The United Kingdom is a prime destination for many enthusiastic students eager to attend world famous universities and who aspire to imitate the lives of the protagonists of Brideshead Revisited and Bridget Jones' Diary. However, international students often do not realise that British culture is completely different to, say, continental European or American ways of life and they will have to adapt to it.
British lifestyle is often assimilated with unconditional allegiance to the Queen, bad food, Earl Grey and Carnaby Street. Yet in 2014 we are a far cry from Swinging London and the reign of Queen Elizabeth I; being a student in the UK in this day and age is an altogether different experience.
Indeed the United Kingdom does not live up to many of its stereotypes, for example, the food is excellent and comforting, and the beer isn't, as Americans would put it, "warm". However, skills one might find useful upon arrival in the United Kingdom are binge drinking, surviving insanely spicy curry and not minding the cold when queuing for nightclubs in December, in the snow, scantily clad. These skills might even be considered paramount in order to guarantee an unforgettable student experience.
Nonetheless, however keen an international student may be to blend in and adapt to his/her new surroundings, certain aspects of British life never cease to amaze and baffle. So here are 15 things that overwhelm even the most adaptable of students from across the world.
