I woke up this morning, thinking I had slept in, only to find out that I had woken up at 6:30 a.m. Just like home, I can't sleep late. This wasn't help by the children in the courtyard below my room playing outside. I know, it's a strange hour of the day for kids to be outside playing. These dorms double as a hostel during the times that students aren't here it seems. So after a shower and breakfast I went downstairs and picked up a care package from my folks. I was expecting a few little articles from home, but it seems like my Mom made a special trip to the grocery store (or simply took everything out of the pantry and sent it). I'm thankful for the food though. I had some of the Jif peanut butter that she sent for lunch and I can say without a doubt that Americans do peanut butter much better than the Brits. The peanut butter here is good, but compared to Jif it's absolutely horrible.
After piddling around the dorms for a bit this morning, I went down to South Bank and visited the Salvador Dali exhibit. I have to say it was one of the coolest art exhibits I've ever seen. It's too bad you can't take photographs in there because there are some very amazing works of art. And, to my surprise, there's also an entire section of work by Pablo Picasso. I'm a big fan of both of these artists, so being able to walk around and look at their original works up close was fantastic. It's funny, because it would be easy to look at the work of guys like Picasso and Dali and think that their mad, bizarre works were partly inspired by perhaps a lack of talent. But truly these guys were artistic geniuses. They were erratic and strange (especially Dali), but very deliberate in the things they did. When you stop and look at the works and realize that, although they are not like the classical works of Leonardo and Rembrandt and all of the other fine artists, their works are stunning and marvelous. Guys like Dali and Picasso were perfectly capable of constructing complex scenes of classical art, but instead they chose to go a different route. And I believe the stuff they produced was outstanding. But then again, I'm kind of a weirdo, so maybe I don't know what I'm talking about.
Once I had finished at the exhibit I made my way back to the dorms and had some lunch and a nap. I haven't been very inspired to do too much today, so for the most part I've been laying low. After my nap I went out to Harrod's and Waterstone's. I picked up some souvenirs and meddled around a bit. I wanted to go down to Bond Street to get a few more souvenirs but honestly, I was just too lazy. I'll pick them up another day. Tomorrow I'm going to go and pick up tickets to Taunton next week and also call Ray and let him know when I am coming. I hope he doesn't think it rude of me not to have all ready called, but I figure it was best to call once I actually had tickets since I know train times change a lot.
Once I got back from shopping I've just hung around and I ate dinner not too long ago. It's only about 7:00 p.m. here, but I really don't feel like doing anything. I've been going pretty strong for the past three weeks, so today I'm taking it easy. I may go out in a bit and walk around and see a few of the parks nearby. It doesn't get dark here until about 10:00 p.m., so I still have plenty of daylight left. I figure that since this is a rather shorter post than usual, I'll go ahead and fill in whoever is reading this with my thoughts on my trip so far.
Thus far I have been very impressed. I was slightly disappointed with the state of our dorms (not having utensils, the food not being very good, etc.), but it's nothing that bothers me too badly. If I was going to come to London again I would stay here again. As far as London goes, I really feel like it's just like any other big city. It has it's monuments and neat things to see, just like any big city does. I'm not a very metropolitan person, so my tolerance for big city life is quite low. The people here are seemingly quite rude. Most of them walk around staring straight ahead and just going from Point A to Point B, absorbed in their own little world and not really showing a lot of regard for other people. I guess that's the human condition, that most of us are so concerned with ourselves that we just don't pay attention to others. I could be wrong, but a lot of these people just look unhappy. I would think it's probably due to the hustle and bustle of everyday life here. I may be wrong. I just know that if I had to live here for a while I wouldn't like it at all.
On the other hand, I think England as a whole is a phenomenal country. The people outside of London are really great. The countryside is beautiful. I've enjoyed seeing the sights and sounds that England has to offer. It's a country rich in culture and history and I have found the entire place quite enchanting. The time I've spent speaking to actual English people (the people in London I consider Londoners and not very representative of England as a whole) has been some of my favorite conversation and a really great learning experience.
