LONDON IN THE SPRING TIME-HYDE PARK

LONDON IN THE SPRING TIME-HYDE PARK

The rain is gone, the grey skies are gone. The snow is definitely and
has been definitely gone. Now, spring is here and you can see it
in the flowers, the sun is shining again. All the londoners are enjoying
the outdoors and are taking full advantage of the great spring
after a long cold winter.

On Sunday March 22,2009, I went for a jog in Hyde Park and it was a good thing I brought my camera along. I definitely enjoyed seeing so many interesting people having a good time, enjoying the park and the freshness of Spring.





























SLIDE SHOW: LONDON IN THE SPRING TIME

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The Differences between America and England

When I first came to London I never expected
so many huge differnces. I always say, "same language,different culture."

I actually think it's a different language.
There is American -English and then there's
English- English.Some of those differences are of course the
language. I spent my first month or two
hardly understanding the British accent.
And, often going to the store to have people
tell me " I am sorry!" because they also couldn't
understand my English. (Well mostly, it's because
there such a large immigration populationg
that many immigrants don't speak English well.
That's another story. For another blog.)

First of all, it's true what they say
that the British are very polite.
It's reflected in the behavior and demeanor
of working class people.
I find the people working at the tube
station are extremely kind and helpful.
You could go to any one of them lost
and say to them excuse me I need to get to such and
such place. They always very patiently
tell you you must go this way and that
way. All very charmingly done while
saying "Darling","Love" or "Dear".
These cutesy words are mostly
used by the working class, but who
doesn't want to be called darling.

Another big difference is people seldom tip.
It's just not in the English culture. If you go to
a restaurant the service charge is already
implied in the bill. You can always
add more if you need to improve your
karma that day or what not (LOL !).
But, my British friends when we go out
to eat always tell me don't leave anymore
Sabrina.I always like to leave a little
extra and imagine that the waiter could
be my sister or my friend trying hard to
earn a living. Waiters often get
rubbish pay in England way below the minimum wage.
Many of the cabbies are often shocked
when I give them a few dollars
extra. They just aren't used to people
tipping them.

Another big difference is that Sundays
are sacred in England. London is such
a big bustling cosmopolitan city, but
on Sundays everything closes early.
Good luck if you want to see a late
night movie or want to go to a restaurant,
because many restaurants are closed.
Or if you want to buy groceries, you can forget it.
Everything closes by about 5 pm.

British drink way more than Americans
and it's an absolute national past time.
You can see people drinking at all hours
of the day. I can't believe
people start drinking around 12 pm.
I have never liked to drink that early
as it makes me very sleepy and just
useless. Also, The pubs close very early.
They close around 11 pm.And, so called Off Licence
stores stop serving liquor at 11 pm.

The English are very polite often apologizing
for the slightest thing. Even if you are the one to
bump into them they'll apologize to you, " Oh, sorry!"
They are quite nice saying, " thank you and please". S
orry I didn't want to offend. Basically, there politeness
comes from a sensibility to not want to offend
anyone. This is very noble virtue in my eyes.
But, on the other hand there is a lot of beating
around the bush.

For the moment, these are a few of the things
that I can think of that reflect the differences
between America and England. That's all I can think of
for the moment, but trust me there will be alot more
commentary on this matter. In my opinion, the fact that England is
so different from America makes it all the more intriquing
and inspring.

Whats it like to be an American in London

What's it like to be an American in London
So far it's been fun and easy being an American in London.
I have not heard any negative feedback. When you are travelling
and living in youth hostels and hotels, you get a chance to
meet so many different people from all over the world.
In my travels I have befriended people in London that
I have never had a chance to meet in America.
I became friends with a girl from Malta, Azerbijan,
Cyprus, Iraq, Bangledesh, Pakistan.

The common question wherever you go in London is where are you
from? Often when people ask me where I am from I often say with
great glee and pride in my voice, " I am an American."
or depends on my mood, " I say from California."
Never have I been so proud to be an American since
Obama got elected. So, when I tell people this
many people look at me wide-eyed really an American.
When I tell them I am California. They always
say," Wow California." I really want to go there.
Americans and Californians are popular in London.


