#britain

Culture Smart! Britain: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture

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After a long time in the works, we are excited to announce the publication of a new edition of Culture Smart! Britain, a guide close to our hearts ❤

Britain is emerging from a decade of historic change. A Scottish bid for independence saw the relationship of the four nations evolve, and the passing of the world’s longest serving monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, marked the end of an era. Today, as the post-Brexit, post-Covid dust settles, the country is having to redefine itself in a multipolar world.

The challenges are many, yet so are the attributes that have enabled the peoples of these islands to find success over adversity time and again: an even-tempered reserve, tolerance, a love of fair play, a certain bloody-mindedness, and a sense of humour that turns misfortune to mirth. British pragmatism and ingenuity have ensured that, despite the setbacks, the country’s economy remains the sixth largest in the world.

This new and updated edition of Culture Smart! Britain unpacks all this and more. Penetrate the polite veneer of the people, learn about their customs and traditions, become acquainted with their values and attitudes, and your experience of this green and pleasant land will be greatly enriched.

Available now! 

Book Details:

  • ISBN: 9781787023574
  • Format: Paperback
  • Page count: 200
  • Dimensions: 171 x 108 x 13mm
  • Published at: £10.99 / $14.99 / CAN $19.99

The Unavoidable Reality of Culture Shock—And Why It’s a Good Thing

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Written by Katherine Foreman

When I decided to do my third year of university in London, the thought of experiencing ‘culture shock’ didn’t cross my mind. Sure, I sat through plenty of preparation meetings as my guidance counsellor flashed around her standard U-curve diagram outlining the various stages of acclimating to a new culture, but I wasn’t paying attention. “It happens to everyone,” she iterated and reiterated as I stared blankly at the wall behind her, imagining the brown-brick flat I’d wake up to everyday in Marylebone.

It’s a commonality for students going abroad for lengthy periods of time to underestimate the extent to which they’ll be affected by changes to their environment and daily life, however subtle. It’s also vastly common, as it was in my case, for students to assume they know much more about the culture they’re entering than they do in actuality.

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