Final Reflection Paper

     It has been about 12 weeks, and my time in England is coming to an end. Part of me still can not believe that I am here, in England, living and breathing and learning. Ever since I was little I have seen pictures and watched films and TV shows depicting England. Now, I am living and experiencing it, and it is surreal.  Overall my experience have been very positive.  I have traveled around, explored new places, been mistaken for a girl band member, gone to parties, met some great and incredibly kind people, had a fling, seen three Thylacines, produced some rad art, animated, and have lived an adult life of shopping, cooking, and cleaning by myself.  I have grown tremendously as a student, and as a person, and have taken major step forward in my life.

     Before arriving here, I was completely confident in adjusting to the culture.  I knew that some words had different meanings, and I had been told my numerous people that I was not going to England to experience the cuisine.  I thought that the culture would be almost identical to American culture- and in some aspects, I was right.  There are quite a bit of similarities, but within each of those similarities are tiny differences.  For example, public transportation. public transportation exists in America, but it is not as common as it is England.  In England it is normal and acceptable to use public transportation. In America, people who use public transportation are looked down upon. I believe this is because Americans are obsessive consumers.  American's love materialistic things, and by using public transportation, people assume you are too poor to own a car.  The whole thing is weird and does not make sense.  People in England are very consumeristic in their own ways.  The English tend to buy a lot more designer clothing and food.  Whenever I am out on the High Street, no matter the time of day, every shop is crowded, and everyone has bags of newly bought goods.  

     One thing I will not miss at all, is the food. Everything is fried in lard and vegetables seem more like a garnish than anything. All fruits and vegetables were individually shrink wrapped, or in some sort of plastic container (which is cringeworthy from an environmental standpoint). Buying boxed macaroni and cheese was like buying gold, costing about $3.36 per box. I found it as hard to find food to eat in restaurant that was vegetarian and somewhat healthy, and what I did find was usually a striking palette of browns and beiges.  It was interesting to learn about some of the historical context of “British cuisine”. Everything is so hearty because people needed the energy, and easy to eat meals to get through the day.  Meat and potatoes (a staple here as well as in the US) are seen as manly, hearty foods, that will keep you going throughout the day.

     One thing that took me by surprise in being immersed in British culture, was the “language barrier”.  Right before I left, my Uncle jokingly told me “Have a splendid time in England. Try to immerse yourself in the language so you can be fully bi-lingual when you return.” I laughed at first but there really is a language barrier.  The words I struggle with the most is pants and trousers, and chips and crisps.  Something interesting about English accents, is that they differ every 20 miles or so.My English friends are able to tell around where another english person is from just from their accents and dialect.  I am able to hear some differences, such as a “posh city accent” versus a “northern country accent”.

     I do not think racism is as big in the UK as it is in the US, although it is still  apparent.  We have shootings literally every week of unarmed black men women. It definitely does still exist here in the UK, but have seen a lot more islamophobia than black british racism. I walked down a street called Brick Lane in London.  It was a lovely Indian community, and the smells of sweet goods mixed with curry was so enticing.  It was a perfect example of failed interculturalism.  These people were backed and packed into one area, and still received dirty looks from white people. Racism is still apparent, but I think it is differently expressed here (this is just based on the short time I have spent here, and from the view of a white woman). I also think black history is more brutally honest in the UK.

     I remember learning about slave ships and the conditions the people were kept in.  I remember being showed the same image over and over again between years 5-10.  It is an illustration of what the inside of the ships looked like; little tiny figures arranged to fit the contour of the ship.  We were never shown real images of these horrendous conditions, and we never never read actual accounts of the experiences.  It was all very hush-hush.  I can understand not teaching the actual horrors of slavery to young children, but I think we should be more informed by the time we are in middle school.

     We would learn the basics of Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad; although the versions we were taught were extremely biased. We learned about white slave owners, and how they would “mistreat” and “beat” the slaves, but we were never taught the full extent of the treatment until late high school (around ages 16-17).  When learning about the Underground Railroad, we would focus on the “nice” and “good” white folks that would “risk their lives to harbor black people”.  Even in stories about black people, black people are the supporting characters. I believe that has to do a lot about the way we teach US history.  The US, and especially US history textbooks, hate to show white people as evil.  We are always “problematic” but not villainous, and always shown as heroes.   Text books would conveniently gloss over the fact the Christopher Columbus raped, pillaged, and murdered innocent people. It also doesn’t help that twice a year we celebrate national holidays of our  unjust claim to land  and the gentrification of Native Americans.

