By Sarah Daniels, Content and Social Media Manager
Photos taken in Settle, UK, the neighboring town to Lancaster. (Photo provided by Sarah Daniels)
Before coming to Lancaster, England, I had never left the United States. As one would expect, I was a ball of nerves in the days leading up to my flight; I obsessed over English culture to try my best to assimilate once I landed. Imagine my shock when the United Kingdom isn’t so different from the US after all.
My discussion partner in my philosophy course sniffed out my American nationality almost immediately.
“So…” she started, turning to me with a small smile, “where are you from?”
“I’m from the States!” I replied, “I’m from Wisconsin, but I go to school in Pennsylvania.”
“Ah, Wisconsin. The capital of the country, right?”
I laughed, but it quickly trailed off as I slowly realized she wasn’t yanking my chain. Most Brits I have met don’t know what Wisconsin is, but no one has mistaken it for the capitol.
I explained Washington, D.C. is the capital, but not to be confused with Washington state. She confessed she didn’t know either existed or who the namesake is.
While this particular individual may not be a British history buff, this general lack of knowledge of American history and culture is coupled with a deep adoration.
In my first week here on campus, some teenagers approached my friend group in a restaurant. They asked if we were Americans, then gushed praises on the country.
“We watch everything you guys watch, and we love your fashion.” They listed all sorts of popular states they want to visit, clamoring over each other to keep our attention.
Certainly, the culture here in the UK is different from America, but not wildly so. I definitely did not expect to find so much of the States here. Finding friends is fairly easy; we’re all operating with the same internet references and new movie releases.
I see American brands like Essentials and Converse more than references to Lincoln in Gettysburg. NFL advertisements cover the sides of buses, and radios play hits from Sabrina Carpenter and Taylor Swift. American food stores line the streets of cities like Manchester, Glasgow, and London. The Lancaster University campus is from the 1960’s with basic modern architecture, so until you walk into a coffee shop serving an onion meat pie, it can be easy to forget you’re in the UK.
The surrounding cities and towns have old stone buildings from before the United States was established. It’s a surreal feeling to just walk in the city center’s castle, which housed thousands of prisoners for centuries. Most streets are Pinterest worthy, with elegant ivy vines cascading down fences and yellow leaves gently falling on crimson post boxes. For history enthusiasts, like myself, the sheer amount of ‘ordinary’, daily life history found here is astounding. I am beyond grateful I am here, and I have learned so much, from British cuisine to history. It’s amazing to meet new people, travel to new destinations, trip on uneven cobblestone sidewalks, and grow closer to my Gettysburg friends.
This article originally appeared on page 15 of the November 2025 edition of The Gettysburgian’s magazine.
