until i reached home. sunday is a very good business day in malaysia but in uk, nobody works on sunday. shop houses are closed except for those hypermarket like tesco. do not think that u can go shopping on your off day, as sunday is also their off day.
next, you can see dogs everywhere in uk. but they are not stray dogs.
eg: in the park, along the beach, outside tesco, in the car, on the street....
the englishman treat the dogs like part of their family member. they bring them for jogging, shopping, picnic...
but in malaysia, only a small group of people take good care of their dogs. they treat their dogs like a security guard rather than a family member.
I MISS MALAYSIA SO MUCH. I MISS THE CULTURE. I MISS THE FOOD. I MISS MY FRIENDS. I MISS MY FAMILY.

4 comments:

Ling Min said...

People here like to call u 'love' but the way they pronounce it is a bit different--the 'o' is very 'o'. People here not as friendly..comparatively quite rude (according to the newspaper.. said probably due to footballers' influence.. haha!). The Manchunian and Salfordian have their own slangs too.. U'll get to learn more when u r here! In short, funny food, funny people, funny weather, funny culture.. get used to it and u'll be happy, love! ;)

doreen said...

woohoo...look who is home sick now? hahaha. *i am so mean...hehe*

i don't know what to say..haha, cuz i am used to listening diff slang aka accent since i have cousins from around the world. Haha. Oh, yes, i think i would get bored there....no shops on SUNDAY?? Why!!!...off day is the best day for shopping...how could they not open????

Lolz...oh, last but not least, i treat my dog as my little brother k...haha...but i am a horrible sister to him (or it?) since i always bully him...keke

senaiboy said...

they even close the public toilets??

khairul said...

but only i can call u 'love' with all my heart coz i'm ur lau khong hahahaha... you seems soooo pro now with all ur cases and case presentations... unlike me, slack alot... but btn sure is fun.. hope yours would be the same too..