When I first thought about taking a study abroad trip to London, I thought I would have lots of time go out and explore the city during the evening. However, after several long days that were jam-packed with activities, I was so tired that I simply did not have the energy to go out. For at least the first two days, I just wanted to eat dinner and go to bed! Thankfully, several days into the trip my body adjusted to the time difference and busy schedule and I was ready to get a sneak peek into London nightlife.
The first place that I went with my two roommates and a few girls from the art class that came with us to London was a bar called “Ballie Ballerson,” which was so-called because a corner of the bar had a ball pit that you could play in. I have never seen anything like this in the United States and thought this was a fun and interesting concept that I was willing to give a try. Aside from the ball pit smelling a bit funky, I tried not to think about the last time the bright pink balls were cleaned and dove into the pit with my friends. We did not stay at this bar for a while, however, because it appeared that this was a popular tourist attraction for many other Americans, and we wanted to experience something that the locals enjoyed.
With that, we left Ballie Ballerson and headed out to see what other pubs or bars we might want to try. After several minutes of walking around, we found ourselves walking into a small, dimly-lit pub. As we walked through the doors, the very first thing we were greeted with was a “Hi, come here often?” by a British man and his friends, to which we promptly responded, “No, we’re Americans.” As we walked towards the back of the bar, I wondered if we made the right choice or if we should explore another location.
Before I knew it, our group of students was talking to a variety of individuals at the bar. I heard people talking in British, Irish, and German accents and thought it was interesting how many different cultures were in one single place. We only stayed at this bar for about an hour but we did meet some interesting people from all over the world. There was one man who lived in London for all of his life but who had traveled throughout Europe, Asia, and the United States, due to the fact that he was a businessman. He had been to almost every major city in the United States, and truthfully, has probably seen more of the U.S. than I have! He even knew different accents that people from the United States had, including a harsh New York accent, a soft Southern accent, and a stereotypical west coast surfer accent. Even though we were hours away from home and in another country, it was fascinating that we could talk about places in the world and relate to one another.
Another person that I talked to at the bar was German, and he was appalled when I told him that I was from Baltimore Maryland. In his thick German accent, he scrunched up his face and said, “No offense, but Baltimore is so gross and UGLY!” To be fair, he did make a valid point, and he went on to say that he was not used to seeing so many homeless people and ghettos where he lived as he did here in the city. Out of curiosity, I asked him what he thought about America/Americans in general, and he said that other than not knowing how to drink like Germans, Americans have "tunnel vision" in that they often only think and care about themselves instead of looking around them at the bigger picture or immersing themselves with other cultures.
This stuck with me because even though he was not talking about all Americans, I think as a whole, he is right. I believe that sometimes we can be so consumed in our own lives that we don’t take the time to appreciate other people that are around us. Sometimes we are so involved with our jobs, our education, or even materialistic items, that we forget about things that are also important like spending time with family, traveling, and keeping an open mind about people from other countries. Having this conversation was eye opening because it made me realize that I do not want to have a rigid plan for my life and get caught up in finding myself, but rather, I want to have an open heart and mind to opportunities and experiences that come my way.
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