Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to spend three weeks in England. I flew over there by myself so I had almost zero limitations on how I spent my time. I expected it to be challenging, trying to navigate a new country by myself as a teenage girl, but surprisingly I did not struggle as much as I expected. It was a very eye opening trip as there were many differences between there and America. 

After 10 hours of flying, I landed at the Leeds Bradford Airport in Leeds, England. Everyone at the airport had a very strong accent so I barely understood anything that anyone was saying. I followed the signs and was able to find an ATM. The currency exchange was sort of complicated, 1 pound was the equivalent of 1.24 US dollars. So, it wasn’t that far off compared to what I am used to. 

The transportation in England was very different from the US. From what I saw, walking and traveling by train were the most popular ways of getting around. The trains run all over Europe, not just in England. There is a train system that goes under the English Channel to connect England and France. I took one train from Leeds to York and it was surprisingly quite nice. On most days, the most convenient way to get around was walking since everything was in a close proximity. 

English food is not my thing to say the least. It is the blandest food I have ever eaten. Most meals consisted of beef, bread, and potatoes. I consistently found myself at McDonalds most days because it was the only thing I could stomach. Every Sunday there is a tradition to have a roast and that was also just bland food. Also, another challenge was trying to find decent drinks like Dr. Pepper. Most sodas with real sugar weren’t sold anywhere, and if they were, there was a 20 pent up-charge. 

To my surprise, the clothing in the UK is almost identical in the states. It came to my attention that the shopping centers are based on “American culture” and use clothing that says “LA” or “New York”. I was speaking with the barista at Starbucks when she said that a lot of the clothing culture over there is intentionally designed to look American. Being American is trendy in England and multiple British people on my trip told me they have never met an American and dream of visiting the states. 

A huge issue for me when I went to the UK was the price difference. I spent a lot of time in shopping centers and arcades so it was easy for me to notice when something was way over or underpriced compared to America. It was so strange… small designer brands here were huge there and vice versa. Nike Jordan Air is typically pricier than most other shoes here in America, while in England it is a shoe on the much cheaper side. On the contrary, in the states, Kate Spade NY is a cheaper designer brand that ranges from about $50-$300, while in England the value starts at $300 and increases from there. 

Overall the trip was a once in a lifetime experience and I rate it a 9/10, (I took one point off for the bland food). It was so cool being able to live in another world almost with a completely new culture, and now I can say I’m a teen solo international traveler.