An American Asian in London



So I'm back from London and Paris. It was the first time my wife and I visited Europe. It's always interesting to see how people live in other parts of the world. London has a very distinct look with its neighborhood streets and buildings. Here's the street of the hotel where my wife and I stayed at:


 https://www.youtube.com/strengthandphysique

A lot of the London streets aren't straight and tend to curve slightly, which gives it an interesting perspective. Not only that, but you know you're in London when you see the red double decker buses, red telephone boothes and retro style taxi cabs. The subway or "the Tube" is kind of crazy, but leave it to the British to have very orderly, but rapid streams of people walking briskly through the stations and on to the trains.


 https://www.youtube.com/strengthandphysique

In contrast, the Paris subway has less people, but more chaos. I thought London streets were distinct, but Paris streets are even more distinct and have a very Old World look to them. Perhaps we walked through the bad part of town, but Paris seemed a little dirty, and not in a naughty, sexy time way. Everybody smokes, and there are cigarette butts littering the streets.


 https://www.youtube.com/strengthandphysique

There were a lot of Africans in Paris, and a lot of Indians in London. I can't say I saw very many East Asians in Paris. There's a small Chinatown in London, but the Chinese make up only 1% of the city population. I have to say that my wife and I turned quite a few heads in both London and Paris, not necessarily because we were East Asian, but because we were East Asians speaking English with American accents. Of course I'm sure the French hated my butchering of the French language, and the Brits were annoyed with my wife and I doing mock English accents all the time.


 https://www.youtube.com/strengthandphysique

Two things that my wife and I missed about the States were 1) the food and 2) the service. Food in Europe is much more simple, understated and smaller. Not to mention expensive. There's no supersizing. The Indian food in London was excellent, but not exactly filling. Sandwiches in Paris emphasize fresh bread and cheese, not how much meat you can pack in to give you lockjaw.






I guess since America is a country of immigrants, we have a greater hunger for all things. The children of immigrants want more. Which is why food that comes to America from other countries evolves into something bigger, tastier and more varied. Pizza and pasta are very simple and plain in Italy, but boy do we pack on the toppings here in the States. Sushi is simple in Japan, but Asian Americans have introduced some colorful and flavorful rolls.

Not only do Americans constantly want bigger, better and more, but we want it right now. Restaurant service is a bit slower in Europe, where customers enjoy their leisure time and don't like their food to be rushed. My wife and I found it particularly aggravating.

Nevertheless, we enjoyed London and Paris. If it weren't for the cramped conditions of the city, I wouldn't mind living in London for a short time.



 https://www.youtube.com/strengthandphysique

 https://www.youtube.com/strengthandphysique

 https://www.youtube.com/strengthandphysique

Comments

Anonymous said…
I'm leaving for London and Paris on 4/13, but after reading your interesting takes on both places, I feel the "no-need" to go or less "enthusiastic" about my trip now. This is my first time too for Europe. Anyway, James it's always a delight to read your blog. Lets see if my feeling will concur with yours and your wife...
J said…
Dude, don't worry you'll enjoy your trip. I actually liked London better than Paris.

My wife and I had lunch with a friend, and she commented how surprised she was how many non-natives there were in London. A lot of immigrants from other countries and a lot of American and Canadian expatriates.

Paris definitely feels much more foreign, but you can get by without knowing much French at all. Young people understand English.
ChrisMo said…
Glad time you enjoyed your time in both places. I have to say though, why keep comparing things to how its done in the US? Isn't the point of travelling to find out how things differ around the world?
J said…
Thanks for posting, Chris. Comparing cultures with your own is a natural thing to do, I feel. It gives you a frame of reference to see how life and society could be sometimes better or sometimes worse or sometimes exactly the same because people are the same everywhere.

Nice astronomy website, BTW.
pgee said…
sounds like i'll always be hungry if i go to Paris or London

Popular posts from this blog

Interview with Rick Lee

Muscle Building Diet for the Asian Male

Strength Training for the Asian Lifter, Part II