Pinay in the UK: Life in England

I was thinking to make this post once I finish to write the rest of my Singapore-Malaysia adventure. I admit I have a long backlog to work on. But I’m too excited to share my new experiences in this foreign country. So here’s a story of a Pinay in the UK.

I’m a proud Pinay from Davao City, Philippines and currently living here in England, UK. I gave up my permanent job back home and flew here. So far, I’m loving this new country.


Arrival 

I arrived here in England last January after surviving 5 hours and 20 minutes from Davao to Singapore (with a layover in Cebu), and 14 hours and 25 minutes from Singapore to Manchester (without any layover). Honestly, that was the longest flight I’ve ever been to. When the plane landed in Manchester airport, my heart beat so fast. I was excited. This is it.

When I got out of the plane, I headed towards the immigration. The queue in the non-EU lane was a bit long. I’ve noticed that a lot of Asians were in the line. It only took approximately 3 minutes with the immigration officer who stamped my passport and welcomed me in the UK. My feelings were indescribable, I’m really in England!


Life in England 

I’m currently here in the country for more than a month. I’m still trying to learn more about how things work here. So here is a list that will describe my stay so far.

  • I arrived here on a winter season so the weather is very cold! It’s pretty common to get 2-6 degrees Celsius everyday, and sometimes a negative temperature.
  • No heavy traffic. Our “light” traffic in Pinas will be considered bad traffic here.
  • Lotions and moisturizers are considered as holy grail! For a Filipina like us, we have to moisturize all the time or we will end up with a very dry and flaky skin. However, nothing to worry as they sell a lot of lotions (no whitening ingredients) and moisturizers here. But if you have a favorite brand, bring it.
  • In the Philippines, there are long lines in different cashiers. In some big shops here in England, they have a very systematic queue in the cashier. You fall in one line, accordingly, and wait for your turn to be called whichever cashier is available.
  • While walking on the road, dining in restaurants, going in the pubs, inside the cab, or everywhere else, people will usually ask “Hey, how are you?” or “Hey, you alright?”. It’s just a common courtesy. Smile, answer and ask him/her the same. And when leaving, instead of saying goodbye, they say “see you later”.

  • Say goodbye to rice meals (or not!). Common foods here are chips (we call it French Fries in Philippines), bread, peas, beans, bacon, steak, turkey, fish, chicken, etc.
  • Old buildings are everywhere.


Honestly, it’s not that hard to adapt here. But at the same time, it’s not that easy. What I’m saying is you have to try and learn their ways here so you can blend in well. There are so many things I wanted to share. Stay tuned on my next posts!

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