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Some differences I've noticed so far: the weather, the roads/driving, the walking culture, the transit systems, the language
The weather: I think the makers of this town took into account how frequent Coleraine is both "cold" and "rainy." It's always windy, and the sun is bipolar. It'll be sunny one minute and raining the next. If it's both sunny and rainy, the locals say it's "money's pajamas," and when I ask them why, there is no explanation LOL. If there were to be an expectation of rain in Tennessee, I would make plans with my cozy couch, hot tea, and a book to read or a netflix show to watch. But if that were the case here, I would never leave my apartment. That being said, I never leave without my raincoat, rain or shine, because I know that at some point, it'll shower at least a little bit.
The roads: THEY DRIVE ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE ROAD/CAR. I knew this coming in, but it still throws my brain off a little bit when I cross. I make sure to triple check most times. I'm starting to get used to it though.
The Walking Culture: Sure, I can pay for a few pounds for a bus to drive me 1.5 miles or a three kilometers away to the nearest town, but I don't mind walking. And neither does anybody else. I walk a lot a whole lot more than I used to in the States, and I don't mind that at all. They have pedestrian/bike paths everywhere, unlike in the US.
The Transit Systems: I know that compared to the rest of Europe, some people aren't happy with the bus/train system here because they claim that it's not prompt enough or too expensive, but compared to the States, I LOVE it. I got here a few days early without knowing I couldn't stay on campus and just traveled on my own for a bit. Once I arrived at the airport, I asked a friendly person who was more than willing to lay out the bus/train system for me, and since then I have mastered the routes... Or at least that's what I tell myself . I had no idea what I was doing or going to when I got there, but a guy I met on my second bus said I should stay at the hostel he was staying at. The bus dropped us off at our hostel instead of at the bus stop (how nice!). Luckily, it was a kilometer from one of Northern Ireland's main attraction, the Giant's Causeway, which is a story for another time.
The Language: They may speak English, but some people's accents are very heavy and difficult for me to understand. I volunteer at a nonprofit thrift shop in town, and some of them mumble and talk so fast I can't understand them. But they do so with a smile on their face, so my default response is a "yeah... me too" with a mirroring smile back. They also have different phrases and words to identify certain things. "pants"=underwear, "trousers"=pants, "wee"=little, "What's the crack?"=what's up?, "He's the crack"=He's a good time/fun. By the end of this exchange, I want to be able to speak like the locals because so far, people have been able to identify where I'm from in a matter of seconds. Oops.
I'm loving every minute of my exchange so far and haven't gotten homesick just yet... Fingers crossed I won't.
:-)
The weather: I think the makers of this town took into account how frequent Coleraine is both "cold" and "rainy." It's always windy, and the sun is bipolar. It'll be sunny one minute and raining the next. If it's both sunny and rainy, the locals say it's "money's pajamas," and when I ask them why, there is no explanation LOL. If there were to be an expectation of rain in Tennessee, I would make plans with my cozy couch, hot tea, and a book to read or a netflix show to watch. But if that were the case here, I would never leave my apartment. That being said, I never leave without my raincoat, rain or shine, because I know that at some point, it'll shower at least a little bit.
The roads: THEY DRIVE ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE ROAD/CAR. I knew this coming in, but it still throws my brain off a little bit when I cross. I make sure to triple check most times. I'm starting to get used to it though.
The Walking Culture: Sure, I can pay for a few pounds for a bus to drive me 1.5 miles or a three kilometers away to the nearest town, but I don't mind walking. And neither does anybody else. I walk a lot a whole lot more than I used to in the States, and I don't mind that at all. They have pedestrian/bike paths everywhere, unlike in the US.
The Transit Systems: I know that compared to the rest of Europe, some people aren't happy with the bus/train system here because they claim that it's not prompt enough or too expensive, but compared to the States, I LOVE it. I got here a few days early without knowing I couldn't stay on campus and just traveled on my own for a bit. Once I arrived at the airport, I asked a friendly person who was more than willing to lay out the bus/train system for me, and since then I have mastered the routes... Or at least that's what I tell myself . I had no idea what I was doing or going to when I got there, but a guy I met on my second bus said I should stay at the hostel he was staying at. The bus dropped us off at our hostel instead of at the bus stop (how nice!). Luckily, it was a kilometer from one of Northern Ireland's main attraction, the Giant's Causeway, which is a story for another time.
The Language: They may speak English, but some people's accents are very heavy and difficult for me to understand. I volunteer at a nonprofit thrift shop in town, and some of them mumble and talk so fast I can't understand them. But they do so with a smile on their face, so my default response is a "yeah... me too" with a mirroring smile back. They also have different phrases and words to identify certain things. "pants"=underwear, "trousers"=pants, "wee"=little, "What's the crack?"=what's up?, "He's the crack"=He's a good time/fun. By the end of this exchange, I want to be able to speak like the locals because so far, people have been able to identify where I'm from in a matter of seconds. Oops.
I'm loving every minute of my exchange so far and haven't gotten homesick just yet... Fingers crossed I won't.
:-)