It's been nearly twelve full months since I landed in England on my OE. Unlike most New Zealanders making the big trip abroad to this Kingdom, I'm living outside the Grand Capital. I love London; in fact, I could move there quite happily tomorrow, but my job has kept me in the real, grassroots England. Since being here I've only met a handful of Kiwis outside of London.
I feel like I am seeing the Authentic England. I watch the BBC and the North Yorkshire news, catch the train almost every day and line up to draw cash from the cash machine; I moan about the weather, the transport, the state of the national football team and the weather again just like a true Englishman (Englishwoman? Not quite sure how that noun works...). However, so far I have managed to avoid getting caught up in the pub culture. I still prefer to hang out in my living room rather than substituting it for the local pub.
This English Experience is very much a learning process. Maybe one day I'll come to appreciate their famous Reserve, but it's frustratingly slow. I can meet any number of people from other nationalities, get along like a house on fire, and then when I contact them a week later to see if they want to meet up, they'll be fine with it. It's not so straightforward with the English. It's all a bit Too Friendly to want to catch up again as if we might be 'friends' - these things take time. I'll crack it one day I hope!
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