     The Middle Passage was the inhumane voyage route across the Atlantic Ocean from Africa to the West Indies,  and was part of the transatlantic slave trade.  The voyage took between 6 and 8 weeks. The transatlantic slave trade formed a triangle, starting at ports from England, going to Africa, then to the West Indies and then back to Britain. The people who survived the Middle Passage to the West Indies were sold to American land/slave owners.  Liverpool is relevant to the museum because it was one of the big ports for which the transatlantic slave trade stopped at.  It also stopped at Bristol and London, both of which get enough tourism. I think museum’s aim is to make people aware that while Liverpool is a great city with rich history (ie the Beatles) it is important to remember the negative historical events as well.  It also nicely with the other maritime events that happened in Liverpool.  The Slavery Abolition Act 1833 abolished slavery in, you guessed it, 1833.  The act was repealed in 1998 and replaced with the Human Rights Act which still prohibited people from owning slaves (even though people still do).

     The slavery museum was incredibly eye opening, and I think the museum did an amazing job.  They did not try to hide any details about the horrors of slavery, nor did they try to sugar coat any of it. In fact, the graphic nature of the exhibit is what made it so good.  It forced you to look at these horrors that real people indured, and how we let it happen for xxx years. The part that had the most impact on me, was the round room with the graphic video and sound clips.  The up close shots of shackles, bloody fingernails, and feet combined with the audio of the creaking ship, whimpering and the outcries, created an experience that was so unnerving and sickening, I actually had to leave.  You know something is good when it has that kind of effect on people.  

     Although the other sessions revolved around black culture and its oppressive past, I do not think the three went that well together. I have to say I was disappointed in the presentations by both Christian O’Connell and Bonnie Greer.  Both of them seemed to be very scattered with their ideas.  For Christian, I am going to be very honest, it was hard to listen to a white man talk about black history.  It is fantastic that he compiled the scholarly works, and that he is genuinely interested in blues. However,  this history does not need to be told by another white male. I was genuinely surprised I did not enjoy Bonnie Greer’s talk.  I think it was because again, her ideas were unfocused, and I had a  hard time trying to understand the point she was making.

     England had been an amazing experience overall, and I am so grateful for my family and friends for helping get here, and I am going to miss it. I am going to miss the small pockets of towns like Prestbury and the rolling hills of sheep.  I am going to miss being able to hop on a bus and explore a new city or town.  I am going to miss the kindness of strangers, and the general attitude of the English people. Surprisingly, I am going to miss the weather! I would take slightly cold, windy and rainy, over 15℉, 3 feet of snow, and 4 months of winter hell anytime! I truly hope to come back one day, and know in my heart that I will.

Bristol

I took the train to Bristol on Saturday.  The weather was awful, but I still walked everywhere because that i how I roll.  My first atop a St Mary Redcliffe’s church.  it was recommended on Trip Advisor, and it did not disappoint. It is the pinnacle of Gothic Architecture.  I walked around for a good 30 mins, paying close attention to the door jambs and vaulting.  All my art history cam flooding back to me.  Next I walked to the Bristol Art Museum which ended up being a history museum also.  I saw my 3rd Thylacine and did a bunch of life drawings  of animals. They had an ton of French art which was gorgeous.  Yet another great museum experience! Lastly, I walked to a pub called The Bag of Nails which I had heard about on snapchat.  They are a pub with a bunch of cats in it! There was a little black kitten and a little siamese kitten who where cuddled up next to mamma cat. I was there for about 40 mins  just petting the cats #noshame

A lovely walk

I awoke around noon on Sunday.  Groggy and supset I had slept the day away, I decided to go out for a walk. I remembered seeing a hill when I was at the races that I wanted to try and pit-stop to explore a bit.  I walk along the canal and through the trees, and then went back on route.  I walked to the racecourse, hoping there was some way I could maybe cut across to get the the hill. But the fences were tall, so I had to find another way around.  I began to wander, and saw a path.  I asked some ladies what it was and they told me I could get to the hill from there.  So I began to walk down this little path that eventually ran parallel to the racecourse.  The whole time I kept my eyes on the hill, figuring out how I was going to get there. I passed by another trail opening near that lead to some cute houses and decide to see where it went. I wandered through the development hoping to find a break in the tall brick house to get to the hill. The development ended so I turned around and continued back on the trail. I walked a bit further and saw an open field, so, naturally, I walked through it.  The little town I ended up in was so cute.  I stopped and asked a women where I was, and she told me I was in Prestbury! it was only about 5.6 miles round trip, but it was a very nice walk, and I hope to go back to explore it again soon.

