Sunday, November 16, 2008

The Not-So-Great-Britain

I'm so glad to be back home! its only after i've spent some time abroad that i really appreciate Africa! We may be one of the poorest continents (according to western standards) but we are so rich in so many ways! we are blessed but just don’t know it, you cant get the perfect climate and easy going nature of the people and lifestyle anywhere in Europe!
well, i didn't completely hate London, i liked how convenient everything was...the transport systems, the vending machines, the Starbucks at strategic positions, the layout of malls and shops. shows you the big difference organization and planed living can make! Also, there is alot of variety, whether its a restaurant meal order (forget the variety of the menu, but the single order can come in so many variations its confusing, i even began to wonder whether what i got was what was described on the menu), to the variety of people one can see in the train, from pierced Goths to dreadlocked blonds...in Africa, they would have really stood out, but there, it was quite a normal thing! I liked that about London...

However, despite it being just autumn, it was freezing! as a tropical girl it was torture! Also, it was irritating how fast everyone walked! I'm used to strolling-even when i'm heading to a class that began 5 minutes ago-lol! Keeping up on the streets of London felt like i was in a walking marathon, but i guess since it's freezing outside, the smart thing to do would be to get wherever your going fast! Strolling and icily grey whether somehow don’t go hand in hand...
Although the sun was out, you couldn’t feel it! Being a tropical girl, it was a form of slow torture...i'm so used to feeling the sun, it really was on odd sensation...not that i've never been to Europe, i have, but not often, and every time i go, i still cant get over that fact!
I also really missed home food! i guess my palette wasn't used to the London taste, and i would probably get used to it and even like it after sometime, but during the past week i sort of lost appetite...the worst part about their food is that it looks so good, but tastes like...like paper! This however doesn’t apply to all western countries, food in Greece was good, and almost everything tasted so good in Manhattan...The only exception perhaps was the British hot chocolate and pizza hut...

I also don’t get why they chose to keep the old cottages and buildings in London...yeah, some are kind of cool, but most, especially in the middle of the city, are just plain ugly!! The British are so obsessed with antiques and holding onto the past...yeah, it mayb expensive to breakdown all the buildings and replace them, but i think its more than that...i think it reminds them of their empirical power, when they truly were Great Britain and had one of the largest colonies and were the most industrialized...well, sorry for the reality check but that time is long passed, now not even the old British work ethic exists amongst the majority of brit's, in fact most jobs are taken by minority groups simply because they work harder and at the end of the day they are the ones who deliver and perform...i guess its Not-So-Great-Britain nowadays! LoL

well, let me quit whining! I had a great week in grey London, despite the evident bite marks of the credit crunch (in just the week we were there thousands of people lost their jobs due to the effects of the world economic crisis) and the freak stories in the news of babies being tortured and black teens stabbing each other to death, despite the cold and tasteless food...it was a great experience, especially in showing me how much i love home and living in Africa!

2 comments:

HektikLyfe said...

It feels good to be proud.

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