Week 1: First Impressions Always Count.

When I first arrived in the beautiful city of Bristol, UK, I couldn't help but wonder, is this real? Am I really here in the middle of this vibrant, artistic city? Is my life for the next year really going to be filled with the whole new experience of living in a new city and country? At the Heathrow airport soon upon my arrival, the beautiful faces of my good friends Becky and Jo that greeted me reminded me of how lucky I was to have such great and true friends. It was also a reminder that I am not alone as long as they are here with me.

As the weekend passed, I met some other International students who were mostly from Europe (through the International student activities). I realized that these students were just like me, in a sense. Even though I do not have a language barrier that most International students face, we are the same. A stranger in new surroundings. We are like multi colored eggs in the same basket that is our faraway home (some further away than others). In a way, they are lucky because they able to automatically have a group of friends in which to bond with from their respective countries of origin. Whereas I struggle to find Americans to spend my time with. Americans are few and far between in this British city. However, I am lucky that Canadians are plentiful enough for me to become pub friends with. It is easy enough for me to find North Americans, the accent is extremely distinguishable and almost all sound exactly the same. It is interesting to me how people from all across  the Americas who are from all walks of life can have the same accents, whereas here, people who live 15 minutes away from each other can have entirely different accents. Culture differences between here and the States are definitely apparent. But they are few and I am adjusting quite well. There is not a lot of culture shock for me. In fact, I am confident in saying that the shock value is less than 1%! Not surprisingly, England is definitely quite up to date and extremely similar to the U.S. in many ways. Of course, that being said, there are noticeable differences. One example is that even though England is more traditional and old than the US, they definitely have the ability to handle modern changes/theories better. I think it must be all the tea they drink here. Tea, an old tradition that traces back to Imperial China, has transformed and adapted through thousands of years into something people still enjoy in their everyday lives. Like tea, England has that special way of carrying with it all it's past history, yet with a modern and extremely adaptable flavor that fits in well to the world we live in today.

This exquisitely beautiful city has made me nostalgic in a strange way. Though not resembling Utah in any realm of the imagination, the familiarity in the sense of comradery between friends and strangers is definitely apparent. I hope that this lasts, and that my new life here will be filled with great cheers, dears, and beers.

The Bristol Council House right near my apartment building.

The pianos all around the city speaks of it's famous love for music and art.

A visit to the Bristol harbor side. The City is known for it's sailing.