Friday Night Dates

I had a date the Friday before last with young man named Tom.  He’s 19, has a very good job doing computer penetration (basically he tests websites to make sure hackers can not get into them), his own place, and his own car.  He’s very attractive, apparently rich,  and musically gifted.  It had been the first time i’d gone out since being on a break with Jack.  I still miss him so much, and hope that we will get back together.  This idea of going out to meet someone from the internet at a bar would have never crossed my mind 3 month ago, but I decided, why not! Anyways, Tom and I went out for a bunch of drinks at a bunch of pubs, bars, and clubs.  I had some delicious concoctions of fruit and vodka.  Last Friday we went out again, this time to a concert together at FCH Chapel.  It was some weird avant-garde, arthouse-y bullsh*t that i was really into, although he was not.  Afterwards we got some grub and watched a movie.  He’s really nice, but totally not my type. 

LonDONE with crowds

I didn’t have any classes on Monday due to media week, and, since I was sick and tired of wasting all my weekends in doors, I decided to take a trip to London.

I looked online for bus fare, a cheap hostel, and how much it would cost to go to Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium. On google maps I planned a whole walking route of how and where I was going to go go and on which days.  I had planned out everything- how long it would take me to walk from point A to point B, how long I would stay at each, and that I would make it to my hostel before sunset. I was so proud of myself.

Unfortunately, my plans were messed up before my adventure even started.  I had accidentally purchased the tickets for the wrong weekend.  Through tears I called the National Express line, and they told me they would change my outbound and return dates for me, no problem, and got on the bus at 6:15am.  I arrived in London at 8:45, excited to start my journey.  Alas, the directions I had printed out were wrong.  I chose the wrong bus depot as my starting point, and my plans were obsolete.  So I started toward my first destination- Buckingham Palace, knowing it was close to the other places I wanted to go.  Unfortunately, Sunday was Remembrance day, and the main sidewalk up to the palace gates were closed off. In fact, the whole street on the way to parliament square was closed off, and I had to wait almost two hours until it was cleared to go.  it was blocked off because the Queen was being driven to the square to lay down one of the wreath of remembrance.  I still walked down to parliament square and walked around the streets, seeing the Westminster cloisters from the outside. Seeing Big Ben in real life was really surreal- I had always seen photos, movies, and even cartoons of it, and now, i was seeing it in real life! Although it was smaller than I thought it was, it was still cool to see.

Next I walked to the pier of the London Eye on my way to see Shakespeare's Globe theater. It was quite a long walk, but all the shops and attractions gave me something to look at.  I stopped into a little printmaking gallery, which had some really cool artworks.  I love seeing independent artist’s work.  Finally, I had made it to the Globe.  I really wanted to go in, but it was £14 for a tour.   MAybe someday I will get to see a performance for real there.  I stopped to talk to one of the ladies to ask for walking directions to the British Museum.  She told me it was too far to walk to, and that I should take the tube- “it’s much faster!”  I told her I didn't have much money and I didn’t want to pay for it because I don’t mind walking.  She told me she was worried about it getting dark, and told me to wait right there, she’ll give me some money.  I was blown away by the sheer kindness of the stranger.  She gave me a hug, some directions, and I was on my way.  I finally found an underground that would take me to my destination, and the worker I talked to had been a graduate form UoG, so we got along very well.  The British Museum was really cool but really crowded for a Sunday night.  At this point I started to feel how achy my feet were, and I could tell I was running out of spoons.  The crowds began to get to me, and I had to leave (not before seeing the Rosetta Stone!!).  From the British Museum I walked to Baker street to see the Sherlock Holmes Museum.  Although I didn’t go in (tickets were £15 for a self-guided tour that lasted only about 45mins) but I did meander around the gift shops and got my little sister a postcard.  At this point I was exhausted.  I had been up since 5 and I was ready to crash so i looked up how to get to my hostel.  I had to catch the 113 going North.  When I finally found the stop and got on, I asked the guy sitting next to me if it was going to my location and he looked at me with confusion.  “This isn't the 113” he said. “this is the 13”.  My face drained.  Why the fuck would you have two similar bus numbers stop at the same place?  I asked the driver who confirmed.  He told me that the 113 was literally right behind us, and that if I got off now, i could hop on.  But the driver didn't see me, and I was stuck at a dimly lit bus stop, with 30 mins to get to my hostel.  I began to cry, and asked an old women how often the buses ran.  “Since it’s a Sunday night, they won't be running very frequently” she explained.  I broke down.  Everything sucked.  I was tired, hungry, and cold.  My feet hurt, and I was miserable.  The old women saw my pain and asked me if I was alright.  I explained the situation to her.  “I’m getting on the next one and I have a car at X.  I could drive you to your hostel if you would like?”  I began to cry more, thanking her for her kindness.   I tried to pay her but she refused.  I was blown away. She dropped me off and came inside to make sure they would still let me in. They did.

