Unlike at my home university, in Exeter almost all college students have their own bedroom. They share a kitchen, bathroom and sometimes a common space with one to as many as eight other students. Six to eight people in a flat seems to be the most common number of students living together. I have grown to really enjoy and feel comfortable in this dorm style because I like the independence of having my own room.
My next hurdle was buying groceries and supplies for my dorm. This proved to be a lot harder than I was anticipating. Without Walmart, Kroger and Target, my three main stores, I had no clue where to shop. However, after exploring town, I ended up going to Wilko for dorm supplies and Sainsbury’s for groceries. I later realized that I prefer Tesco for grocery shopping since it is cheaper. One difference between UK and US grocery stores is that in the UK you have to pay for grocery bags in most stores so many people bring reusable bags, but in America plastic bags are commonly free. During my first trip, I did not know about buying bags, but I learned, and now I have my own reusable bag to bring.
Those are just a couple of the struggles I had and differences I noticed in my first two days living in the UK. There are many more, and I am still discovering differences every day. However, over the past weeks, the UK has started to feel more like home as I have become more comfortable with the different culture.
At first, I always looked for things to be like they were in the US. I would crave food and drinks from home, but they never tasted like I was used to. For example, the UK Orange Fanta has artificial sweeteners and extra flavorings like carrot added.
