The London Lunch...

When I came to London, to be honest, I wasn't quite sure what kind of situation I was going to be getting myself into. I had an image in my mind, but any image I created had the high possibility of being completely exaggerated or distorted from reality. Yes, they speak english here, (or at least some form of english!), but that doesn't necessarily mean that culturally everything else will be similar. After landing at Heathrow I could immediately tell that people, though similar in dress and expression, were vastly different from back home in New York. 

When you live in London for even a mere week you can tell that the lifestyle is quite different than back home. Back home in New York, shops are open no later than six in the morning and don't close until much later than nine at night. Take out is available at three in the morning if you wanted and "take-out" can come in any and ever food imaginable. There is very rarely a quiet hour in the city, even in the wee hours of the morning. People hustle and bustle up and down every street--- both business men and women, students, and other city-dwellers alike--- and specifically, when it comes to weaving in and around tourists who don't know where they are going, we New Yorkers are so well adjusted to their sudden stopping that our zig-zagged walking patterns may look spastic but are really second nature to us. Everyone is stereotypically loud and fast talking, and not so good with the whole "patience" concept. (You may disagree, but in comparison to Londoners, well, we New Yorkers can sometimes live up to that stereotype!) 

With all that we New Yorkers are and are adjusted to, coming to London is and was a complete form of culture shock! Stores open casually around ten in the morning, much later than we are used to, and close as early as five in the afternoon. Don't even count on places regularly being open on weekends either! Take out is not well known here, especially the concept of calling ahead for your food. Walking the streets is a casual stroll really, no one in as much of a rush as back home. Don't even get me started on queueing! Waiting in line for over thirty minutes doesn't seem to bother anyone! Being confronted with this confusing London way of life I was determined to understand this different lifestyle. 

Enjoying Bedford Square Park

In order to observe this new culture, my friends and I decided to take part in a

regular English activity: sitting in a park. It was around lunch time on a rare beautiful sunny day and it seemed to draw out by the numbers people from all forms of London life. Students sat under the shade of trees on laid out blankets with their school books strewn across the ground beneath them, their coffees (or tea!) and cigarettes in hand; business men and women came out and had their lunch under the light sunshine dressed in their finest, not seeming to care that a wrinkle was making its way into the crisp suit; nannies took the children out to play in the jungle-gyms; adorable elderly women and men came out and took a seat on the benches. As I sat there for over the course of an hour this seemed to repeat over and over again. More and more people matching similar description came out to join the bunch and none seemed to be in a hurry to leave.

On the outside, Londoners may seem quite similar to the New York sense, but the thing that keeps them as far distanced from us as ever is their ability it seems to take everything very casually. Sitting and watching the park, I was given the overwhelming feeling that here in London, sitting in the park and enjoying peoples company was as important, if not more so, than working or anything else that we find important. This relaxed culture understands that although a life of hustle and bustle is important, so is a life of patience and taking time to enjoy life.