A young woman was hit by a wave of culture shock when she traded her life in Australia for the new experiences of living as a Brit.
Leaving behind all that is familiar and diving into the unknown, moving to another part of the world can be daunting, yet it promises a wealth of adventure.
Ebony May, a 21-year-old business student at the University of Hertfordshire, has taken British life in her stride. Not only is Ebony pursuing a degree, but she also runs her own cake business. She's become quite the sensation on TikTok with her page @ebonymaybakess, sharing her captivating journey in the UK.
Ebony is seizing every opportunity to indulge in the British lifestyle, from jaunting off to explore London to taking tap dancing classes at Pineapple Studios and jetting off on European holidays.
Despite the myriad of exciting activities, Ebony was taken aback by some British customs since her arrival in the south of England four months ago. Taking to TikTok, she candidly shared: "I am going to tell you about the things no one warned me about when I moved to the UK."
Prefacing her revelations, she assured her audience: "This is just my observations, no hate."
Day drinking
Brits are renowned for their ability to have a jolly good time, and Ebony was taken aback by just how ingrained day drinking is in the culture. She exclaimed: "How much of day drinking is a thing here - I did not realise, but as soon as the sun comes out, everyone is on the p*** and like I literally went to Camden the other day and there are kids with their families and then there was just a bunch of drunk people stumbling around in the middle of the day."
She also observed that this sort of daytime revelry is not as common in Australia, saying: "I feel like it's not that popular in Australia unless you're going to like a festival to be day drunk."
People laying on the grass in the sun
The phenomenon of Brits soaking up every ray of sunshine also caught her off guard. She remarked on the nation's collective rush outdoors at the first glimpse of spring: "Because the sun is lacking so much here in the winter, as soon as the sun comes out in spring everyone is like laying on patches of grass. You'll literally go to a park and there will just be a sea of people. I feel like that's so random."
Ebony noted the palpable shift in spirits, pointing out that people seem "happy again" when bathed in sunlight.
Unusual wildlife
Ebony's encounters with the local fauna were equally surprising. She shared her amazement upon seeing a bee, which was unlike anything she'd seen before: "I didn't know you guys have massive bees, like I was eating lunch outside one day and there was this bee that was thick, it was like a proper bumble bee that you see in kids movies and I didn't know that they actually existed but I was so fascinated."
On the wildlife front, she was taken aback by the sheer number of squirrels frolicking in UK parks. "So cool," she enthused.
Ebony was delighted when friends who had visited the UK or residents had told her that it is so easy to catch trains to different places, including other European countries. She expected she would use this service all the time, but was stunned by how expensive it can be.
Ebony explained: "No one told me how expensive trains are. I'm budgeting, living off my savings, I can't really afford to trains everywhere because it's so so expensive - and I didn't realise this, I thought it would be so easy to travel everywhere by train, but no. And just like public transport in general, that's where most of my money goes."
Ebony has also been surprised by the lack of bacon and egg rolls on offer in eateries. She shared: "For example, the first day that I arrived here, I had no food in my uni accommodation and I went to a café and I got a bacon and egg roll - or so I thought it was a bacon and egg roll- - but it was literally a bacon bap which is literally just bacon inside dry bread."
A bacon and egg roll in Australia is a breakfast item consisting of bacon and a fried egg served on a bun or bread roll. Many places also add items like avocado, tomato, rocket, cheese and different sauces to the treat too.
Were you surprised by any of the differences mentioned? Comment below...
