As well as accent, watch out for slang words, such as 'lads' or 'blokes' for boys/men, 'birds' or 'lasses'(in the north of England and in Scotland) for women.

That could be because few Pushtun lads and lasses elope or, more likely, because they are more likely to be killed when they do.

My first real plunge was back in the mid 90s. I shared a ramshackle flat with two other Irish lasses in the former East.