Sippin' And Kickin': Fitting In While Studying Abroad In Manchester, UK

By K.Leigh Furzer on September 1, 2012

In early September I will embark on the most exciting and scary adventure of my life (so far) –studying abroad in Manchester, UK. Despite the fact that English is spoken in the UK, I will no doubt experience culture shock.  Over the past few months I’ve been pondering ways to reduce its effects and feel one with the people of Manchester a.k.a. Mancunians.  As unreliable as stereotypes can be, they may also provide insight.  Since I have never been to England, or even outside the USA (let’s be real -T.J. doesn’t count as international travel), stereotypes seemed like the way to go.  After consulting the usual college sources (Wikipedia, Yahoo Answers, Urban Dictionary), I landed on the following:

Mancunians…

-         Love Oasis –Hey, I can belt out “Wonderwall” anytime, anywhere.

-         Enjoy the frequent alcoholic beverage –I’ll give warm beer a try!

-         Are easily angered and dysfunctional (see Shameless)–Everyone has some negative sides, yeah?

-         Are obsessed with Manchester United and hooliganism ensues –I love ex-MU player David Beckham, does that count for something?

Photo from flickr.com. Uploaded by Paolo Camera.

I figured the obvious action to take was to become a soccer, er football, fanatic.  Well, perhaps not fanatic, but if I had some sort of enthusiasm/knowledge, conversations and pub interactions should be easier, right?  However, I knew zero about soccer football.  One Friday night I was sitting in the bar area at BJ’s and figured a random man in a sports bar would probably be the best person to consult.  I proceeded to lean over to the 30-something year old sitting at the table next to me and ask “Do you know anything about soccer?”  After a momentary look of surprise he answered in a bored and demeaning tone, “Sure, it’s a simple game”.  Clearly he didn’t find much interest in it compared to the American football game playing on the surrounding flat-screens, but I was thrilled –simple meant I had a chance at being able to follow a game.  I asked him to explain it, which took him all of forty-five seconds.  The basic gist he gave me was obviously a serious simplification, but it made perfect sense to me.  Thanks, man from the bar.

There are two teams whose paraphernalia I could have plastered all over my room and body: Manchester United or Manchester City.  I don’t want to let David Beckham’s overwhelming sex appeal cloud my judgment, so I’ve decided to have an authentic sport experience and choose a team based on which fans are more enthusiastic at Squirrel’s Bar –the bar located in my dormitory area (seriously, UofM freshmen have bars in their quads).

With only a few weeks to go, I cannot wait to be sipping beer and yelling at a TV screen with my fellow Manchester football enthusiasts (we can be loose with the definition of enthusiast here).  Regardless of whether or not these stereotypes are correct, I cannot wait to get to know Mancunians and immerse myself in British culture.

Follow Uloop

Apply to Write for Uloop News

Join the Uloop News Team

Discuss This Article

Get Top Stories Delivered Weekly

Back to Top

Log In

Contact Us

Upload An Image

Please select an image to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format
OR
Provide URL where image can be downloaded
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format

By clicking this button,
you agree to the terms of use

By clicking "Create Alert" I agree to the Uloop Terms of Use.

Image not available.

Add a Photo

Please select a photo to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format