London in the Rearview

We are about 5 hours off the plane, and I won’t lie, it is fantastic to be home.  Lots of Ella love and some cold TaB, and I feel like I am slowly recovering from the past 10 days.  While Tony and I had one of the best trips I think we have had with the students in another country, each year the toll these long-distance adventures take increases.  My legs will be sore for days, and the pile of mail we need to deal with is massive – not to mention the laundry!  

Nevertheless, it continues to be worth the effort.  I learn so much everywhere I go.  I noticed subtle things on this trip.  For example, I know in many entries, I have referenced how unfailingly helpful and friendly people in London are.  I cannot count how many times I would ask Tony a question about where sometime might be and a passerby would stop to answer it.  Or, someone would see us looking at a map and stop to ask how he or she might help.  More importantly, every offer of help seemed to be genuine and sincere.  Then, when we got to Atlanta’s International Terminal today, every time I went outside the terminal to look for the bus that was supposed to take us back to Chattanooga this afternoon, someone from the airport would approach me and say “Can I help you?”  Here’s the thing, though.  The TONE of the question was not genuine and helpful, but it consistently sounded accusatory – as though I had been caught crossing some invisible line I was not supposed to cross.  Perhaps I imagined it, but it struck me that we Americans are not always as welcoming as we could be.

I will offer another example.  London is an enormous city with many people.  Frequently, when we were walking along narrow streets or through parts of the Tube, we sometimes bumped into people, or they bumped into us – especially if they were rushing past us.  In every instance, they always apologized so genuinely that it was touching.  I cannot tell you how many times I have had people run into me on the street, in the airport, on campus, etc., with virtually no acknowledgement whatsoever.  While these apologies may seem like small gestures, they are powerful.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying Londoners are somehow better than Americans.  People are people all over the world, and that is why traveling to new places is so important.  I am just pointing out one way in which a cultural difference that affected me influenced how I felt about London.  That said, I remain acutely aware that it was many people on this side of the pond who made this trip to London possible to me and the other faculty and students.  

Another cultural difference I sensed is that people in England seem far more open about many issues than Americans.  When you see commercials in the U.S. that address treatments for, uh, farting, the commercials  are extremely nuanced.  In England, the ads are blunt and hilarious.  One product they market is called “Wind Setlers.”  The TV ads for “Wind Setlers” are hysterical.  

In other ways, the words they use for certain things are just charming.  I love that they refer to train cars on the Tube as “carriages” and the illegal disposal of waste onto land as “Fly Tipping.”

Okay, there is lots of laundry that needs to be done, and I have mail to read and work to do.  Seriously, though, if you don’t have a passport, get one soon and plan a trip overseas.  You won’t regret it.