How would you define an “American House Party?” A few obvious things jump right out, such as red solo cups, beer pong and maybe some house music. The club Hideout hosted an American House Party-themed night last Friday, which consisted of those three elements. Right when I walked in the door I was given a red solo cup. The bar served Corona beer for three pounds each, which is roughly $4.50. There was a basement in the club that contained the “essential” items for an American party, a bed, beer pong and the board game twister, while the upstairs held the final, and most crucial piece, an inflatable hot tub. The club itself did not provide much entertainment, but the impression that the club owners had of American youth was priceless.

After, the club people had become quite hungry, but there are no late night diners in Norwich, or the UK for that matter. Instead of filling up on food that one would find at the Carlisle diner, we went to eat Kebabs and chips with garlic mayo, a meal I had never experienced before. However, cultural differences extend much deeper than what people eat as a late night meal when they go out on the weekend.
People here know more or less what they are going to do for the rest of their lives. They roughly know how much they will make, and they do not question it. The students are not as optimistic as American students, and they do not seem to mind. I have talked to multiple people about our cultural differences, and the biggest (by far) is that we are perceived as very friendly and outgoing in most situations. For example, if I am walking towards another student and we happen to make eye contact for a couple of seconds, then I do not hesitate to smile, and give a slight nod to say hi. I have never gotten a smile and nod back from a stranger.

These differences also seem to get overblown at times. People place stereotypes on other cultures, the best example would be the American House Party, or that British people have bad teeth (they don’t like to hear that). I have come to find that no matter where you are people are people. They go through the same things we go through back in the States, they feel the same emotions, and they are just college students. Even the people who seem the most confident and self-assured are uncomfortable and nervous to some degree in new situations. They just hide it better.

When I walked back from a Rugby match with my mate Henry, and was informed that he felt completely out of place when speaking to a group of us I felt settled. At that point, everything that had made me feel like an outsider went away. While these cultural differences do exist on the surface (from our accent, to calling a faucet a tap, or calling cotton candy, candy floss), the social interactions remain the same.