Thread:Paris Garter/@comment-32738051-20161008181730/@comment-32738051-20161009202148

Good questions, AD. My firsthand knowledge is a bit old but I'll give it a go at answering them.

Drinking: I was a teetotaler too when I went there...but I wasn't when I left. The British, like Europeans, are almost hardwired to drink. When I was there, it was hard to get away from that side of the culture. There are pubs everywhere and socializing in one (or more) is practically a national pastime. 😉 That said, it wasn't my British friends who converted me...it was my American friends. I never felt pressured by any of my British friends to drink...not in any pub, not while playing snooker, not anywhere or anytime. It shouldn't be a problem for you.

By the way, they LOVE their football there (we call it soccer)...rather fanatically so. It comes up in conversations kind of the way ALL American sports put together come up in our conversations here. Not saying you have to be into it or even like it to get along with them but, like pubs and the drinking side of their culture, football is also very difficult to avoid.

Being an American in London: One of the things I found while I was there was that I had more negative assumptions about myself as an American than at least most of the British people I knew. I went over there having heard all about the "ugly American" point of view and largely that was a myth. There were and still are a LOT of Americans living and working in London, just as there are a LOT of people from other countries and cultures there as well. The British are very used to what it means to be multicultural, probably way more than anyone here in America. That said, some may regard Americans as a bit overbearing, arrogant, abrupt, and lacking refinement and social graces...we are just a bit the red-headed stepchild to much of the world. And some of us really are like that. For every culture, there are stereotypes...we have ours and they have theirs and it takes getting to know someone first before those preconceptions go away...which they do. They also think we're incurable workaholics and that we play as hard as we work...and they're dead on about that one...Americans on average are harder working than other cultures (studies have shown this); we have a hard time not working beyond a regular work schedule. We may also be more connected than other cultures but I can't be sure. Everyone here is so attached to technology and gadgets and constant communications...we're so oriented on keeping ahead of the Joneses...and we have such a hard time not being in the know all the time, we really don't know how to disconnect. Not saying that isn't a problem elsewhere, including Britain, but we may be perceived as being far worse about it. That all has occurred since I was there last so I really can't be sure...it's just a gut feeling.

All that said, whether we're talking about drinking or talking about stereotypes, what you encounter in actuality is going to be highly dependent upon the team you will be working with. They may be all male and all British but that doesn't mean they're all the same. If any of them have an ethnic background, that will influence them probably at least as much as their British heritage. You're going to have to get to know them before you can really know whether there are any landmines to sidestep. If you won't be working with them very long, it matters little...just get through the work as best you can and if you happen to get to know each other and like each other enough to hang out after hours, great! If you will be working there awhile, try to be a little reserved around them until you get to know them a little better. They'll need time to get to know you too. Both you and they may find that any negative preconceptions you may have had are completely unfounded. But if you find there are incompatibilities, just be open, honest and direct in the most positive way you can and encourage them to do the same.

Hope that helps.