Hello everyone, I hope you all are doing well in the first month of 2022 and are getting motivated to start new year as well as set some new year resolution goals to achieve this year. This morning, I was talking to my friend from Taiwan over the phone and we came across the topic of difference between Taiwan and the UK in terms of education system and culture difference. So I figured it will be interesting to share with you guys my thoughts and ideas, also for those who are deciding whether to come studying in the UK to have a through idea of what to expect.
Saying hi to everyone and easily build connection with strangers
One thing I have noticed since I moved to UK is how easy it is to start a conversation with strangers and saying hi to people you probably only met once. This happened to me so many times that people casually started conversation with me whether in supermarket, train station or library. I also saw my friend joining other people’s conversation on the train when he found that conversation interning. This is quite a new scene to me, as in Taiwan you wouldn’t jump in the conversation unless you have a questions, a favour to ask or you had some sort of connection with one of the person in the group. But it seems like, in the UK you can strike a conversation with strangers if you know the way and easily make connection with them. I like and found it pleasant to be able to know people so easily without being perceived as weird person. So next time, if someone try to talk to you, why not open up and maybe make a new friend from there.
A lot of eye contact and then remember to smile
Other thing I have noticed when talking to my friends here is the amount of eye contact you have during the conversation. In Taiwan, I don’t remember having that many eye contacts when talking to my friends or strangers. In the UK, whenever I am talking to anyone they tend to have more direct eye contacts and look at your direction when listening. I can’t explain the phycological difference in the society to cause this habit but I found this experience particular interesting as I never thought about the difference in culture would happen in such daily and subtle place. I felt like a social observant when I share this finding with my friends in UK and Taiwan. If also feel same way as me, comment down below to tell me what other difference have you expereinced.
Friendly environment to speak up and share your opinions
Last but not the leats point that I want to share, is how friendly the environment is for everyone to speak up and voice their own point of view. From what I experienced growing up in Taiwan, I did not have that many chances to share my thoughts and somehow I didn’t feel elders are interested in hearing what I want to say. But this can rarely been seen in the educational institute in the UK. When I started my foundation year in 2018, I can easily spot the difference between Asian and European students. In comparison to Asian, European are more eager and willing to give out their ideas and share their insight on the topic. Whereas, Asians students are more likely to withhold ideas and be the quiet group in the class. When I talked about the differences on this, I am not taking side on either or compare which one is better. I just want to share the thought of how significant impact the environment can have for one to feel welcome to share their thoughts and ideas. I am so glad to feel so liberal and comfortable to share what’s inside my mind and discuss the differences with other student in the class.
So when I say studying abroad you need to be prepare to talk, I meant it. In University of Surrey, there are so many opportunities for one to talk. So when you choose to come Surrey, be prepared to talk a lot and take advantage of how friendly this environment is for anyone to speak their mind.
These are the few points and culture differences I have observed during my study in the UK, I hope you all had fun reading it and resonates with them. Until the next blog, have a wonderful day:)))