I dropped off my stuff, bought a whole veggie pizza from next door, ate ⅔ of it, and went to bed.

The next morning I had a quick, not so great breakfast,and then headed off to the Natural History Museum and the V&A (which everyone raved about). The Natural History Museum was AMAZING.  It was so well set up,perfectly interactive for children, with a vast amount of knowledge for adult.  For the first time in ages, I was excited to learn.  As I walked into the ecology exhibit I actually said “This is actually the DOPEST”. It was one of the best museum I had ever gone to.  I did not like the  V&A.  I think it was because I was really tired.  I only spent about an hour there before heading off to Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium.  On my way I found a cute bookshop, and walked down Brick Lane.  Brick Lane is an Indian Community, and a perfect example of failed interculturalism.  I could smell the curry and sweets- it was awesome.  There was a ton of graffiti and street art as well! Finally I got to the Cat Cafe. It was a really cool experience, but for the price, I do not know if it was worth it.

A misLEEDSing adventure

After our trip to Liverpool, I decided to take a bus to Leeds since it was cheaper to go from Liverpool than from Cheltenham. I got to see Quinn! I hadn’t seen him since last semester ended in May,and it was so great! We got some food, drank a bunch of caramel vodka, and watched netflix.  Then the next day I got to see Kelly and Scarlett! I missed them both so much! We all went for burritos, and then a long walk along the canal.   Afterwards we got some coffee and caught up.  I forgot that I am the butt of their jokes- that much had not changed.  But it was still great to see some familiar faces.  I hope to see Kelly again soon, and possibly travel with them somewhere. 

Liverpool, a pool full various vital organ

This weekend The BCA group went  to Liverpool.  Prior to arriving, the only things I could associate with Liverpool (besides how gross the name is) were the Beatles, and the part in the song “Let’s Dance to Joy Division” by The Wombats. (“I’m back in Liverpool and everything seems the same/ but I found something out last night that changed this little boy’s brain).  The Beatles are well known in Liverpool , as it is where they became a band.  We got to go and see the Beatles Story.  Now, I used to really like the Beatles.  I was properly obsessed with them, owning shirts, pillows, posters, and all their songs on my ipod.  It all started when I played Beatles Rock Band at a friend's house, and I fell in love.  The older I got, however, the less interesting they became.  “Everybody loves the Beatles”, was part of the reason I think I stopped liking the Beatles.  This was during my hipster phase, when I could only like unknown, unique, obscure things that no one else knew about. After that phase passed though, I began to learn about John Lennon, and how awful he was.  How he beat both of his wives, Cynthia Powell and Yoko Ono, and his son.  He wrote racist and misogynistic songs.  The songs that weren’t awful in terms of content, are filled with mediocre melodies, stolen idea, and gibberish lyrics. There is great masterpost of why John Lennon was awful, which you can read here. The Beatles themselves are pretty bland overall, and incredibly generic.  They did spark a music revolution, you could argue so did Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, and CCR did as well.  Between the crappy weather, the sweltering heat and crowds, the amount of weight on my back from my bag (which I packed for my trip to Leeds afterwards), and my overall distaste for the Beatles. I really did not like it at all.  

