MY EXPERIENCE OF MOVING TO A NEW COUNTRY

 

So, now you have moved to a new country to start a new beginning, it’s all daunting, saddening because now you have to leave your family and friends behind to start a new life, but it can also be exciting, as you are entering a new phase. A new beginning!

And now you are ready to become accustomed to your new home and life far from your old one.

Maybe it’s been a week or a month and you have noticed a lot of differences from what you are used to. The people, the lifestyle, and even your surroundings. You may even experience culture shock!

As for me, a South African who has moved over to the United Kingdom and who has been here for a year now, I have certainly noticed a lot of differences, especially coming from a third-world country to a first-world one.

And to top it off! I had never left my home country, like at all! Not even for a holiday.

So, I just jumped all in.

Now you can imagine, someone like myself, taking that big leap and moving to a country that she has never been to before and who has only seen England on TV! 

Allow me to share my experience of moving to a new country!!

And there were a lot of new things that I was not used to, and some may seem silly to others, but coming from South Africa, we don’t have the things that a lot of first-world countries enjoy.

For instance:

 

SELF-CHECKOUT

Now, this may seem silly. You may be thinking, “What? Seriously? Self-checkout? Of all things?”

Yeah seriously. This was defiantly new to me. I was like a child discovering a phone for the first time, wanting to also try out the new gadget.

In South Africa, we don’t have these facilities where you could just go and scan your groceries and bag it all yourself.

So, this was pretty new to me.

 

MONEY DIFFERENCE

Now you have to get used to a WHOLE new currency, and that includes getting familiar with it. The size, the color, and heck! Even the texture.

Now, what do I mean by that? In your own home country, you grew up with your currency. You could just pick up a coin or a note from your wallet/purse, and immediately know what it was, but when you have to use a different currency, you check what it is before using it.

This is what I did. I would pick up a coin and would look at it and think, What is this? So, I would then take a closer look and be like, Ah, this one! And then finally use it.

Back home, I could just look at the coins or even just see the size and I would immediately know what it was.

 

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

This may be another silly one for some, but if you come from SA, you will know that transport there isn’t exactly reliable, quite frankly you would do your best to avoid them.

The transport in the UK is reliable.

The buses and the trains are always on time, plus you get free apps that you could download or visit their website to see the times and prices for wherever you are going! Heck! You can even book your ticket on the app.

The app that I use for the buses is called Stagecoach. Easy to use and reliable.

And then there is Trainline, an app that I use often to book my tickets to visit family or to just take a look at train times. There are other train apps that you could use but I prefer using this one.

Another point to mention for the public transport here is buying a monthly card or yearly card for either the buses or train to make things a lil more affordable if you are someone who uses public transportation often.

Getting around the UK is easy as transport here makes it easy and possible for you to travel around.

 

PUTTING YOUR FUEL IN!

Okay, so I knew about this one, however, it was still new. I’ve seen it being done on TV and I have heard about it from friends or family who has also made the BIG move.

But why is this new? Well in South Africa, we don’t fill up our fuel, we have people who do it for us. People who are paid to help you fill your car up with whatever fuel it is that you need.

This would come as a surprise for those who visit SA for the first time, as many more surprises would come to those who travel around the world and see all the differences that there are.

That’s the beauty of travel, I guess. Learning different cultures and seeing how others get along with life.

 

BUILDINGS AND SCENERY

Yet another difference.

There are a lot of old buildings with a lot of history tied to them, especially London, the United Kingdom’s capital.

Now I have only been to London twice, and let me just say, it is HUGE!!

There is no way you could explore the whole of London in one day, but you could see parts of it.

The scenery is also another difference. Wherever you look there are just so many rolling green hills.

Tons of trees and open fields where cattle are grazing, and random homes in the middle of it all…beautiful homes that are just so quaint and lovely!

Sometimes it feels like you have stepped back in time with the old buildings and their quaintness.

PUBS

Now when people say that they love their pubs here. That’s the truth.

There are just so many pubs here. When you turn a corner, there is a pub, or when you go down that road there is a pub.

Pubs are extremely popular here.

There are 47,200 pubs in the UK, and all with their unique names, for example, The Nailbox or The Crown, with their signs hanging high above the walls where one would have to look up to see them.

And the inside of some of them is also just as quaint as it can be on the outside. With small doors, low roofs with a fireplace inside to keep the warmth in. Now doesn’t this just take you back in time?

It’s all just so unique and different.

 

DIFFERENCE IN WORDS

What do I mean by this, you may wonder?

Now, there are a lot of unique phrases and words in SA that we use, for example, Ja, in Afrikaanse -one of many languages in SA- a word that means yes, whereas the British would say Ye, and they say it just as much as we South Africans use the term Ja.

Here’s another one. Now now, another South African term meaning later or in a minute. In the UK, they use in a bit.

They also use the term mate, a lot! Whether it be for a friend or just putting it in a sentence. For instance, they could say, “How are you doing, mate? Or I’m good, mate.”. Something like that.

There are tons more, but I’m not going to get into all of them, but I will however get into the one word that we South African’s love and often do because that’s just being South African. That word would be a braai. What is this you wonder? Well, it’s what the rest of the world would call a Barbecue.

 

MY CONCLUSION

There are a lot of differences you would experience from taking that big leap and moving abroad.

Experiences like homesickness, this one is just unavoidable, and one that should be expected, but it is something that you can get through.

Times where you would experience new things or even new WEATHER!! Like a lot of rain and, my favorite! Snow!!

But overall, I am glad I have taken this big step in my life, something that I would not take back or one that I won’t regret in life, as there are so many more opportunities out there.

If you have the opportunity for something new and exciting, TAKE IT!