Learning and acquainting yourself with another culture is hard. It can even be more difficult if it’s the total opposite of what you grew up with. If you are a woman, for example, it’s challenging to adapt to the culture in the UK since there are a lot of things to keep in mind.
However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t make it easy as a woman learning the UK culture. With a few tips, motivation, and probably a lot of effort, you’ll find yourself acting like a UK local in no time.
Note that before you truly master the UK culture and before you move in the country to pursue your career, you should first secure your trip to the country by working with an Immigration lawyer for your UK visa. If you need further help getting your UK visa, the best alternative is to talk to an immigration lawyer in order to help you in preparing your visas in case you don’t know the steps.
Nw, let’s talk about how you can slowly adapt to your new environment as a young professional woman.
#1: Talk and interact with British locals.
The first and probably most effective way to learn more about the UK and its culture is to talk to its locals. By talk, this doesn’t mean short and straightforward interactions. Instead, we’re pointing to making conversations if you and the person you’re talking to are comfortable enough.
If you are already in the country, you will usually find it easy to talk to local shop owners or tourist guides. You should also consider talking to some bartenders if you visit a pub.
You can talk to locals online for those who are only preparing and aren’t in the UK yet. Suppose you are in the legal age; you can join chat rooms dedicated to learning languages and cultures. This can be hard to do, though. If you have British friends to talk to, then it will be a lot easier.
#2: Read UK-based books.
Books are also an excellent go-to to learn about something. The culture of the UK is no exemption.
Some of the most reliable titles that you can read are “Watching the English” by Kate Fox, “British Culture” by David Christopher, and “British Cultural Identities” by Mike Storry.
If you’re not a big fan of books with long non-fictional texts, you can always find fictional stories based in the UK. It can be a children’s book or a novel. Either way, you can expect to get some pieces of how things are done in the country.
#3: Watch films from the UK.
If you prefer a visual experience rather than a textual one, then you should consider watching films.
Specifically, you should look for movies and series either made by British directors or those simply set in the country. Then, if you manage to find a good one, you can guarantee that you’ll have even a slight idea of the UK’s culture.
The best thing about using films as learning resources is you will also have ideas about the bad sides of the country. These may include political and economic issues. Of course, history is also a given.
#4: Read blogs written by people who either lived or visited the UK.
Some people who have visited the UK as a travel location tend to create blogs or online diaries to share with the world.
You can quickly look for these by typing keywords like “UK travel blog,” “my UK trip,” and other relevant terms on Google. This will already give you several results that you can read.
Now, what makes this effective is that you will see the UK from another traveler’s eyes. This will also give you an insight into what they learned throughout their trip and apply it to yours.
Some UK locals also write the same blogs, so make sure to check them out, too.
#5: Visit museums in the UK.
Museums are a door to a whole new world. If you visit museums in the UK, however, you’ll find yourself immersed in the country’s vast culture. The artworks, no matter what form, will reflect the UK’s traditions, beliefs, and history in a distinct way.
Since the country, specifically London, is known to be the home to a lot of museums and galleries (free ones, at that), you should highly consider spending a day just visiting them. These will be a big help in adapting to the country’s culture.
Summary
The culture in the UK is not a one-way graph. Like any other, it consists of various beliefs, a wide history, political stands, and specialized etiquettes. You should start learning and adapting to it even before your scheduled arrival in the country.
If you plan on moving to the UK or even going in for a short-term stay, it’s a must that you have a basic idea over this. Doing so will help you avoid disrespecting locals unintentionally. It will also ensure a happier stay in the country.
Again, don’t waste the time and effort you spent learning UK’s culture by working with UK lawyers to guarantee the approval of your UK visa.