American student in UK says there’s one thing she finds really ‘confusing’
An American exchange student studying at the University of Plymouth has expressed confusion about an aspect of British life that he claims ‘doesn’t make sense’.
Moving to a new country is a major decision that often comes with a variety of adjustments and cultural surprises. Taking a gap year or exchange year while studying provides the perfect opportunity to explore and immerse yourself in a new country and culture, with the peace of mind that you can return home at the end of your exchange.
This was the path chosen by Isa Rivera, who is currently attending a university in England as an exchange student. Hailing from New Orleans, Isa is a musical theater student at Nebraska Wesleyan University and had the chance to study abroad at Plymouth University.
She has since used TikTok to chronicle her time as an exchange student in the UK, including all the changes and cultural shocks she encountered during her first months in the UK.
In one clip, Isa expressed her surprise at British electrical outlets and how different they are from what she’s used to in the US.
He films himself trying to insert an American plug into a UK socket; This naturally didn’t work due to the significant differences between the two chips. UK plugs have three pins, including a ground pin for added security, while the US plug has only two pins and is also narrower than the British plug.
Since Isa couldn’t plug the US plug into the UK outlet, she used an adapter and plugged it in before plugging the US plug into the adapter.
He then turned on the outlet he wanted to use, a feature not common in the United States.
In the title of his video, Isa expressed his confusion about the British outlet system: “The switch doesn’t mean anything… Like if it’s red it means it’s off but it’s the other way around.”
But several people were quick to comment on the video to explain why the British electricity system is ‘safer’ than the US system, while also voicing their own confusion about the differences.
“Don’t you have your keys?” one viewer questioned, while another asked: “Do you dare to come up with a safer electricity system than the UK?”
Another person commented: “You don’t have a switch? So you unplug it after use? Or do you just let the electricity keep flowing? That’s very dangerous.”
One user explained: “Double the electrical voltage going to American outlets iirc red means live so extra safety precautions are taken due to the high voltage.”
To this Jesus replied: “That’s actually a helpful answer! It’s good to know.”
