When I first came to London and moved into my flat the girls and I found out that we didn't have a cable for our tiny TV they provided us...I thought, no big deal who is going to have time to watch TV. As well our living room if you can call it that, was dungy and we never hung out in it. Therefore no need for TV or a TV room, well I was wrong.
Last week we asked our landlord if we could get a cable for the TV, and she provided one. This was even after Linda (cleaning lady) did not vacuum our bedrooms so we wrote a note politely asking if she could vacuum. Well we actually got back from our day trip when Linda was cleaning or was about to clean our flat, she was very offended by our note. She is Spanish and David (student) said do not offend someone with Spanish pride because they will get angry. The girls and I experienced this first hand and we were very taken aback. I guess it was our fault but if someone is supposed to clean and they don't I'm pretty sure its okay to confront them - maybe that is an American concept or maybe its just me. Oh well Linda still cleaned but did not vacuum our bedrooms - we decided she probably can't because of privacy or something. But then how are our floors supposed to get vacuumed when we don't have a vacuum!?!! I'll tell you...Josh grabs a vacuum that is sitting on the street at 11 pm at night and brings it back to our flat. If something is on the street its up for grabs right? Well I hope so...not sure if the vacuum works yet but I'm planning on trying it out today!
Okay so back to the TV issue. We received a cable and it is working awesomely! We have about 5 channels of terrible British TV! I never imagined that TV would be any different here than in the states, but it definitely is. The quality of actors and filming is not what it is at home. The shows are still entertaining to watch, more so we get a kick out of the production and not the actual show. However, I did discover American shows on channel 4! This has been my highlight the last few days, Charlotte's Web, Friends, Breakfast Club, what more can you ask for!!!
Even the news that is on in the morning is not up to par with American news. I don't particularly like saying bad things about the Brits but it amazed me at the difference between our two countries. The US may be one of the worlds superpowers and a lot was due to advances in technology and still is, but is it politics and the welfare of people that is taking over in importance? I think it is a huge change that maybe the majority of Americans are just grasping onto and showing in the last few years of politics. So will Britain ever catch up to the quality of American entertainment, or does it matter?
My theory is it really doesn't matter. When I go running in the gorgeous parks around town, especially on the weekend but also during the week, there are so many people around. Families, couples, runners, tourists, and friends all enjoying different aspects that the parks have to offer.
When I was just running in the Kensington Gardens which merges into Hyde park (yes where the Pope was this weekend and no I did not go see him) there were families playing kickball, friends playing soccer, tons of people walking and running their dogs around; which the dogs here, for the most part, don't have to be on a leash, they run and walk freely and never have come up to me to say hello - I find it shocking. There isn't the slightest bit of interest to sniff the people they walk past. Are the dogs different here?? I assume it's just the way they are raised but maybe they are different :)
I wouldn't mind if some of the dogs would say hello because I miss my Abby! I was impressed the last time I skyped home that she looked at the computer! Now I've heard different things about dogs being able to see computer screens but I think she saw me, she definitely cocked her head when I did!
This is the dog that I went and said hello to, it was a police dog and one of the friendliest dogs ever!He was begging for attention so we asked the police if we could pet him and they were very kind and I think they even enjoyed the company. Any way the police informed us that Leo had just sniffed us for explosives! Of course we were all clean. Leo is about to retire and stay home, I believe he was 8 years old. Since the Olympics will be in London next the police need to train young and fresh dogs to do the sniffing so the old dogs will get to enjoy their retirement.All in all analyzing the culture of London has been quite exciting. Changing my previous views and assumptions about the country that I held previously is very intriguing to me. There is so much more to see and experience; "I believe the ability to think is blessed. If you can think about a situation, you can deal with it. The big struggle is to keep your head clear enough to think."
Richard Pryor
Beautiful park. Abby misses you more!!
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