As well as the obvious things that hit you immediately when you arrive, such as sights, sounds,smelis and tastes, every culture has unspoken rules which affect the way people treat each other. These may be less obvious but sooner or later you will probably encounter them and once again the effect may be disorientating For example there will be differences in the ways people decide what is important, how tasks are allocated and how time is observed. The British generally have a reputation for punctuality. in business and academic life keeping to time is important.observed. You should always be on time for lectures, classes, and meetings with academic and administrative staff. If you are going to be late for a meeting do try to let whoever you are meetin know. Social life is a litte more complicated. Arranging to meet to see a film at 8pm means arriving at 8pm. But if you are invited to visit someone's home for dinner at 8pm, you should probably aim to arriive at about ten minutes after eight, but not later than about twenty past. When going to a student party an invitation for 8pm probably means any time from 9.30 onwards! These subtle differences can be difficult to grasp and can contribute to culture shock.