Page 91 - Cormorant 2019

Voxpop
What is the best thing about coming to the UK?
Learning the British accents.
Gin & Tonic and the people around it. No snow.
What is the worst thing about coming to the UK?
Understanding British accents.
Pretending the wine is good when it is really not.
Not being surprised when it rains.
The Scotch in Scotland is more expensive than back home.
Roundabouts within roundabouts.
What is the weirdest thing about UK culture?
Apologizing all the time.
Why a separate electrical heating water system is needed for the showers in the bath tub... On the continent they invented a great thing 30 years ago for hot and cold water: it is called a mixer.
Has anyone told the UK civil engineers that the minimum number of lanes for a two way street should be two? A street with only the space for one vehicle is called one way....Also,
you are allowed to leave some extra space between the road and the trees.
Figuring out what overly polite people are actually trying to say.
What is the best local food you have had while living in the UK?
Chicken tikka masala Indian food
Italian food Lebanese food
Great French cuisine at a local pub Curry
Do you like queuing?
No, but now I join every queue I see.
As I’m from southern France, any queue is an occasion to showcase your ability to queue-jump effectively and stealthily, with an elegant manner if you can, but this last point does not really matter.
No. And by the way, I believe there is a conspiracy with the door of the CLT, it’s been under repair for weeks and nobody is working on it! It must be to get us to get used to queuing.
No, and the fact that the academy is designed with a cloakroom that has a single door as entrance/egress must be a deliberate queue-training exercise.
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A perspective from Kuwait Lt Col Jasem Alostath
Attending ACSC 22 in Shrivenham for 14 months was a great, knowledgeable experience. It enhanced and widened my knowledge which helped me to understand many different subjects from different perspectives. What I liked most was bringing together 58 nationalities to exchange knowledge and experiences.
Living in the UK and learning a new culture, while visiting different cities in England, Wales and Scotland, was an amazing experience, especially for my family. We learnt a lot about the UK and visited many different places including: Lake District, Bath, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Portsmouth, Southampton, Cardiff,
Swansea, Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Blackpool and of course London with a lot of small towns around Watchfield. However, I always struggled with the many different accents, especially in Liverpool. The most impressive aspect was was how the college organised and managed the large number of students. I hope to attend another course in the UK, perhaps RCDS in London, in order to further develop my understanding of the UK, and subjects related to defence and security..
A perspective from Nigeria Lt Col Munir Sani Mohammad, Nigerian Army
I found Advanced Command and Staff Course 22 tough but a worthwhile experience. It all started with a happily received nomination for the course which came early in 2018. It was exciting for two main reasons; the military knowledge I thought I would gain as well as the completion of an academic Masters’
degree in Defence Studies. What did not come to my mind was the amount of effort I would be required to put in to successfully complete the programme. I found combining both the military and academic studies challenging, which was compounded by the very unfriendly weather that on many instances compelled me to
study or write while still under a blanket to stay warm. These challenges did not in any way affect the very obvious improvements I felt personally, in terms of critical thinking, writing skills as well as confidence in verbal briefing. The most beneficial element of the course was the social network that has been established during the 11 months in the UK; I found the DS/DSDs and the students very supportive and friendly.