Visiting London and the surrounding area of the United Kingdom has provided me with a sense of a vastly different culture, or I should say a sense of cultures. The diversity found in the city is greater than I have seen in any other place. Before coming to Britain, the greatest real-life example of diversity I had found was on-campus at WOU. I have heard more unique languages spoken aloud in the last two weeks than I had previously heard in the entirety of my experiences. The city here reminds me a lot of the big cities back home. However, there is a much greater sense of community here than I pick up in big cities of the U.S. Perhaps this is due to the close proximity of everyone in town. People of all races and classes appear to travel on the same path everyday. The trains and tube are always packed with all kinds of interesting folks that do not seem to mind being so close to everyone else around them, and it does not seem that anyone is deterred by the thought of using public transportation either. At home, the public transportation has certain negative connotations, whereas here public transport is just a part of the routine. The public transportation system also seems to be fairly well maintained compared to the systems I have seen back home.
Another aspect of the culture that lends to the sense of community here is the tradition of the pubs. No matter where you go, you are bound to find an assortment of these establishments. The pubs are always bustling during lunchtime, and especially after work hours. It seems that people here do not see alcohol as a negative influence as we do in the states. The people here are used to just grabbing a beer with their colleagues during the day, or after work without thinking twice about it. In the U.S. society in general has a very different attitude towards alcohol; alcohol is a forbidden fruit and people who drink may be judged for their choices. I think this attitude breeds the issue of young people feeling the need to drink to excess. The bars in America are often filled with people who are making a scene and taking things too far. In contrast, I’ve noticed that people here are more apt to go to the pub for socializing with friends and family; pubs are less about the actual drinking and more about the community aspect here. Of course there will always be a bit of mischief associated with overconsumption anywhere, but it doesn’t seem to be a major issue.
A final note on pubs: I was very encouraged when my friends and I were in a local pub and we noticed that not a single person there was on their phone. This was quite a novelty because back in the states, it’s almost a guarantee that half of the people in a restaurant or other public place will be staring at their phones at any given moment. It was refreshing to see that people were very present in the moment and not concerned with whatever social media had to offer.