With only a week left in my time studying and interning abroad in London, the idea of returning home is bittersweet to me. One thing that’s particularly been on my mind about returning home is returning to American culture and norms after finally beginning to become accustomed to British life, whether that be the new customs I want to bring into my life coming home or ones I could rather due without.

One thing I can appreciate about the British culture is the emphasis on work life balance. Working as a waitress at home, I feel as if I’m constantly in the “grind” mentality, limiting my own breaks and exhaustion for the sake of progress. I transfer these attitudes outside of work also, usually keeping my schedule jam packed during the school year with clubs and pushing myself to the limit. Coming to work in a British office setting, I was very surprised that we were offered two tea breaks and a whole hour for lunch break. My boss even had to encourage me to take these breaks because it is something I’m simply not used to! Being able to take a step back from my work and recenter has actually helped me stay more on task and focused these past weeks at my internship, allowing me to manage myself properly and set realistic goals for myself. I’ve even started implementing this balanced mentality outside of the work environment into my studies, giving myself proper breaks and plenty of time to complete assignments and research to ensure they’re done properly and not rushed or stressful.

With adjustment to British culture, there’s also some aspects that were more difficult to get used to that took more work. For example, due to the more relaxed nature of the work environment, sometimes tasks weren’t directly given with clear instructions. They were presented in a rather “do what you feel is best” manner, which was sometimes difficult to get started on these projects due to my past work experiences. Back home, tasks given in a work or academic environment are usually very specific in what is required and expected in performance and outcome, so having more freedom in my tasks was a bit daunting at first but also let me explore thinking creatively in a work environment.

Another aspect of British culture that was difficult for me to adjust too is the directness. British advertising is unlike American; it has a clear and direct message it wants to get across and won’t beat around the bush. While I was able to experiment with different formatting and designs during my work in digital marketing, it was somewhat challenging for me to not expand on more creative and abstract ideas to make sure the message was presented as smoothly and directly as possible.

Adjusting to these new cultural norms has definitely had its ups and downs, but I’ve gone into all of my experiences with an open mind and readiness to learn, which has been a great benefit. Navigating these experiences has been incredibly insightful into different business customs on a global scale, and what aspects of these areas are skills that I can improve upon and lessons I want to bring home with me and adapt into my future careers at home.