My travel diaries 1: My journey to the (North) West

So I've been in London for about a year now. Admittedly I've never been the sort to love travelling- instead, I prefer to settle down. I was initially apprehensive about flying to London- I was worried about not being able to assimilate, worried about being unused to the food, worried about being homesick. I was also worried about my family back home.

Concerns (and reluctance to travel) aside, I'm glad for the opportunity to really settle down in London :) As opposed to city-hopping where I would be going from place to place without understanding the complexities of life of the lands I visit, actually living in one has opened my mind a lot.

London: more than just a beautiful city

Since there is so much to love about this place I thought it'd be easier to talk about what exactly I appreciate about London aspect by aspect!

1. The people and their smiles

I shall be honest- I had a rather bad first impression of the Brits. I was at Heathrow attempting to get through customs with my parents (who accompanied me to London to travel). The following was a conversation we had with the customs officer (not including the cursing and swearing that went on in my head throughout the 30 seconds I had to tolerate her presence)

Customs officer: Students like you should be queueing at the students line.

Me: Okay. 

Customs Officer: Is this your first time coming to London?

Me: Yes.

Customs Officer: Many of the students who are also here for the first time didn't have to come with their parents.

DIDN'T HAVE TO COME WITH THEIR PARENTS! WOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWW here's a slow clap for all of them!

Bitch I know the Westerners have this thing where they stop relying on their parents and move out by the time they turn 18, but it's not like my parents came to study with me. They came to explore the place, to travel, and help me with settling in. And besides, I did not grow up in the West. The last thing I need is you giving me the stink eye for not conforming to what's considered normal for you the moment I step onto UK ground you presumptuous cock.

Anyway, I was rather pleasantly surprised because despite the condescension we received from the airport staff (the airport staff at Gatwick are so much better I'm telling you. I'd gladly take a longer train ride to not have to deal with Heathrow Airport and their shit), the Brits we met in London are so friendly! Knowing we were foreigners, they were extremely patient, helpful and smiley. The power of a smile is so under rated I'm telling you. =) It instantly made us feel so much better, being by ourselves in a foreign land yet being made to feel welcome by the friendly and kind gestures of the random London strangers. Thank you all! It was surely a refreshing change from the admittedly less friendly attitudes of Singaporeans back home.

Singaporeans, please smile more! And to the few of you who keep telling me I should stop smiling to myself: you never know how much difference a bit of friendliness would make to someone's day. You want to be grumpy okay, but don't drag me down kthanksbye.

2. Pub culture

Not literally of course- I don't drink alcohol! :) I realised after being in London for a month that the Brits have a culture of striking up friendly conversations with random strangers. It's a great thing of course, although Singaporeans back home would usually deem this weird or fake. What I find particularly refreshing about interacting with the Brits (and the international students) is their open-mindedness. They are relatively open to embracing other cultures. Cases in point:

#1 My JC friend Ais came to London on a school exchange programme and she had a Bulgarian room mate in her hall. Guess what- my friend taught her room mate Singlish! Her Bulgarian room mate now has the following in her vocabulary:

1. Kanasai (meaning, "like shit"). It was her virgin word of Singlish

2. Confirm plus chop (meaning: I am very sure about this)

3. Ah Beng (a male bimbo)

It is interesting how a student from a completely different part of the world would take such interest in Singaporean culture :) It is rather heartwarming to know that people are interested in the unique things you can bring to their country in terms of culture. 

#2 I realised that the international students here are more similar to us than we initially thought. I met a girl from Netherlands through volunteering who had stayed in South East Asia for a couple of years, and I realised we both loved iced coffee with condensed milk. Surprisingly enough, condensed milk isn't a readily available commodity here (at least, I don't see any of it in mainstream supermarkets like Sainsbury's). Also, I found out from an Egyptian friend that my name was actually very common in Egypt. Woah.

#3 I also got to know a Portugese friend who is fluent in many foreign languages (he can speak a little bit of Mandarin) and he is currently having a great time in Turkey/Egypt. I realised that it was pretty rare for me to find peers in Singapore who are not only able to tour a foreign land on their own, but are also able to live and assimilate into a country whose people do not even speak your language. Now that is something respectable to me :)

A common misconception amongst new students in the UK is that if you don't club/drink, you miss out. I say hell no- there are so many more things to do and so much we can learn even from the most seemingly mainstream activities (like volunteering). 

3. Coffee culture

I've finally come to my favorite part! Almost every corner you turn in London (at least in Zone 1) you bump into a cafe.

I usually enjoy coffee with condensed milk (called kopi in South East Asia) or 3-in-1 instant coffee so I was a little unused to the sort of coffee sold here. 

Starbucks- not so great after a while. And they keep getting your name wrong

One thing good about being a coffee lover in London is that there are plenty of cafes with exotic coffee (each store has coffee that tastes slightly different). I personally prefer Costa's iced coffee (perfect for spring and summer) though the hot coffee tastes rather weird. I also don't particularly enjoy coffee that is slightly sour. 

Speaking of iced coffee, I've discovered that it is either:

1. Nobody makes iced coffee (meaning liquid coffee with ice cubes in it, not frappes) except during summer, or

2. The cafes that don't make it have never seen or heard of iced coffee, or

3. To them, iced coffee is equivalent to a frappe.

It is so frustrating trying to order a coffee with ice in it! I usually just end up with a frappe, or hot coffee (especially with the school cafes). Imagine my exhilaration when I discovered, at Gatwick Airport, that Costa had iced coffee! :) I haven't had it for the whole of my second term and I thought their iced mocha was about the best thing in the world.

So this sums up my first blog post of my travel series: with 3 things I love best about London. Stay tuned for 3 things I hate about London, my Leicester trip, trip to York, and my Elliot Rodger blog post. :)