Overall so far this trip has taught me a lot about other people. It's shown me the importance of being good to your fellow man and just how far a little bit of love, compassion, happiness, and kindness can go. It has also shown me how easy it is for people to get caught up in the world and how running our day-to-day lives is really not that important and that enjoying and savoring each moment is. I think I have a greater appreciation for other cultures and other ways of living, though I'm not going to lie and say that I prefer them. While there are things the English do that seem more practical and I think are good, I can say without a doubt that I still love America and prefer it. Maybe I'm writing all of this prematurely. I've only been here three weeks, but I am quite glad to say that I'm from America and that I love it there.
For a few days I was a bit down on England, judging it just by the state of London. I then realized that doing that is not smart. I would hate to think that someone would come to New York City or Chicago or L.A. and think that they've properly sampled America. I don't think you can really know what a country is like until you get out there with the people and get to know the people on a personal level. The nameless faces I see passing by me on the Tube or small encounters I see people engaging in on the street are no way to judge a culture. It seems to me that there is England, then there is London. London is overall a beautiful town, but I like it a lot more when no one is around. I've been to a few spots in London that tourists like myself usually don't walk around at (Notting Hill, Chelsea residential neighborhoods, Lambeth, etc.), and I'd say I like those areas a lot more than places like Westminster and South Bank, because it gives me more of an impression of humanity. When I'm there I'm not strolling through a crowd of tourists or Londoners who are angry at all of the slow walkers, I'm actually walking by someone's home. I'm seeing kids outside playing. It's such a different feeling and I really love it.
I really hope that Columbus never takes on the personality of a city like London. I see Columbus really heading that way with the traffic and attitude of some folks, but I still have a lot of hope for Columbus. I can still stop at a red light and smile at someone I don't know and know that they'll smile back. I can nod at people in Columbus and ask how they're doing and know I'll actually get an answer. I can wave at random people, talk to people I don't know, and know that I'll get treated with some dignity and not looked at like I'm a madman. I think that human-to-human relationship is vital. The only time around here I actually see Londoners engaging with other Londoners is at the pubs (which by the way, I saw a group of men standing around drinking and dressed like women outside of a pub called The Hope today at 4:00 p.m.), and that seems to be the London culture. A few weeks ago they had a news story in the papers about binge drinking in London, and I can believe it is quite a problem. The people here start drinking once the day is done and they don't stop till they fall asleep. That's not healthy or good, but I imagine a lot of them are drinking to help escape the harsh reality that is London.
I know that has become quite long-winded, and I apologize. I guess I wanted to get a lot of that off of my chest. Please don't think I'm dogging London or trying to trash talk a bunch of people that I don't know. I'm not going to say the people of London are jerks (although I all ready have, I recant that) or that they're all rude. I think for the most part it's about being a victim of circumstance. When the price of living becomes so high and the pressures of society (materialism, etc.) become such a heavy burden on a person, they start worrying too much about themselves and tend to neglect the things that really matter. In a city with over seven million people that are on the go, constantly pushing and struggling not just to make ends meet but to get ahead and rise above the daily grind, it's expected that people will stop smiling and start scowling and stop taking it easy and turn to drinking en masse.
I just try and keep my head up and smile at everyone, hold the doors for ladies, tell people to have a good day, and treat people the way I want to be treated. That means a lot more to me now that I have found myself not being treated the way I prefer to be treated.
I don't really have any photos to upload today. The only thing I took a photo of was a carousel that has been placed at South Bank. I am thinking about going to a church service at Westminster Abbey tomorrow, so I'm sure I'll have a photo or two to share. Thanks again to everyone who has read this and kept up with me. I apologize if I haven't responded to anyone's e-mails or at least not responded in a timely manner. I want to let all of you know that I love and miss you and that I look forward to seeing you all again.
