When we arrived at London Gatwick airport, jetlagged, we then took a two hour bus ride to Oxford. It was 7 in the morning London time and 1:00 am inside me. My son and I settled into separate seats to stretch out because the bus was not very crowded. It wasn't long as the English countryside passed by that I nodded off for a brief nap. I then dozed for the rest of the trip.
When we arrived at the Central Bus station, something seemed different to me about that bus trip.
I asked my son, Sam, "Did you notice anything different about that bus ride?"
"Not really," was his reply.
I said, "Did you notice how quiet it was on the bus?" He merely grunted. Not only was it sedate on the bus, but pretty much everywhere we went in England, things were fairly quiet, even in large restaurants. No boom boxes. No shouting, primping, yelling out, or calls for someone to pay attention. Even the most outlandish folks were not loud or obnoxious. There is a gentility present in the U.K. that is sadly lacking in American Culture.
It is natural to judge other cultures by one's own culture. By most of our yardsticks, the opposing culture gets lower marks. I did notice that things moved slower in England, and though people were friendly, they were, well, reserved. I was fascinated with the fact that radio dial found only 5 or 6 stations, and none of them walked on other, in contrast to the crowded dials for virtually any location in the U.S. I also missed the wide open spaces of home -the "uncrowded days-" and the variety of the local neighborhood megamart, but I didn't miss the "in your face; look at me!" attitude many Americans seem to have.
In that regard, our culture appears to be inferior. We lack the ability to have civil debates on television without someone shouting at someone else as we "take a timeout for this word from our sponsor." In short, many Americans seem to feel that the louder it is, the better it is.
I respectfully disagree. It was nice to snooze on a quiet busride through an English morning. Any conversation was low, civil and respectful. That's something that seems to be lacking in American culture.
In that regard, the British have us beat.
You may know that in England it's rude to speak at breakfast -- that meal is eaten silently. In England it can be impolite to start a conversation on public transport with someone you don't know. Even neighbors don't speak to neighbors unless they've been properly introduced or unless their families have known each other for a generation. In contrast, Scots, Welsh, and Irish are lively conversationalists like Americans at all hours of the day and night.
ReplyDeleteActually, I did not. I did strike up a conversation at a restaurant in Oxford with a man who was there to study nuclear waste disposal. It was fascinating. I never thought it might be rude to do so. Thanks for the cultural insight.
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