I'm about to start karate, is there anything I should expect?

The kicks are pretty much the same only different is taekwon do was said to have invented the tornado kick so you won't be seeing that in karate. Karate is more balanced instead of emphasis on 1 part of the body so expect to learn some joint locks, kicks, punches, probably a few take downs. And you're friend probably means that taekwon-do takes a while before you are actually a decent speed.