One of the last pieces of advice I received prior to departing for the United Kingdom was “don’t expect anything to be a certain way.” This seemed funny to me since I had always presumed that the U.S. and the U.K. would be fairly similar, but I did my best to erase any preconceived notions I had of England anyway. Already it feels like during the one week I’ve been here, the locals have done nothing but surprise me with their behavior.

Upon arriving at the airport and finding my way to the train station, I had numerous people stop and offer to help me with my bags or give me directions, often without my asking. At first I assumed that I just looked extra frantic and frazzled from the long journey over here and from being in a foreign country, but even in Preston they continue to be genuinely nice.

I was even detained at Heathrow Airport (a great start to my trip, by the way) and the security officer who detained me was possibly the nicest person I have ever met. Again, maybe that was because he could see the fear in my eyes when he told me I was being detained, but he was a really standup guy. And not to worry, I was only detained due to a typo in my letter from the university.

On the train ride to Preston, the ticket collector came to check my ticket and upon returning it to me, thanked me. Now, coming from Texas, Mama taught me to use my manners, so I thanked him. He had thanked me for showing him my ticket, I had thanked him for doing his job, and I thought that was the end of it. But he thanked me again; so I thanked him again. Then he thanked me. It went on for a solid three or four minutes before finally I accepted the fact that he was more polite than I was and let him have the last word.

Don’t get me wrong, I never guessed that the British wouldn’t be nice, I just expected them to be so much more reserved. If you go to any local pub, you can strike up a conversation with the nearest person and by the end of the night you can be best friends. But the funny thing about this situation is that it’s custom over here not to give your name until it naturally comes up, often at the very end. As an American, this is one of the most mindboggling conventions. Back home, you introduce yourself almost immediately if you’re meeting new people and here it’s practically an afterthought.

The most startling habit here is definitely jaywalking, though. Since there’s no law to prohibit it in the U.K., many people just cross the streets whenever and wherever they please. During my first few days here, it nearly gave me a heart attack watching people dart across roads just seconds before cars sped by, but my flatmates explained that if I use the “zebra crossings” (crosswalks), I’ll stick out like a sore thumb.

Little differences such as various social customs and daily behavior have actually been the biggest adjustment, after the jetlag, of course. Since it is England and we do speak the same language, at least in theory, it’s very easy to forget that things aren’t done the same way here as they are in America. One of the best examples I can give is the traffic lights here — they go from green to yellow to red and then back to yellow again before green. It’s a small difference, but one that will catch you off guard if you’re not expecting it.

One pleasant surprise is that despite the differences, there seems to be this mutual fascination and willingness to learn from both the Americans and the English that’s made the start of my journey a lot smoother and more enjoyable than expected.