Enemy Territory

For the past 10 weeks, anything I have heard about London and have found to be false I have blamed on the French. It seems fitting since the British could not consider any society lower on the totem pole of cultures.

           

“British food is ordinary and bland.”	the Michelin-star-giving French
“It always rainy in London.”	Until 3 weeks ago, the French
“London’s public transportation is filthy.”	The French Actually, this might be truth or at least half-truth.
“The British have no sense of style.”	A blind Frenchmen (Have you not seen the sweater vests – particularly on the small British children?!?!?)

Why, you might ask, has this animosity formed? Well, the Battle of Dunkirk, William Blake & God is an Englishmen, the Grand Tour, Victor Hugo’s visit to England, Sarkozy & the 2012 Olympic Bid….and so much more.

A few weeks ago when reading the Evening Standard (one of the FREE newspapers given out every evening), there was an opinion piece about why England was the ideal home and why it will make a great venue for the Olympics. The author, a Brit, cited the single-best characteristic of England was that it was not France. Hold the phone, yes. This was printed by a respected newspaper.

So, it seems fitting that tomorrow morning, I will leave the safety of my London home for enemy ground – Paris. Let’s hope it goes better than the English say it will!

5 days until the Motherland [Kentucky] and the Mother! 

Traveling

Salzburg, Austria

Hampton Court

Barcelona, Spain

Brussels, Belgium 

Byproducts

McDonald’s golden arches and French fries have been taunting me since my arrival in London. In a weak moment, I relented. I ordered my delicious fries, paid 30 p for a single ketchup packet, and discovered that it is Monopoly season – sweet!  Looking over the board, it was even better than I expected – London Monopoly – and I now had the perfect playing piece for my London scrapbook. Obviously, my stooping to McDonalds was a great life choice.

Further inspection revealed that London Monopoly was not as great as I first imagined. Modeled after London neighborhoods, the property showcased on the board were London boroughs. From least expensive and desirable to most expensive and exclusive, London was ranked. White Chapel, a Muslim borough of London, was identified as purple (America’s Baltic Avenue) and Mayfair as navy (America’s Boardwalk).  I discovered that my home-base (Pentonville Rd/Euston Rd) was identified as light-blue superior only to White Chapel and Old Kent Road – who knew! (Note – White Chapel is one of my favorite areas of London. It is a Muslim borough, with a wonderful community park and a three-story community center and library. While admittedly, it is not the wealthiest part of London, the sense of community in this area is much stronger than in other parts of London and they sell the best scarves).

There is something about Monopoly that now makes me uncomfortable. Yes, I know that different areas of city will naturally have more resources, but I do not like the idea of ranking them on a board and calling it a game. I have to wonder how this game board changes one’s perceptions of an area.

“Oh, White Chapel, that is a really sketchy area.”

“Have you ever been there?”

“Oh, no. I have just heard that it is not an area I would travel.”

I wonder how many of these conversations and stereotypes have become unintentional byproducts of a carton of fries and packet of ketchup. 

The Motherland

It would appear that I failed at blogging for the past two weeks. With that said, the past 12 days have been spectacular! I have been to Belgium, Spain, Kew Gardens, Hampton Court, Matilda the Musical, and many other awesome things. For now, I am writing a list of things that require follow-up posts and pictures (by the weekend, I promise).

• Monopoly/Minimum wage
• Easter blessings
• Brussels
• Salzburg
• Barcelona – 27 kilometers, translating Spanish – ha!

Well, those are my goals for the next few days. Also, today we visited Kew Gardens and I was nostalgic for Kentucky. In these English gardens you could actually step on the grass (novel idea!), so I walked/skipped/laid on the grass for hours. Plus, I located this awesome cloud; even England was thinking of the motherland (Ky)!!!! It was such a sweet and much needed reminder of home.

Scotland

Birthday Blessings. Thank you!

It has been a fantastic day full of wonderful blessings. From a four-mile stroll to Kensington Park and the Science Museum (where I saw awesome planes and adorable bubble-catching children), to receiving Pterrance the Pterodactyl, to eating a wonderful veggie-wrap dinner, I was once again reminded of the amazing opportunity to be in London with many new friends. Additionally, the three e-cards from Mom and signed-notes from church that she mailed were bright moments and great reminders of home. Now, Maddi and I are off to Scotland for my birthday weekend. I cannot wait! Love, Kate