Culture Shock Living Abroad (Part 2)

Living abroad will definitely be different from living in our original country. When I started living here in Liverpool, I needed to adjust myself to the system and customs here. So, now I will tell you about things I found differently as I live here in Liverpool, the United Kingdom.

First, people here tend to 'mind your own business'. For example, everywhere you go you will see many people with their headset or earbud and walk without paying attention to other people. It will be considered a rude thing to do if you stare at someone for a long time, for example, you walk through some people and see someone with a 'strange' outfit (in your opinion) and then you stare at that person. You know, like looking from head to toe, it will be a nuisance for people and probably they can be angry with you. Or you saw a drunk person and you stared at that person, that's not allowed! Or when something happens, you can't just jump into the scene and get involved. There was one time, I saw a car accident between two cars. It was on a crowded road, with many people walking as it leads to the city center. When I heard the bam sound, I was shocked, as it had happened before my eyes. Then, both the drivers got out of their cars but for passers-by, they just walked pass by and didn't come approach to the scene. It is different if it happened in our country, people would just come around the accident and sometimes there would be a 'suddenly being a hero' coming to the scene, blaming one party for another, and or just taking videos or pictures for updating social media. But here, no one stopped at the scene, and no one came to become a third party or take videos or pictures! In fact, the driver called the police and they waited for the police to arrive. Here, it is considered an illegal thing to do to get involved in other people's businesses or take pictures without permission, you will get in trouble by doing that. 

Second, I can say that Liverpool is one of the safest cities to live in and for women. So, even if you walk alone, no one will 'catcall' you because it is considered a harassment act and you can report it to the police. Even if you come back home late at night and have to walk alone along the road, I found that the place is safe enough but of course, we still have to be careful also and just avoid dark roads. There was one time when I had to go back really late to my place, around midnight, and I had to wait at the bus station and then I had to walk around 15 minutes from the bus stop to my place. No one was on the road but there were still some cars, it was safe to walk but once again, just always being cautious of the surroundings. 

Third and maybe last, people here are friendly and nice, and they love to say 'sorry', always checking if you are ok or not and calling you 'love'. At first, I was quite shocked when people just called me 'love', and a little bit strange. I went to the market and looked confused, the guard came and said 'Are you ok love?' or when I went to the bus station and the driver asked 'Where do you want to go, love?' or when I just bumped into someone when walking among the crowded people they would say 'sorry love'. So, don't get flatter if someone just calls you love lol. 

That's the different thing I found here so far and next time I will write about another topic again.

Good night everyone.

Liverpool, December 2024