Another week flies by

I'm back again. The past week has been so jam packed. It's been hard to catch up in my own head, never mind my blog. Since the last time I wrote I've been to a club, the Borough Market again, seen a couple rock bands, two plays, wrote a paper, did some design and visited the London Ice Bar. I also went to a shabbat lunch and did some shopping. You can find photographic evidence of most of my forays on facebook. I put up three albums. As far as I'm aware everyone who keeps up with my blog (when I get to writing it) is on facebook. If you're not, I'd more than happy to post the links to the albums on my blog.

I've decided to focus this post on some things in between the cracks of all the crazy events I run back in forth to. I've been living in London for almost a month now. It's pretty amazing to think about it. I'm trying to stay aware of how the way I deal with this whole experience changes as I get more used to the place. I'm now reminding myself to pay attention to the architecture, appreciate the constant passing of double decker buses and really notice that I'm walking around London. My street here feels like my street. I can walk through the underground stations I frequent without looking at the signs. I don't constantly notice that the people around me are speaking in a British accent. I still am constantly aware that I'm speaking in an American one though.

My perception of myself as an American has changed too. London is so multicultural, everyone has an accent. Even English people have accents to each other. It's not unusual to hear French or German or Arabic when you're walking on the streets. Being American is just like being another foreigner. Also, British people tend to like (or at least be intrigued by) Americans. It's impossible to read most of the Brits anyways. Lewis's example one the of the first days we were here is the best way to explain it. If you forget to hold onto the bar in the tube when the train starts and you stumble, no one will laugh or change their expression, but you can tell that everyone saw and everyone's thinking "what an idiot." In fact, the entire transportation experience is full of unwritten laws. On escalators you stay on the right if you want to stand and leave the left open for those who want to walk. Sometimes a newbie will stand next to a friend and chill, unknowingly blocking the entire impatient horde behind from moving. No one will tell the unfortunate individual to move aside or keep walking, but EVERYONE glares. I'm not sure if this solution is really any better than tapping the guy on the shoulder and saying "move it buster!"

It rains a lot here. There are tons of parents with strollers walking along the street and all the strollers are fitted with a clear plastic cover, keeping the infant in a dry little bubble. These are employed even when it's not raining at the moment. Chances are that it will rain soon enough. Londoners don't know what to do with snow. They walk around with their umbrellas out while flakes fall. It's funny to watch.

Well, time for working on a group project. I'm gonna go do some research in a cosmetics store. I'll tell you more about that later.

Cheers!