During my stay in England, there were a few things I had to get used to. I've managed to do this over the years and I'm so used to these things, that I take them for granted. They have simply become part of my life.

What I first found strange has now become part of my daily activities. Perhaps there is nothing, that can be considered new anymore. If you're ready and curious about what these things are, we can get started.

Language And Accents

Let me start with the most obvious one, English. This was the biggest problem for me. It wasn't enough just to understand English, I had to speak it as well somehow to make people understand what I wanted.

I quickly realised, that my English language skills were not only insufficient, but that people spoke to me in a completely different way, than I had learned at home.

So I had to start learning English and pick up the language, they use in their everyday lives. I also had trouble with the speed of speech, because I was hearing bits of words not fully pronounced in a form I hadn't learnt.

Because I lived in several areas of England at great distances from each other, I had to deal with different accents and dialects and had to learn them separately.

This remains a problem to this day, but I am comforted by the fact, that in such a case, no two native speakers of English can understand each other.

Predominantly Grey Rainy Weather

It would be a shame to deny this fact. According to my research, it rains and snows on average 133 days a year in the United Kingdom.

I'm not complaining just saying, because I had to get used to this kind of weather. I have learned one thing the hard way. Never go outside without an umbrella. I remember one sunny day I was soaked to the skin in ten minutes.

There was no sign of rain and it was summer and a warm day. I didn't have to think for a minute about whether to bring an umbrella or not. Unfortunately, I didn't. There's nothing to complain about, because when the sun is shining, you can go hiking in beautiful places and it makes up for everything.

Full English Breakfast

I had no problem with this and got used to it quickly. English breakfast is a hearty big breakfast that won't make you hungry again anytime soon. It has all the goodies. Sausage, bacon, eggs, baked beans, black pudding, mushrooms, hashbrown, tomato, toast, tea or coffee.

Of course, vegetarians are not left out either, as there is a vegetarian version of the sausage. If you eat it later in the morning, you won't need lunch.

As I am not a vegetarian so I can enjoy the full range. The baked beans were weird at first. I've never had beans in tomato sauce before, but being open to new food, I tried it and I wouldn't miss it for breakfast. For me baked beans have to be part of the English breakfast.

Traffic And Roundabouts

Transport in England works the other way round compared to other European countries. I found this hard to get used to, as I hadn't experienced transport here for nearly thirty years. When you have to cross the road, look right first, not left.

Because of this, the steering wheel is on the right side of the vehicle, but this hasn't been a problem, because I learned to drive here and I have to say driving at home would be a problem. However, the roundabouts were difficult to get to grips with.

There are many types and sizes of roundabouts. There are multi lanes, mini ones, with traffic lights and a so-called magic roundabout, which I don't think I'd go near.

In London and larger cities, I don't like driving and it's not really worth getting in a car because of the congestion and difficult parking. Then there are the buses and the tube, which provide a much faster way to get from A to B.

Tea And Coffee

The English are also famous for drinking a lot of tea. Coffee consumption is no small matter. When they visit family or friends, they are offered tea or coffee whatever the time of day. These hot drinks are worth mentioning here.

Usually, coffee is not what is known as strong espresso and tea is consumed with milk or just plain black. On the other hand, we Hungarians are used to espresso at home and drink tea with lemon and sugar.

So these hot drinks are completely different, which I didn't necessarily have to get used to or adapt to, because I could make my own tea or coffee in the same way I was used to at home. However, interestingly, here I drink them like the English, but when I go home I drink them like the Hungarians.

I would also highlight the so-called afternoon tea and cream tea. This also shows how much they give to tea, if we are going to have tea, let's make it big. I personally love these two ways of drinking tea.

• Afternoon Tea

This tea is usually served at a gathering of family or friends, in hotels or pastry shops, but it can also be made at home.

The tea served with three or four types of finger sandwiches, ham and cheese, prawn, cheese and chutney, various cakes, scones, jam and clotted cream. Separately, if you ask and of course pay for it, you can enjoy champagne with it.

• Cream Tea

Cream tea is a simpler version of afternoon tea. Here the tea is served with scone, jam and clotted cream. The scone can be with raisin or without. Clotted cream, on the other hand, for me, is the real deal. It has to be home-made.

As a curiosity, I should note that depending on where you have cream tea, it is enjoyed slightly differently. In some places, they put the cream on the scone first and then the jam and in others the other way round. This has to be taken very seriously.

Feel free to let us know what your tradition is and what is that your country is unique about.