well, what can i say about London.... i will say that the past few days have been wonderful! i have met so many great people i don't know what to do with myself.
the house i am staying in is a squat. they are legal here and many people live in perfectly good flats for free. this one in particular has not heat or hot water but i am used to that sort of thing. because people don't pay any rent, they are extremely willing to share their space with travelers. i have never seen a group of people more hospitable or diverse. there is a British gentleman, an Italian circus performer, a polish reggae super star, two very different french girls, two american boys living in Egypt and two polish girls living in Edinburgh. not to mention the stream of people in and out of the flat from other squats and friends that come over to cook or party or talk.....
my days have been filled with wandering the city drinking wine, getting lost and finding my way back. i can say that i have easily walked 50 miles in just a few days. i have also managed to spend only 30 pounds and that has mostly been on food and transportation. how could i be spending so much on getting around after all that walking? the tube is outrageously expensive. four pounds for a one way ticket!
I spent Friday walking from east London to tower bridge, Buckingham palace, st. james park, hyde park, soho, Piccadilly and through many neighborhoods with the two polish girls. the only problem is that i didn't take any pictures so i have to do some of it again! the girls were very funny about having their pictures taken but i managed to get one anyway.
hmm... what else.... i met this girl Melanie, she is great. we spent a lot of time talking together in the two days she was here and i plan to keep in contact with her. she had so many insightful and positive things to say. i really enjoyed her company and i am sad she had to leave. she gave me some contacts and things to do in Paris so it looks like ill have to head that way and give it a try! paris would be better with her but i will have to make due with what i have....
Stephanie is another french girl who is staying here. she is a little more radical and "alternative" than most of the people i have met so far. we have talked about racism and class ism, genocide and politics. its great to hear about these things from another perspective. she has even been talking about going vegan which is always exciting!
i have to laugh when people want to talk about politics though. its just that everyone seems so excited about Obama. they all ask me what i think and how americans feel about him as a leader. i just laugh and give my opinions and listen to them praise him. its good to hear Europeans happy about an american leader. but i worry that they too have caught Obama fever and expect too much.
anyway, i will take more pictures and post them when i can. i miss everyone, mostly because your so far away now, but not enough to come home any time soon!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
how exciting! be sure to pass along contact info so i have cool people to hang with when i get there. haha, i know what you mean about not missing everyone enough to come home. i think you made a wise decision to come back for a few days before you went to europe. it gave you a chance to see that you're not missing a whole lot. i will be ready to travel in september but for now im still really enjoying the not doing a whole lot. i do know that things will be different when i come back. feels like home (wherever that is) changes when you leave for a certain amount of time. or maybe its that nothing changes and its really you that has done the changing. so things dont relate like they used to and home doesnt feel like it did before. who knows. anyways, im excited for you. go to bloomsbury district. thats where i lived when i was there for a month. i walked by the british museum every time i went to school. i miss london. it should be prettier now because theyre getting ready for 2012 olympics. i remember when i was there they were doing a lot of construction. three years later it must be looking pretty good by now. ok. enough! haha, have fun! you are missed.
thats awesome that you're in london. is it cold? also, not wanting to have your picture taken is not 'very funny' or wierd at all. it makes sense. again, sounds like lots of good people. take care, N
i think my words have been taken it out of context. i never said it was 'weird' to not have your picture taken but that they were 'very funny' about it. what i meant was that they didnt like pictures because they are bashful. it was funny because they didnt know what to do in front of cameras, not that they thought it was invasion of privacy or it steals your soul or something.
yeah. the internet is stupid. i just have been annoyed at people not respecting it when you dont want your picture taken. also, jake said that you didnt get much support from 'the kids' when you started being refined sugar free which is dumb.i think cutting sugar out is fucking tight. I have been wheat free for almost a month now and I feel way better, i can only imagine what a difference sugar would make. also, if you want to I could put you in contact with my friend sterling who knows a shit ton about nutrition if you want more useful support.
Oh, and one more thing, if you ever end up making If you ever make your way to Copenhagen check out Christiania. It's an entire village of squatters living in an old military barracks; there are families that have lived there for decades. I plan to head out there near the end of my trip (late May).
Post a Comment