Five preconceptions I believed to be true about the UK
The weather is really bad
The weather thing was really important to me. Coming from Mexico where it is pretty much sunny all year round, I was afraid about dealing with the cold UK weather. The first days were quite difficult for me but then I learned that you just need a good jacket, maybe a hat and you’re ready to go and do lots of fun activities. Many places like houses, the Uni and pubs and restaurants have heating so while you’re indoors you won’t be feeling cold. Also, in Leeds (and maybe in most of the UK) most of the days were cloudy and rainy, believe me when I say you will appreciate the sunny days.
UK people are quite cold
Coming from Latin America where people are known to be super friendly I was expecting the UK to be similar. In fact, the UK people are quite reserved but that doesn’t mean they are rude. All the UK people I had the opportunity to meet were really nice, respectful, polite and become really friendly once they get to know you.
They drink tea all-day
This is quite true. I rarely drank tea before going to Leeds but there I found SO MANY options of tea to try. You can drink tea to warm up on a cold day, as a remedy when you’re feeling a little sick or just enjoy a cuppa and biscuits with your friends (this is the British slang for “cup of”). Soon you will understand how necessary it is to have a kettle in your kitchen!
The food is average
The UK is not known for having a great gastronomic culture, but this doesn’t mean bad food. The UK and also Leeds has a mix of cultures and you can definitely find a huge number of culinary options to try. Some of them will be international but also some will be local options. I really enjoyed the typical English breakfast, also known as the Fry Up. This consists of: bacon, sausages, hash browns, baked beans, fried eggs, mushrooms, tomatoes , black pudding and toast, (vegetarian and vegan options are now a lot more popular too). And of course, the Sunday Roast which consists of: roasted meat, (usually chicken, beef or pork), roasted vegetables, such as carrots, parsnips and broccoli, mash and roast potatoes, stuffing, Yorkshire puddings and lashings of gravy sauce. As you can imagine these traditional dishes are very filling and ones you must try!
The UK English accent is quite difficult
I was used to listening and talking English with an American accent so when I arrived in Leeds it was quite difficult to understand since the pronunciation definitely changes in some words. But if you make local friends soon you will be able to understand and realize that is not as difficult as it seems. I just wish you luck with the Yorkshire accent. Just kidding, you will get used to that too! Eyyyy upp!