Teaching English back in the UK
Posted by Joe Hallwood - 09:31 on 19 August 2009
As I drive through the 'Granite City' it is hard to see where the light grey stone of Aberdeen ends and the sky begins.
Aberdeen is not famed for its clear blue skies and al fresco eating tavernas...sorry I've only been back from Greece a couple of weeks and it takes time to adjust. I really should stop comparing everything to being in Greece. I don't mind the greyness since I am teaching a TEFL course all weekend and won't see much of it.
Back to the point, driving through Aberdeen last weekend reminded me of moving back to the UK after spending years abroad. Apart from the strange sensation of being home sick, something I never had going abroad, I found myself constantly comparing my old life abroad with my new life here in the UK.
No one goes out much, not surprising when you have to forego an arm and a leg to do so. There are some coffee shops in the UK though, but they all belong to American chains and it's still hard to get a decent coffee plus there are very few places that you would be prepared to spend any length of time at watching the world go by and meeting up with friends. There are pubs. Ah yes, that's what you don't get abroad, the good old British pub. The perfect opportunity to drink 8 pints, get into a fight and avoid slipping in the piles of sick on the way home.
Never really met the neighbours moving back except for an occasional nod. The sense of community in the UK seems forced, serious effort has to be made, abroad it is a way of life. You go out, you meet people, you get invites, you are part of a community as a way of life. You get used to a certain level of friendliness.
When you move abroad and are living in place very different from Britain, you notice it and it can be easy to suffer from culture shock. You might start getting annoyed by people not behaving in the same way, like they don't queue or say please or excuse me. The shops!? you can't find salad cream or marmite anywhere! And the driving, they don't even drive on the correct side of the road. I never really suffered this living overseas, instead I saved up my culture shock for returning to the UK.
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