September 16th

After being at the school for roughly one day, I’ve found some interesting people to hang out with. Most of them are Canadian. Some are American. It’s so early in the socialization process that it’s hard to tell who I’ll still be hanging out with months from now. There are two people that I can see myself socializing with for most of my tenure here as a student. Luke and John, although hailing from opposite ends of the country, are both exceptionally Canadian. I say this because they are both beer-drinkin’, hockey-lovin’ Canucks that can croon an alarming number of Canadian folksongs. Alfred is another Canuck I expect I will see around, although he is an exchange student and will not be around for more than a few months. I’ve also met a girl from New Jersey who seems to be on-the-level. She’s frank and straight to the point. Although it seems cliché to hang with other Americans whilst in Britain, she seems to be someone who will be good company to have around.

When we aren’t going to informational sessions, we’ve been drinking and meeting people. We tried going to karaoke last night, but it was pretty lame and so we ended up ordering drinks and meeting people. Interestingly enough, I’ve met two fellows who go to school in Virginia. Of which, one is actually Virginian like me. At the same time I met a girl from North Carolina who went to undergrad in Danville. In short, there are a lot more North Americans here than I thought there would be.

Sadly, we Americans are the quiet well behaved ones. Dispel all your American notions about our Neighbors to the North. The Canads party hardy.

The seminars on going to school here have been somewhat informative, but also tend towards the obvious. I guess Nottingham is just trying to cover its butt, and I can understand that. The introductory pamphlets here at the school have proven to be pretty entertaining. Here are some of the “UK Culture Top Tips” that they give us:

- Do stand in line: we like to form orderly queues and wait for our turn

- Do say ‘excuse me’ if someone is blocking your way.

- Do smile, people will respond, to start a conversation you can always talk about the weather

- Don’t talk loudly in the street or stare at someone

- Don’t queue jump, you will find you are suddenly very unpopular especially in shops or waiting for the bus

These seem to be par for the course. I feel that most students would know these things. I would think that if you are able to qualify for a UK education, you probably come from somewhere where queues/lines are standard things. I think it would be more informative for foreign students to learn things such as, ‘whenever ordering two of something, never hold up your index and middle finger and show the person the back of your hand. If you do so, you will find yourself unpopular at pub.’ ‘Never turn another person’s empty glass over,’ might be another useful lesson.

Perhaps American cultural similarities with the British taint my outlook, but then, many people here are Canadian or American, as I pointed out earlier.

As far as cultures go, people have mostly homogenized. Americans, Australians and Canadians tend to hang out together. (I haven’t met any New Zealanders yet. I have met someone from Mauritius though.) The Chinese cluster together and so do the South Asians. There are some breeches in this. I have met a few people from both of those groups. On the whole, though, people tend to segregate into comfort levels. I’m personally hoping to meet an all-star international class of characters. After all, over 50% of Nottingham’s post-grad is foreign. I’m sure social dynamics will change a bit once school is actually in session.

That’s all I have for now. Aside from making new (Mostly Canadian) friends, it’s all quiet on the front.

- Jonathan “I’ve Got Some New Looney Friends” Trenary