Upon arriving in London and within the first couple days, I was kind of shocked at how little culture shock I felt, besides the obvious of driving on the opposite side, the accents, being in a walkable city, and the pound to USD conversion (which is frightfully shocking and bad for my bank account!!!!), but after some time really getting into a routine and starting to get more comfortable with my surroundings, I started noticing a lot of small things, which I suppose is me diving into England, specifically London’s, “deep culture.” I’ve talked about the Tube in every post so far, but how can I not? It’s just amazing, but specifically on the Tube, people don’t really socialize too much, it’s more or less quiet, besides obvious tourists of all nationalities really. The closer you ride into Central London, the louder the carriages get. I heard that Americans are generally more outwardly friendly to strangers, but I was not expecting just how different social interactions would be over here. In the States, I often smile at a stranger in the street or make small talk/compliment someone if I like their outfit, something about them, etc., but here, I’ve noticed people really keep to themselves unless a dog is involved. I wouldn’t say they are less friendly or miserable, but outward friendliness is for sure a foreign concept of sorts it seems. Another thing that absolutely DRIVES me up the wall is almost everything here has quite an orderly way of doing things, from standing on the right side of escalators, to always forming a queue, never just standing in a jumble, EXCEPT walking on the sidewalk is an absolute free for all. Usually back home, everyone walks on the right side, which creates a smooth traffic pattern, but here, everyone walks everywhere and it is an utter maze to get through a busy street. It almost feels like a game of dominance… two people walking straight towards each other, who is going to outlast the other in the do or die game of walking on the sidewalk (or as they call it here, the pavement)? It makes no sense. That is the biggest one for me. 

The elements of “surface culture” that I really personally resonate with are the art, fashion, and music. I’m not huge into fashion, but since being in London, I have found it incredibly interesting to see the differences in fashion and the influence London has on the art form as a whole. A major one that comes to mind is trench coats. They are amazing and I wish they were more popular in the States. The Burberry trench is just absolutely iconic. It is much like New York from what I’ve seen so far, and being able to witness and experience fashion week a couple weeks ago was so fun. I have always been a big fan of British musicians, and being here has been amazing, because London has such accessible live performances/experiences. There is such a robust live performance culture, from pubs, to jazz clubs, to busking, to charity events at historic venues. Lastly, art cannot go unmentioned. When I think London, I think art and history. I’ve been utilizing the free entry to so many of the museums and it is amazing. The V&A Museum and TateModern are my favorites so far. The V&A has a Schiaparelli exhibit right now, which is so cool, and then as someone who loves bizarre art, the TateModern very well may be one of the best places in the world in that respect. I’m soaking up every opportunity and experience to experience culture, both “surface” and “deep.”