Living In England
Last time I speculated about a very personal issue of how Russians are perceived abroad and what stereotypes they are subjected to. Therefore, this time I decided to chat about the images that come to mind for Russians when someone says “English”. I had heard plenty of stories to start getting an impression of what England would be like long before even setting my foot in the country. In this article I have decided to present my own little collection of stereotypes about the English and then talk about the mindset that it’s best to have if you want to move here or anywhere else on Earth.
English are portrayed as cold and distant but my experience proves that that’s absolutely not true. Moreover, they show incredible kindness and niceness to strangers, which, I must admit, many Russians still need to learn. 5 o’clock tea has nothing to do with an actual tea and just means “dinner”. And if they could choose a national drink, they would probably go for beer. However, if they do drink tea, and they drink a hell of a lot of it, they will always have milk and almost never touch sugar. Some even think that sugar and tea is mauvais ton. Sunday roast is still a thing and it is actually delicious! So all the prejudice against English cuisine is absolutely groundless. And hand on my heart, I love their desserts! Apple crumble with custard is still in my top 3 favourite treats and it’s been nearly two years since I tried my first one.
Sometimes I wonder why the stereotype about Englishmen’ drinking habits isn’t as strong as for Russians. Because the English drink a lot, and despite them being quite lightweight, they won’t stop till they no can longer stand up. When it comes to manners and lady/gentleman behaviour, the world is assured that English are the experts on that. Unfortunately, this beautiful stereotype hasn’t been going as strong as I would like it to be, though there are still a lot of well-mannered people who hold these traditions dear. Also, it was surprising to find out that the well-known class dissension is still very much evident up to this point! And the old good stories about stomatology in England started to make sense when I found out that NHS no longer provides this service. So, keeping your teeth shiny and white is quite an expensive thing in England! Though, more and more people invest in Hollywood smiles nowadays, so “bad teeth stereotype” is a bit antiquated.
When we talk foggy Albion aka Great Brittan, we cannot help but imagine it’s horrible weather. It is hard to say whether it’s actually true or not. It’s very windy and showers are just a part of the routine for autumn and winter. However, I’d much rather be all soaked to the skin than get frozen with -25 °C outside my window. Spring is full of weather surprises just like in Russia and it doesn’t get very hot in summers, unfortunately. Maybe, that’s where the stories about aristocratic paleness originated. Very few people know that in Russia, it can get up to +30 °C though everyone still thinks it’s constantly freezing cold out there.
Summing up, it is important to note that foreigners won’t face too many obstacles when they move here. Most of them revolve around miscommunication and a new way of doing simple things like purchasing your bus pass and registering with a GP. England, despite its reputation of a conservative state, is a very modern and open-minded country. The transition will go even smoother if one moves to London. Russians have a well-established presence here and their lives are easily integrated in the life of the city. They have their own community and their own spots. Being frank, it feels like lots of Russians who have moved to London, prefer to hang out with other Russians most of the time. I guess the same could be said about other nations: the French stick around the Frenchies, the Indians stick around other Indians and so on. I would assume homesickness brings them closer together or they might as well have no interest in making friends with the local community, knowing that in most cases they will leave England in a year or so.
I haven’t met many Russians in Bristol. On one hand, it’s a good thing: I could fully focus on integrating in a new culture and wasn’t distracted by nostalgia. However, being the only Russian “representative” around, it’s not surprising that more interest was directed towards me and this targeting is not always positive.
And after all, it doesn’t really matter where exactly you move. Much more important is with what mindset you do it. The main motto of any tourist is to be open-minded about everything that is unfamiliar! When we talk about a long-term move, this motto becomes even more important! I really struggle to understand those who complain “it’s different back home”.
Therefore, if you want to move, you need to be ready for changes! And for discomfort. I have never had difficulties with the language and I am quite lucky with having quite a neutral accent, though I still find myself in quite a lot of funny language situations. Slang words, mumbling, well-known set phrases that I have never heard of – these are just a few things in the never ending space of awkwardness that I had to go through when I had just arrived. A good way to deal with it is to play the “foreigner card”: in every confusing situation I would admit I wasn’t local and needed some help. Though it is important to keep some balance! No one likes immigrants who refuse to integrate but always blow their own trumpet telling the world how great their own culture is. And there is nothing funnier than an obvious foreigner, who portrays himself as a native, though he only moved half a year ago. If you manage to find a balance between those extremes, you will be easily welcomed into the lives of the locals and many doors will open for you. Except for the door of the immigration control but we have already chatted about that!
Rock-Vector, N14 (34) 12.04.2016
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