I really enjoyed the Slavery Museum though.  I was absolutely blown away with how powerful it was.  The overall presentation of artifacts, models, audio, video, (along with a video transcribing in BSL, which was really cool to see!) I had never heard of the Middle Passage previously, although the picture of the people packed in the slave ships was been drilled into my head since 5th grade. Seeing this reminded me  just how biased US History is.  We never learned about these horrors in detail.  We were taught that “slavery was bad, but it happens, and it does not exist anymore!” I feel as though in England, these issues are not sugar-coated.  We never read books about slavery in school, although we read TONS of books about the Holocaust.  US History loves to talk about the Holocaust, but barely touches on the other other people affect by it (Romani, gays, etc.).

This weekend The BCA group went  to Liverpool.  Prior to arriving, the only things I could associate with Liverpool (besides how gross the name is) were the Beatles, and the part in the song “Let’s Dance to Joy Division” by The Wombats. (“I’m back in Liverpool and everything seems the same/ but I found something out last night that changed this little boy’s brain).  The Beatles are well known in Liverpool , as it is where they became a band.  We got to go and see the Beatles Story.  Now, I used to really like the Beatles.  I was properly obsessed with them, owning shirts, pillows, posters, and all their songs on my ipod.  It all started when I played Beatles Rock Band at a friend's house, and I fell in love.  The older I got, however, the less interesting they became.  “Everybody loves the Beatles”, was part of the reason I think I stopped liking the Beatles.  This was during my hipster phase, when I could only like unknown, unique, obscure things that no one else knew about. After that phase passed though, I began to learn about John Lennon, and how awful he was.  How he beat both of his wives, Cynthia Powell and Yoko Ono, and his son.  He wrote racist and misogynistic songs.  The songs that weren’t awful in terms of content, are filled with mediocre melodies, stolen idea, and gibberish lyrics. There is great masterpost of why John Lennon was awful, which you can read here. The Beatles themselves are pretty bland overall, and incredibly generic.  They did spark a music revolution, you could argue so did Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, and CCR did as well.  Between the crappy weather, the sweltering heat and crowds, the amount of weight on my back from my bag (which I packed for my trip to Leeds afterwards), and my overall distaste for the Beatles. I really did not like it at all.  

I really enjoyed the Slavery Museum though.  I was absolutely blown away with how powerful it was.  The overall presentation of artifacts, models, audio, video, (along with a video transcribing in BSL, which was really cool to see!) I had never heard of the Middle Passage previously, although the picture of the people packed in the slave ships was been drilled into my head since 5th grade. Seeing this reminded me  just how biased US History is.  We never learned about these horrors in detail.  We were taught that “slavery was bad, but it happens, and it does not exist anymore!” I feel as though in England, these issues are not sugar-coated.  We never read books about slavery in school, although we read TONS of books about the Holocaust.  US History loves to talk about the Holocaust, but barely touches on the other other people affect by it (Romani, gays, etc.).

Something I did not know Liverpool was famous for, was the launching of the Titanic.  I remember seeing a Titanic museum with my best friend at the time when I was little.  We were given cards with a name and  information about the person we were.  I remember touching the giant ice wall and getting to the end to find out that not only did me and my best friend survive, but we were friends on the ship as well! The setup here was similar.  We picked a card and found out at the end if we survived.  My person was Gladys Cherry, who survived and documented her firsthand experience of the accident.  To me, the Titanic was always a surreal event.  I think it has to do with all the media representation of it. Seeing some of the artifacts that were discovered, and the memorabilia of the ship put it into perspective.  My favorite conspiracy theory is that the reason the titanic sank is because too many people went back in time to stop the Titanic from sinking.

I also got to go into the Tate Modern Art Museum.  I have to say, I was not a fan of it all, and was glad it was free. I forgot that as an artist, I am not a fan of Modern Art.

Scrub-a-dub Dublin

This weekend I went to Dublin Ireland.  We took a bus from Cheltenham to London, then London to Holyhead, where we got onto a ferry.  The ferry ride lasted about 5 hours, and we got in to Dublin at 5 in the morning.  It was cold, and everything was closed. Sage, Madison and I were exhausted- we didn’t get much sleep on the ferry as there were only benches and booths to lay our heads down.  The city was eerie and quiet, and i was glad to have the company. We sat in a Starbucks for 3 hours until the sun and the people came out.  Then, with heavy travel bags and eye bags, we set off to explore the city.  

