About Britain

The ubiquitous red phone booth.Congratulations, and welcome to Britain! Studying abroad can be an enormously rewarding experience and a wonderful opportunity to discover a different culture and way of life. It will also challenge you in unexpected ways, as you immerse yourself in unfamiliar surroundings and adapt to new ways of thinking and doing things. This may not always be easy. After all, for many of you this may be the first time you are travelling abroad or living away from home. You must be excited, but perhaps, also a bit nervous and anxious about what it will be like. As we once were! So, we thought we would share our experiences and impressions of life in Britain and in Oxford with you, helping make your transition easier - and perhaps, even a bit more fun.

Location of Oxford within the United Kingdom.Let us begin by saying that there is absolutely nothing to fear. Britain is a vibrant, multi-cultural society and the student body at Oxford is very diverse. One third of the University's 19,000 students, including 14 per cent of full-time undergraduate students and 64 per cent of full-time post-graduates, come from outside the UK, representing 139 different countries from around the world. So, you will never have to worry about being alone in a foreign country! Once you arrive, you will also find Oxford brimming with first year students as confused about what is going on around them as you. British students may already have a bank account, but university life is new for them, too, and this will be the first time many of them —not unlike you— will be living away from home. Before lectures and tutorials start, you should have plenty of time to familiarize yourself with your new surroundings and meet new people during Freshers' Week, about which you can read more in the Arriving at Oxford section of this Handbook.

As with most countries —probably including your own— it is difficult to generalize about British culture or to find a single definition of what it means to be British. It is worth bearing in mind that Britain is made up of three different countries: England, Wales and Scotland; the United Kingdom (or UK) refers collectively to Britain, Northern Ireland and a number of smaller islands such as the Channel Islands. Ethnic minorities further add to this mix. British culture is not, thus, the same as English culture and it is important not to call a Scotsman or Welshman ‘English’! That said, this shouldn't make you nervous. Most people will understand that you are from outside the UK and politely correct you, and a quick apology will help you feel at ease. What this should do, however, is help you understand how different one part of the country can be from another, and appreciate the diversity that exists even among British students.

The best way to get used to British culture may also seem the most obvious. Recognize that it may be different from yours and keep an open mind, while accepting the need to be a bit flexible occasionally. Depending on where you are from, you may find British culture to be more or less reserved than your own; more or less obsessed with sports such as football or cricket than yours; more or less drinking-oriented than your own, and so on and so forth. Its diversity, however, means that there will always be people who hold similar views to yours, or have the same lifestyle, and this will help you adjust.