lawndawn
Well, I really wish I wrote in here more. Cuz when I do it's been so long I have this urge to completely update from the last time I wrote. But I can't do that. It's been months!
Got back from London last week. It was unbelievable. I remember the second day or so asking John where he wanted to go on our next trip abroad and we were debating France vs. Italy, and deciding no matter what we wouldn't be taking a trip every year; we'd need 3 or 5 years in between because these kinds of trips are just too much of a big production to carry out very often. By the fourth day we were so in love with London that we were already drawing up the next trip's itinerary: more pubs and afternoon tea, less museums, no Portobello Market. And by the time we were busing to the airport for the trip home I was angry. By the time we were in the car being driven home from the airport I was declaring, "I hate people!" This is a common mantra for me, I've realized. Not something I thought even remotely while in London. Then again, it was a vacation, and not a "real life" situation.
But in "real life" in London, you are surrounded by 2-hour tea breaks and pubs at the end of the day. You (or I) would have a hard time holding on to depression or stress with those kind of comforts. Not to say a person should drink away their problems, but a nice pint at the end of a day, surrounded by friendly sociable folk who don't whine, complain, bemoan, and moan over life's many miseries (at least not in the way we do in Seattle) would be a glorious respite.
Yes, I only spent a week in London. But I can't deny the vibe from the get-go - from the minute we walked into the airport - that these folks are having a better time than we do back home. There is more eye contact (not to give you a once-over or a glare, just as a matter of course in looking around at the environment they're moving through), more laughing and more talking than anywhere I've experienced in the US. And these are not obnoxious amounts of "more" - it's not that they are overboard and showy. They are just more at ease with themselves. When they're talking with their "mates" in a public space, they talk in normal conversational tones of voice and laugh often. The only time you are able to hear people talking to each other in a public space in Seattle (and they are more often than not NOT talking to each other out of deference to others around them overhearing - god forbid you should share your sense of self with perfect strangers) is when they are being obnoxious. This means they are either "gangstas" trying to intimidate and/or make a big scene to show off and/or falling-over drunk. Or they are a bit insane.
This British self-confidence is what struck me the most and what made my stay there so enjoyable. Just feeling that vibe and the difference it made in the way I felt about myself and my place in the world as I moved through the streets was remarkable. I realized just how much the city I live in impacts my own behavior. I am a reflection of the city I live in and I am not purely what I want to be.
OK, so I was trying to learn from this and instill what I can from the London way of life into my home life here. I haven't figured out how to do it yet. Where can I go for a two-hour sit where the waiters won't be trying to pester me with inane questions about my enjoyment level or shoving the bill in my face to pressure me to vacate so they can cram another paying customer in behind me? If I do sit down at a Starbucks and take my time, the people around me are skittering and fluttering and taking away from the leisurely mood I'm trying to create. In London, if you sit down for tea, you are surrounded by others who are doing the same thing. You're supported by that leisurely energy. Waiters leave you alone and you and your group of tea-drinkers are left to relax and talk. It's slower. Which is crazy considering how busy and vibrant that city is. How did they figure this part of it out? That to balance the busy-ness you must rest? And not "must" but "will." There's no guilt-fighting like we do here. They wouldn't go around saying "You need to take care of yourself." They just WOULD.
Of course, I'm overgeneralizing. I have seen into a tiny window and am making up a whole world based on it. A magical dream world where everybody has British accents, feels just fine about themselves, and is sure to have a sit and plenty of laughs every day.
Got back from London last week. It was unbelievable. I remember the second day or so asking John where he wanted to go on our next trip abroad and we were debating France vs. Italy, and deciding no matter what we wouldn't be taking a trip every year; we'd need 3 or 5 years in between because these kinds of trips are just too much of a big production to carry out very often. By the fourth day we were so in love with London that we were already drawing up the next trip's itinerary: more pubs and afternoon tea, less museums, no Portobello Market. And by the time we were busing to the airport for the trip home I was angry. By the time we were in the car being driven home from the airport I was declaring, "I hate people!" This is a common mantra for me, I've realized. Not something I thought even remotely while in London. Then again, it was a vacation, and not a "real life" situation.
But in "real life" in London, you are surrounded by 2-hour tea breaks and pubs at the end of the day. You (or I) would have a hard time holding on to depression or stress with those kind of comforts. Not to say a person should drink away their problems, but a nice pint at the end of a day, surrounded by friendly sociable folk who don't whine, complain, bemoan, and moan over life's many miseries (at least not in the way we do in Seattle) would be a glorious respite.
Yes, I only spent a week in London. But I can't deny the vibe from the get-go - from the minute we walked into the airport - that these folks are having a better time than we do back home. There is more eye contact (not to give you a once-over or a glare, just as a matter of course in looking around at the environment they're moving through), more laughing and more talking than anywhere I've experienced in the US. And these are not obnoxious amounts of "more" - it's not that they are overboard and showy. They are just more at ease with themselves. When they're talking with their "mates" in a public space, they talk in normal conversational tones of voice and laugh often. The only time you are able to hear people talking to each other in a public space in Seattle (and they are more often than not NOT talking to each other out of deference to others around them overhearing - god forbid you should share your sense of self with perfect strangers) is when they are being obnoxious. This means they are either "gangstas" trying to intimidate and/or make a big scene to show off and/or falling-over drunk. Or they are a bit insane.
This British self-confidence is what struck me the most and what made my stay there so enjoyable. Just feeling that vibe and the difference it made in the way I felt about myself and my place in the world as I moved through the streets was remarkable. I realized just how much the city I live in impacts my own behavior. I am a reflection of the city I live in and I am not purely what I want to be.
OK, so I was trying to learn from this and instill what I can from the London way of life into my home life here. I haven't figured out how to do it yet. Where can I go for a two-hour sit where the waiters won't be trying to pester me with inane questions about my enjoyment level or shoving the bill in my face to pressure me to vacate so they can cram another paying customer in behind me? If I do sit down at a Starbucks and take my time, the people around me are skittering and fluttering and taking away from the leisurely mood I'm trying to create. In London, if you sit down for tea, you are surrounded by others who are doing the same thing. You're supported by that leisurely energy. Waiters leave you alone and you and your group of tea-drinkers are left to relax and talk. It's slower. Which is crazy considering how busy and vibrant that city is. How did they figure this part of it out? That to balance the busy-ness you must rest? And not "must" but "will." There's no guilt-fighting like we do here. They wouldn't go around saying "You need to take care of yourself." They just WOULD.
Of course, I'm overgeneralizing. I have seen into a tiny window and am making up a whole world based on it. A magical dream world where everybody has British accents, feels just fine about themselves, and is sure to have a sit and plenty of laughs every day.