When I originally thought about studying abroad in England, I did not grasp the major difference that would come into play. I knew accents would be hard to understand, but I thought I would be fine because I’ve watched a lot of British television. Boy was I wrong… I live in a flat with six other flatmates and luckily, one of my flatmates is also an American and she has been helping me out when other flatmates start to talk too fast for me to understand. Having lived here for almost two weeks, I have started to distinguish between northern and southern English accents. Studying in Manchester, I am more exposed to northern accents. On my travels to Manchester, I flew into London for a few days before taking a train into Manchester. In London, the accents are softer and easier to understand. Northern accents are deeper and they stretch out certain syllables. The deepness and scratchiness of their voices make it harder for me to hear certain words. Granted, I am only a week into classes and feel that my sense of hearing will improve the longer I am in the north. Making friends has come easy to me since being here. I instantly hit it off with all six of my flatmates. One of my flatmates took me on a tour of the city of Manchester. I got to go to the Primark, walked through the Northern Quarter, and ate at an authentic English pub.

Many of the nights I have been here, my flatmates’ friends have been over. This was overwhelming at first meeting new people and only being able to understand half of the conversation. It’s a week in and I feel that I have become a part of their group. They started to invite me to hang out with them and I have spent many nights talking to them about their lives. This made my transition here go smoothly and makes me miss home less often. I can see myself having an amazing time while studying here. I hope in my journey abroad I continue to educate myself about the English culture and many others during my travels.

About the blogger

Meghan A. is studying abroad on the University of Manchester program in Manchester, United Kingdom.