Been in London
for about a month, it has been one crazy month and I’m still vagabonding it
(one more day!). I’m exhausted and at the library trying to read some queer
theory, eek I know. But as I am taking a lil’ break (aka just realized it was a
Monday), I will use this time to chat about some stuff I have learned about,
and is particular to London over these few weeks.
Limescale – WTF
is that?! Exactly my reaction when first learning about good old
limescale. It is in the water. The tap water and what you do your dishes and
laundry with. It means that the water is ‘hard’ and it leaves this white
chalky, build-up residue that can get all chunked up and make your appliances
all wacked out if you don’t use tablets and such to counteract the limescale
accumulation. It apparently doesn’t hurt your body but it’s a bit off to think
about it when/if you drink from the tap. This girl says, ‘no thank you’ most of
the time to ingesting it but hey, sometimes you just gotta drink from the tap.
Fashion – It’s
varied obviously because it is a mega city but the thing that I want to remark
upon is how the ladies on London, specifically arty ones, dress. They dress in
supreme comfort and total affordability. Baggy is in, department store off the
rack is in, soft is in, sweats (tops and bottoms) are in. Cheap-o shoes are in, sneakers (trainers) are
in, doing your makeup on the train is in. I don’t know what to call it. How to pin
it down but there is a casually lazy but indeterminately cool vibe being
produced by all these parts. Maybe it’s because they are just so damn
comfortable. Who knows but I have most certainly embraced this and have been
wearing boys sweat pants for four days strait.
Rocket – Yo, but
for real. They call arugula, ‘rocket.’ Mind blown.
24 hours doesn’t
exist – So you are out someplace far or even sorta not that far and you are
having fun and talking and drinking and making new friends and then it’s like
holy crap it’s 2/3am and omg all the trains are done-zo for the night. So you
have to try to find a bus and try to get home on a series of these and then
somehow you make it home but it took you a good hour plus to do it. Sobering.
Infuriating. London does not like 24-hour transport. This is going to be a very
awkward year.
Middle Eastern/Muslim
Population – Maybe people know about this but I didn’t know that London has a
HUGE population of Muslims and Middle Easterners. I have only been to a few
areas but in all those I have been to, this is very noticeable and it is fab
for the food and complex demographic influences. It’s relative to New York’s
Latin/Mexican/Central America population and their presence and effect on
commerce, food and conversations about race, politics and economies. Fascinating
to see.
School is
basically free, except PhDs – So school is like insane cheap for UK/EU
citizens. Yes, yes I am sure things have gotten more expensive and changed over
the years but compared to America it is nearly free. Amazing. I think that changes
a lot of the potential and mentality people have here re: higher education and
also the pursuit of degrees that will probably leave them with a middling income
at best. On the flip of this, what is very surprising to learn is that PhD programs
are not funded in the way American programs are. Not only do all PhD programs in the states
have their tuition funded but here is additional monies for living expenses.
Maybe all those years of cheap schooling has a final price to pay.
Buses – You are
always, always, ALWAYS on a bus. Aka dying.
Political –
People, artists, students are very political. Very. Seriously.
Change – I think
that London is actually trying to bury me alive with change. They have so much
change! It is heavy and all sorts of sizes and they look all different and you
literally get ‘change’ when you get ‘change’ like 10 pounds worth of change in
one transaction. Dying. Need a coin purse asap before my wallet explodes.
Credit/Banking –
I feel like I’m in the year 2000 with the banking and credit/debit use here. My US
debit card is not signed, never has been. This is a MAJOR problem every time I
use it because they literally check your signature to the receipt you sign.
Every time. And then they don’t believe it and then you get into this
fight. You don’t use a pin, you
literally have to write your name exactly the way you wrote it that one time.
Nuts. Also to check my UK bank account online and to do any transfers etc. I
have this secure key that I have to put all this stuff into and codes for each
step. I have no idea why they are so remedial in banking. Seems possibly
indicative of other traits.
Plants, Shrubs,
Flowers – I can’t get over how cute and quaint and charming many neighbourhoods
of London are. They are adorable! People
from here sorta roll their eyes at me when I express this but really, it is
super clean, (have yet to smell urine in the streets/ while using transport).
There are lovely roses, and flowers, and shrubs and bushy flowers all over the
place. Also, this is a wide, short city so you can see the sky and clouds.
Being able to do this makes even the sombre, rainy days feel at least brisk and
fresh. I’m sure I’ll get over it soon
but seeing sky is something sorely missed in New York.
