When asked which parts of my host country’s culture do I identify with most, I would have to say my excessive tea drinking, punctuality, as well as respect for procedures and rules. My internship supervisor relayed to me on one of my first days just how much the company values and operates on procedure and respect. Punctuality was also mentioned, which I feel identifies with me directly, as I never seem to find myself being late for anything official or professional (so far). Some deep cultural aspects of the United Kingdom that I have found to be difficult to adjust to and assimilate to would most definitely be some non-verbal communication that happens in the workplace here. Some examples would be motions to do or pick something up in terms of commands as well as hand movements in either accordance, disagreement, or validation. One experience I have had so far would be when my co-worker motioned to me to pick up some papers and I just had no clue what she was requesting that I do or complete. Very small aspects like this were hard to pick up for me at first, but I believe I have picked up most of the non-verbals. 

There have definitely been some cross-cultural situations and instances that were interesting and strange to me. For example, my roommates and I were walking around South Kensington looking for some lunch and this lady whipped by at 100mph on a bicycle screaming, “get out of my bloody way!”. The thing that was cross culturally relevant and strange was that it was an ongoing walk way only for pedestrians and there had been a bike lane right next to where we were walking, so it was completely unnecessary, crazy, and hilarious that this lady almost killed us on her bike when there was a bike lane right next to us. Building off of this, I’ve been hit by bikers here almost every other day. It’s almost like a normal thing for a bicyclist to absolutely almost rupture me, but at the end of the day, you just need to remember to always pay attention like in any country, but here especially for those bikers. So, when asked, “How have you been navigating cross cultural situations?”, I’d simply say that I’m being more careful than I would be in my hometown. Another example would be pickpockets and phone swipers (ironically in bikes). I’m always holding onto my stuff in my pockets and when I need to take out my phone, it’s almost like I’m squeezing orange juice freshly out of an orange.