We loved this post from Mandy (currently in London), where she talked about settling in, starting classes, learning the lingo, becoming a public-transport-PRO, her internship, and even doing laundry!  Here’s a lingo cheat sheet for folks headed to the UK from Mandy:

Learning the Lingo 

• The loo = Bathroom (ex- “has anyone seen a loo? I need to take a wee”) 
• You alright? = How are you? (This one doesn’t seem like it would be that confusing, but I spent most of my first days here thinking I must look upset or confused because every time I saw someone they’d ask if I was alright. Georgia kindly explained that’s the same as us saying “Hey what’s up?”)  
• Quid = Interchangeable for Pound (ex- “my biscuit and tea cost 5 quid”) 
• Half ten = 10:30 (ex- “let’s meet at half ten for the club,” I’ve found Americans have a hard time figuring out if “half ten” means 9:30 or 10:30, while our British peers can’t think of anything sillier to have to explain) 
• Have a sit = Hang out (ex- “wanna come round mine to have a sit?”) 
• Footy = Soccer game (ex- “let’s go to the pub to watch the footy”) 
• Holiday = vacation (ex- “where does your family usually take holiday?”)