?Austin Powers,? believe it or not, is not a true depiction of life in England. You may think to yourself, ?of course not,? but being from the other side of the pond myself and having been a BYU student for two years, sometimes I wonder.
Three questions I?ve been asked since coming here have truly baffled me. The first: Do you have dentists in England? Now you should understand my teeth are actually quite nice. England is a first world country. Just because we had bad teeth in the middle ages doesn?t mean we have bad ones now.
The second question: Isn?t food really bland and tasteless in England? This question confuses me. Where did this come from? Maybe in the middle-ages when all we ate was potatoes, but now, the foods in England are practically the same as American foods.
The third question, wait for it: What language do you speak in England? Now come on. Just because I have an accent doesn?t mean I must speak a different language, although sometimes it feels that way. Oh, and by the way, we all have accents. Some people out here have a tough time understanding that concept. If an American traveled to another country, people in that country would think the American had an accent too ?an American accent.
Now you?re probably thinking, ?who is this guy, what does he want? but I feel I have to make these comments for the minority that have a tough time understanding Englishmen are not actually that different from Americans. In fact, we probably feel closer to you than citizens from many other countries.
However, despite the similarities we share as countries, there are a few drawbacks to the land of the free and the home of the brave. These include traffic lights and manners.
First, is there need for so many traffic lights? Couldn?t you just throw in a few more round-a-bouts. I feel like I?m wasting years of my life away just waiting for that light to turn green. Round-a-bouts would help the traffic flow so much.
And when I say manners, I?m not saying that you guys don?t have any, I?m simply saying that you seem to have different ones from me.
I was brought up around people who were kind enough to hold a door for me. This doesn?t happen as much as it should on campus. It?s not a huge deal, but it would be nice.
I know you?re probably thinking, ?if you don?t like it here, go back to England? but quite the contrary I love it here.
Some Provo positives include Caf? Rio, the education system and people walking around with a smile on their face.
We don?t have too much Mexican food in England so when I go home, Caf? Rio is something I really miss.
But even more than a smothered burrito, the main reason I?m here is for the education system. It?s so nice to have teachers that actually encourage you and want you to be successful in life. I also think that having to take generals is a great idea.
In England, we choose a major and that?s it, just major classes. I think it?s great because generals provide us with such a broad knowledge base.
Lastly, it?s great to see so many people smile. I?m not saying we are all miserable so-and-sos in England I?m just saying we don?t seem to smile nearly as much as you Americans.
But Austin Powers and strange traffic trends aside, I hope this viewpoint helps Americans understand fellow Brits just a touch more and that we can all continue to be friends.