Making Friends with Brits

Journal Entry 4

My view of the British people as reserved and unfriendly is beginning to change. While I still feel slightly isolated while walking down the street, I have found Britons to be extremely friendly once an initial connection is established. There is a café on the way to my flat called Gastros Deli, and when stopping in for a sandwich on one of my first evenings in Oxford, I met the owner and began chatting with him. His brother and sister-in-law arrived not much later, and they were eager to talk with me as well. The brother informed me that I most definitely needed to buy a bike if I was going to be living in Oxford. When I told him that I had checked in some used bicycle shops but that the least expensive bike was £80, he quickly called his friend who owns a bicycle shop to try to find me a more inexpensive bike. I now say hello to the café owner every day on my way home from class and am in the process of contacting the storeowner about buying the bike for £20-£30.

I have also become a regular at a café called Combibos Coffee. The owners were not very friendly the first few times I went in, but now that I have established myself as a frequent customer, they know my drink, ask about my weekend plans, and are a wonderful addition to my life in Oxford. I find the way in which we interpret another culture through our own culture’s glasses so interesting. When we were told that the British are private and reserved, I had inaccurately interpreted these traits as cold unfriendliness. It seems that Britons are actually very warm and friendly but that some kind of connection and association is required before open communication and fellowship. I am so happy to be making friends in the community and look forward to meeting more people as the term progresses.