Even though it was 9am, a lot of places were still closed.  So we didn’t get to go inside the Dublin Castle, but we were able to go into the courtyard which was really cool. We then went to Trinity College where the Book of Kells was. You had to pay to go in, but it was cool to see the old architecture anyways. Next we went to the National Anthropology museum which was free! They had a whole exhibit on Viking and Olde Ireland.  It was super neat to see the old artifact.  Next we went to the National Natural History Museum which we learned lated was called “the dead zoo”  They had a some beautiful taxidermy form over 200 years ago, and I got to see a Thylocine (Tasmanian Tiger).  They are one of my favourite creature and are presumed to be extinct.  After that we went to our B&B.   It was a lovely little place with 3 beds and a nice shower.  They also had 2 small, very friendly dogs which added to the happiness of finally being able to rest.  I fell asleep at 9pm that night.  The next morning was started with a lovely Irish breakfast courtesy of the B&B.  Then, we hopped on the “Hop-on Hop-off” bus for a tour around Dublin.  We went around once then stopped at:

Trinity College where I saw the the Book of Kells, and the library where people like Oscar Wilde and William Shakespeare studied.  The library was also used as a model for the Harry Potter Library. 

The Oscar Wilde Park, where a stature of the man himself sits

Dublin Fine Art Museum, where I saw a Monet and Picasso

The Church of Saint Patrick

Finally, we ended with a free cup of Irish coffee at at little tavern. I got to talk to some cool locals (although not for very long since I am so shy) and I got to see some AMAZING things

Branching out and making friends

I have always been a bit of an introvert.  I love to keep to myself and do activities that usually have a total of one.  I am always ok with just sitting and watching TV for hours, drawing, or going on a hike.  I have terrible social anxiety- sometimes to the point where I won’t go out because I know there will be people there.  So when I was told it was expected of us to make new friends with the local students, I knew I was screwed.  I had just barely started getting comfortable with the group of Americans I had been with since day one, and my classmates were not making much of an effort to get to know me.  My blue hair, which I used back home to help start conversations and talk to people, felt like a curse. I already felt like I wore a big button on my shirt that said “AMERICAN” and the looks from the students didn’t help.  I would constantly remind myself that they were just not used to seeing me in their group, as most of the students have grown with each other from year 1.  I was an outsider- a blue haired outsider.  I tried some different techniques to get people to talk to me.  I would try to have my outfit match the class (ie my Smokey the Bear shirt for Animal Behaviour, or my ‘THIS IS REALITY’ shirt for illustration).  I would sit next to a random stranger and often on the front of the class, which is something I would never do back home.  But rarely would i get someone to talk to me, and often the conversation was fleeting and would trail off without any hopes of being picked up again.  So I moved on to my next plan.  During the Fresher’s Fair, I signed up for a ton of new clubs (some of which I joined for some free sweets).  When the first email came for the LGBTQ+ , I was hesitant, but one of the boys in my hall was going and I knew i needed to branch out. So I went.  It was a bit awkward at first- a lot of them knew each other from previous years, but I eventually started to talk to people.  I was invited to play pool, and learned that I am TERRIBLE at it.  My anxiety spiked but I found myself pushing through it to make friends.  And it worked.  I have been to every club meeting since and last sunday I got to roller blading with 3 of the people from the group.  It was really fun and I am so glad I went out and am finally starting to make friends.

*really embarrassing.

**I don’t know why this copied like this from word.  It will not let me copy the tet to edit it. My apologies!

The atmosphere in Cheltenham changes with clock.  Between the hours of 7-9 there is quiet a lot of morning commute.  What is much different here though, is that although there are motorized commuters, there is also a large amount of other transportation.  Everybody walks here, probably because everything is so accessible.  There are also a fair number of people who bike around Cheltenham (which seems to be a bit scary since cars have the right of way).  It slows down for a bit until about noon.  From noon to 4 the streets are bustling with people darting in and out of shops, grabbing coffees, or waiting for the bus.  For someone who does not like crowds, this is not ideal.  But the crowds here are very different from the hustle and bustle of New York City.  Yes it is crowded, and yes, it is busy, but there is less stressful feel to the air than that of NYC.  It’s hard to explain, but the collective temper of the British people is completely different from the US.  After 4 the town goes dead.  People go home, and shops close a lot earlier.  It’s definitely strange how early everything closes.  The town comes alive again around 11, when the the teens and young adults start going out to bars, pubs, and clubs.