Info On England

I plan on going to Sunderland next year for a semester abroad and I was wondering if anyone could give me any information on Sunderland/England in general. I talked to a friend that went there last year and she said that the Sunderland dialect is so unique that it almost qualifies as a foreign language since it is mixed with Scottish (even though it sounded more like German from the midi file I found on-line).

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by El Ray Fernando

You will be fine they are not that backwards up in Sunderland. Trust me you won't really need to worry about any language barriers, its like some of my friends who were worried when they went to university in Wales/Scotland, but they were totally fine. Although of course it may take you a few days to get accustomed with the accent but thats a non issue really. In the North I find a good way of fitting in some places is to do some of the more local or traditional activities, trust me.

Of course if you just want information on Sunderland/England google would be your most helpful resource.

Also out of interest why Sunderland?

The newspaper that I work for has a lot of it's student workers travel to Sunderland in order to learn journalism since it is not taught at this college. I want to go because I am very interested in learning about the media (which they do not have any media classes at this college) and Sunderland seems to have a sound media curriculum. Also, I want to learn more about one of the main countries that my family derives from since I will be the first person from my family to travel overseas since the 1700's (not counting my relatives that were drafted in WWII, but they went to Japan, not Europe).

Someone told me that right now, the trend is what was considered to be 1980's in America. I was also told that there are 5 dance clubs around the campus, but that they were difficult to enter. I also heard that the guys in Sunderland are very...blunt when it comes to asking someone out (a lot of people here think that they are actually shy about asking someone out).

I want to try to prepare as much as possible for this trip so I won't go there and do something that may accidentally insult them. Also, meeting a few allies from here would be a plus.

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Originally Posted by XtremeDJW

I honestly think it will be very hard to really offend someone from England. We're more like to give a "WTF?" sort of look more than anything.

How do you mean the trend is 1980s in America? Oh, and about the nightclubs, as long as you look over 18 I don't see why they would be to hard to enter.

That's good to hear, since I always had this image of someone traveling abroad and doing something as innocent as showing the soles of their feet (which is an insult in some Muslim countries I think) and they end up starting the next World War. I knew Deft, but he's not on AIM and I don't know if he still visits this site.

A friend of mine said that the current fashion trend in Sunderland resembles the crazy fashion trends we had in the 1980's. She didn't go into a lot of detail, but she was wearing a shimmery gold, poofy skirt that closed in at the bottom with sneakers (which was a good thing in the 80's but supposedly a no-no now). However, since London is supposedly the main trendsetter, that style should be coming back to America soon.

I always heard that the clubs were a little exclusive. If you didn't know the right people or look the right way that they would kick you out, and it's always been a dream of mine to go to a dance club where they played actual dance music (not just rap/hip-hop) and where they do other dance styles instead of dry-humping grinding.

Originally Posted by Chiribo

Well there's always the 18+ look and for certain night clubs, you have to have certain cloathes. Don't think I've seen any chav dressed people in any of the student nights that I've been to (only Bristol mind you).

I do wonder wtf is sunderland ;\. I really should know better seeing as I live in England and all ¬_¬

What kind of clothes in Bristol do you all have to wear for the club scene? I know it's probably two very different places, but any help would be greatly appreciated. Sunderland is about 15-30 minutes away from Lancaster I think. I know that the person that told me about Sunderland wanted me to go there instead since Sunderland is supposedly a filthy town. I was also told that it could possibly be the birthplace of the person who wrote "Alice in Wonderland".

Originally Posted by Bean

Even if you dont look 18 as long as you have some sort of ID you will be fine. Is it Sunderland University that you will be going to? I am thinking of leaving Glasgow and going there next year (yes I know I am leaving it very late) since its only a couple of hours drive away.

I'm in my 20's, but people still think I'm between the age of 16-18 (even younger if I have my hair in a ponytail). I plan on going to Sunderland University next Spring for a semester. I've heard a lot about Glasgow, Scotland and I was thinking about going to either Scotland or Ireland during Spring Break (if I can find some friends to travel with me). What is you major or what classes do you plan on studying?

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Majin yami

Just so long as you don't wear a Newcastle United shirt in Sunderland you'll be fine.

LOL, I heard something about that. There's some kind of slang word I think involving Newcastle and soccer, but I can't remember what it is.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by OmagnusPrime

Unless you follow Eddie Izzard's advice, say you're Canadian, you'll get much less flack that way (though people might then expect you to say "aboot", but it's a small price to pay).

LOL, I know some Canadian slang, so maybe that will help (even though my voice doesn't sound southern, there are some words I can't say without it becoming noticable).

Also, can someone explain to me about how Spring Break works there? I was looking through the booklet and it said that Spring Break lasted from Apr 2 to Apr 20 and I was very excited, until someone that went there last semester told me that you only get a week off, but it depends on the classes you are taking.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Sal

Quoted for affirmation. People regularly get beaten up for this.
People from Sunderland (Mackems - but it's probably a good idea not to call them this, that and 'sand dancers') and in Newcastle they're Geordies (it's okay to call them that) and there is a sworn hatred between the two sides purely because of football. Unless you're feeling brave it'd probably be a good idea to stay away from pubs and such likes if there's a match on at the Stadium of Light (Sunderland's club).

With an American accent people will take notice and talk to you, you may get some people having a go at you but despite what Shin said, we're all pretty merry up here.

As for the fashion thing;
It's not that people dress like it's the 80's it's just that some people don't seem to own a mirror. These people are mostly hideously obese, really ugly women who wear clothes that really weren't meant for them. It's also a good idea to steer clear of these people because they're usually argumentative, obnoxious, drunk and looking for a fight.
If you're going into clubs, don't wear trainers - you won't get in.

Thanks for the advice about staying away from pubs and such during that time. I'm not really much into argumentative people, so I will try to stay away from them. My accent isn't extremely southern (people acutally wonder if I'm from France or Britain sometimes b/c of my articulation and voice) but I don't know if I could pull of as being Canadian (maybe Canadian as in Shawn Ashmore and Christopher Ralph, but not the thicker accents).

Trainers as in sneakers or trainers as in bra?

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

I still wonder about whether or not people in England acutally get the whole Easter Break off or if the whole 18 days that Sunderland has is broken down into only a week depending on what you are studying. The girl who studied there last semester told me that the break lasts for 18 days, but you only get a week off and it's based on what you are studying that determines whether or not you get out the first week or last week. Then again, she's also the girl that told me that people from Sunderland almost speak a foreign language and wear 80's style clothing.

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Originally Posted by XtremeDJW

Well at my Uni (Loughborough) we had three weeks off. My mate had two weeks off, and my girlfriend also had two weeks off.

You will probably still have to do work over that period but nothing that should stop you going out and partying etc.

Awesome . Here, we only get one week off (10 at most) for Spring Break. So, it would be nice to have the full 2-3 weeks in order to do some traveling at either Ireland (which I have been warned about the green/orange colors) or Scotland. Maybe even meet a few GFF people along the way and thank them personally for their help?

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