I always get asked what’s the hardest thing to adjust to living in the UK. (英國生活最難適應係邊方便？) Without fail, weather comes to mind. After all, there’s a reason why half of British banter and all of small talk begins with what the weather is like outside.

British weather is like me when I’m asked what I want for dinner: indecisive and constantly changing. One minute it could clear skies, the next a full on bout of heavy rain, just to be cleared up 10 minutes later. To put into perspective of a typical twenty five minute walk to school, I could be heading out the door from Manor Park with the sun shining in my face, two minutes later clouds roll in and the gloomiest weather settles in, then the rain comes pouring, just for it all to clear up by the time I reach Stag Hill, the main campus. My advice? Always be prepared in a water resistant outer layer with a hood (down jackets aren’t water proof) and water repellent shoes (forget the running shoes, those will be destroyed in a matter of minutes). Umbrellas also don’t work – I tried to use my umbrella once and it broke within minutes. As long as you’ve got the waterproofs at the ready, you won’t constantly feel wet and cold, and you might actually enjoy the constant weather changes.

Seasons is another thing. They have the full four seasons here! The changes in seasons is absolutely beautiful, although the transition periods can be confusing. The reason I’m mentioning seasons and weather is because we are now well into March, yet I am very much confused by what season we’re in. Technically, spring should be popping up any day. Flowers are beginning to bloom, and baby bunnies have begun to appear (they’re absolutely adorable, but very skittish!). But suddenly in the first week of March and to the surprise of most Brits, we had a full on blizzard and snow day! In March! At first it was magical, wadding through over an inch deep of snow and feeling snowflakes gentling stroking my face…it felt like Christmas! A couple of hours later though, all that remain was slippery slush all over the road, making the journey to school very much a hazardous trip. Nonetheless, it was a very memorable experience, especially since this was the most snow I had ever experienced in the UK. People decided to make snowmen and have snowball fights, which was much needed joy during the busiest time of the semester with mid-term assessments going on.

Oh British weather, you continue to surprise me every day. I do hope it will be spring soon, I can’t wait for warmer weather!