When I started to study in Bradford UK, I was shocked to know that I could not catch English words in conversations. I guess I am not the only one to experience it, but I was familiar with American English and I had difficulty to get used to British accent. In addition, I had some casual English words that I had never heard of, such as "ta" - that means "thank you". I also feel odd to be called "love" by somebody new. In cafeteria, for instance, a lady often told me "ta a lot, love!" for buying sandwiches. "Cheers me!" is another word to add. In the beginning of my university life in UK, I was not sure of what I heard, and I felt it was very British.
Having some drinks in British pub was an essential part of my life in UK, but I did not have smooth start of it. Especially, when people watch football matches on TV and got drunk, some people kindly tried to talk with me, but I hardly catch a word. How did I start to enjoy having drinks in pubs? Well, in short, I got drunk, too!
Actually, it is partly true. I had been playing Badminton since I was in high school, so I joined a university Badminton team. It opened a window for me. Needless to say, I enjoyed playing badminton, but I had a lot of fun after playing it with my team mates in pubs. To be honest, I had felt lonely when I was in pubs in the beginning. But badminton gave me a tool to know many people regardless of their nationalities and English-speaking ability. Through playing badminton, I became to know about small local communities that have badminton clubs and some British friends - with pints of beer. In that sense, British pubs were my study room for learning British people and British accent.
When I look back my time in UK, I miss my time in pubs most. Therefore, when I red the news on a newspaper sometime ago that many British people did not go to pub and had drinks at home, I felt very, very sad. Now I really miss to say "cheers me, love!" to my British friends for having free beer after heavy drink in pubs.
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Posted By: 椎名 規之 on March 2, 2009
