I swear, before I came into England, I used to absolutely adore the English accent. It sounded like good music to my ears - I mean, it still does - but it's just that it's the norm for me now. It isn't that much big of a deal.

I remember watching Merlin and Nanny McPhee in Nigeria and thinking, "Wow, I wish I could speak like that." It's just so . . . mellifluous.

But . . . in reality, not all of them sound like what you hear on TV.

Everyone in the UK don't all speak in the same way. I've come to realise that there are different accents in the United Kingdom as a whole. You have the Northern England accent, in cities like Manchester and Liverpool. There is the Brummie (Birmingham) accent too. Then you have the really Posh accent, you know 'The Queen's English'. Moving on from England, you have the Irish, Welsh and Scottish accent as well.

It's just like in Nigeria sha, where you have the Igbos, Yorubas, Hausas, Calabars, etc. speaking differently and pronouncing words differently.

When I first came to England, I found it a bit hard, understanding some of the accent. People would say something to me and I'll be like "pardon?" "sorry?" And after like three times and I still don't get it, I'll just concur, even though I have no clue, so that I don't look like a complete dumbass.

This was me 99% of the time. I would just smile and hope they don't ask me to repeat what they've just said.

Awkward!!!

But now though, I'm trying small small. I'm even trying to speak my own sef lol.

Just like in every other country, the English people have their own slangs and phrases they often use. Some are words that we know, but they mean something else.

For example, cheers. As Nigerians, we use that word when we celebrate, and we get our wine glasses and go "clink" on the other person's. But here, it means thanks. Thank you.

Another one is mate, which means friend or pal. Meanwhile in Nigeria, if we want to use the word 'mate', it would be something like this - "If I slap you eh, do you think I'm your mate?" haha.

Here are a few more of my fave British slangs and phrases:

Do means a party. I didn't go for my Christmas do last year. Knackered means tired. To take a mickey/a piss out of someone means to make fun of them. A row (rhymes with cow) means an argument. Quid is another word for the pounds like the currency. A £5 note is called a fiver and a £10 note is a tenner -Just like in Nigeria we say 'sky' for #50 or 'green' for #20 or we can say 1H for #100.

And there are loads more . . .

for reading!