One of the first things I had to do was learn how to make local calls within London. In Canada, the dialing system is simple: dial 1 if it's long distance, otherwise dial the area code, and then the phone number.
London doesn't work that way. First of all, there is a different pattern for landlines versus cell phones.
Landlines: 020 7XXX XXXX (7 for inner London, 8 for outer London)
Mobiles: 07XX XXX XXXX
That is, if I'm calling locally, I dial the first 0. But if you are calling me from outside UK, you DON'T dial the first 0. Which means it's something like 44 20 7XXX XXXX or 44 7XX XXX XXXX.
In case you're still having trouble, this site is pretty good for country calling codes, though it doesn't teach you about mobiles.
The other thing I've noticed about the British -- they don't believe in phonics. Specifically, see the following list of words and the "proper" pronunciation:
Thames = Tems
Gloucester = Glosster
Southwark = Suthick
Chiswick = Chissick
Marylebone = Marliebon
And my all-time favourite -- Leicester = Lester
I'm sure I'll run into more oddities, and get laughed at for being "American"!
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