But once in a while, you get some wanker or tosser,
that's English Slang that bad mouths my America.
Oh he doesn't know who he said that to the wrong
person.One time near a tube station, I got
oh Americans have no culture, no history.
It's the same old story people abroad think
Americans have no history, no culture, nothing to
be proud of. I hear, " Oh it's such a young
country, because it's only 200 years old."
Wait a minute, I tell him. America has culture!
Look at the great Music that has come out of
America. Look at Blues. Hey Blues Movement
has inspired the likes of The Rolling Stones
and Led Zeppelin. Both groups were inspired
and copied the styles of Muddy Waters, John Lee
Hooker. Need I say more. And as far as History
is concerned. Has not America shed blood on its
land for the rights of others. Look at the
Civil Rights Movement.Look at Martin Luther King.
And now look at Barack Obama. Certainly, Martin
Luther King set the stage in the sixties for the
possibility for a black President to be elected.
I don't think we are going backwards.
Obamas election was monumental because it symbolized
the American dream. That dream was not just
heard in America but all over the world.


At Breakfast at my hotel,( I don't go for breakfast
that much because all they serve is eggs, eggs,eggs
with this gross white bread, but I love the diniing
room so sometimes I just go for the tea.)
I met a Danish woman she was pining over going to Italy
and she was saying how much culture Italy
has. Then when I told her I was American
she tells me America doesn't have that much
history compared to Italy. Duh, of course it doesn't.
But comparing Italy to America is impossible.
It can't be done and it's futile and a dumb pursuit to
even try. It's like comparing Rock n Roll
to Opera. Both are wonderful and monumentally inspiring.
But, you can't compare them.You can appreciate
the art forms but they are different so you have
to respect their charms on their own without comparison.

So what if America is only 200 years old.
Just look where we will be 500 years from now.
Now a Black Man President, maybe 50-100 years from
now there will be a Black Woman President.


Americas actions finally speak louder than words.
America stands for freedom, opportunity
and the great dream of liberty, truth and justice for all.

Another thing is I was watching a British TV show
it showed that Americans Health Care system
is rubbish. But, they didn't show that many
people like myself get really good health care
in America. In Berkeley, everytime I needed to
go to the Doctors, I didn't have health
insurance but I would always go for a doctors
visit and just pay $15.
That was it. I am positive there are gaps in American
Health Care system but not everyone suffers in America
from poor health care. I don't, ok so if the BBC News
is reading this you can contact me and Interview me
about the great Health care I have been receiving.

How dare anyone talk shit about my America.
I just tell to Bugger off!

London When it Snows

Apparently,it has not snowed this hard in London
since 1991. On Sunday night, I met my American friend
Aaron Seibel for dinner.Half way through the appetisers,
we looked out of the panoramic windows and realized
it was snowing very very hard with burst of wind.
A few glasses of wine later we finally left
by then it was still snowing and the ground
was completely covered with snow. We were just
2 blocks from Big Ben so we headed over there
for some really fun photos. It was so much
fun to feel the snowflakes on my face.

Needless to say, it was so cold and I was so lazy
from all the wine, I could not make my way home because
all the tubes were closed. I didn't mind though,
because I got to stay at the Mariott Hotel, my
friend had the deluxe room that is right in front of the
London Eye. The next day, many
people had to cancel work and many of the trains
stopped running.London came to a virtual standstill today after
less than one inch of snow fell before morning rush hour.
Half the Tube lines were severely delayed, traffic was a mess,
and basically 7 million Londoners were running around like
chickens with their heads cut off. Basically, London,
gets very chaotic but even the Taxi Drivers
remarked that people seem to be in a better mood.

As a Californian, I haven't experienced much snow in my life
at all,so I am really enjoying it.
( British Accent:)But, I must take great care,
as to not to slip and fall on snow and make laughing stock
of myself.Falling on my bum would not be dignified at all.

Cheers,
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love, Sabrina